… continuation from Part 1 and Part 2.

17) Eating Behavior and Weight Loss

According to the authors of one review, neurofeedback may be a promising treatment for eating disorders, obesity, and food cravings.

One pilot study in 6 otherwise-healthy overweight or obese males reported that hemoencephalography neurofeedback helped increase self-control with food, and may have even reduced the patients’ total body weight.

Similarly, another preliminary study has reported that neurofeedback helped 8 overweight or obese males choose lower-calorie foods.

18) Parkinson’s Disease

One study in 16 Parkinson’s patients reported that neurofeedback improved balance (both standing and moving) after just 8 sessions of training.

In one other preliminary study, 30 Parkinson’s disease patients were reported to show improved movement speed and other motor functions after 2 sessions of fMRI neurofeedback combined with motor training. 

19) May Affect Epilepsy

According to clinical data, up to 1/3 of epileptic patients don’t respond successfully to conventional seizure therapies. This has motivated some researchers to look at neurofeedback training as a potential alternative treatment.

According to one study, sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) and slow cortical potentials (SCP) neurofeedback training were reported to reduce the frequency of seizures in 70% of the tested patients.

Similarly, another study reported that 25 epilepsy patients became seizure-free after being treated with neurofeedback, with 76% of the patients no longer needing anti-seizure medication.

Another study reported that 5 out of 8 epilepsy patients reduced the frequency of their seizures by using EEG-based neurofeedback.

20) Cerebral Palsy

Children born with cerebral palsy have abnormalities in overall brain activity that can be detected with EEG almost immediately after birth. Some researchers have proposed that by correcting these abnormalities with neurofeedback training, children with cerebral palsy may be able to improve their speech, physical coordination, and emotion-regulation abilities.

However, because cerebral palsy patients often have very unique sets of impairments in brain function, coming up with effective training programs for each patient can be quite tricky and time-consuming, thus somewhat limiting the potential of this treatment.

21) Schizophrenia

According to a single preliminary study, neurofeedback was reported to improve symptoms in 47 out of 48 tested patients with schizophrenia who did not respond to conventional antipsychotic medication. This finding may suggest that neurofeedback techniques could be a potential treatment for severe psychological disorders that are often difficult to manage effectively – but much more research will still be needed.

22) OCD

According to one early study, 33 out of 36 patients treated with neurofeedback reported significant improvements in their OCD symptoms. 19 of these patients even reported that these improvements lasted for up to 26 months after initial treatment.

In one other study, two patients given neurofeedback training saw improvements in common behaviors of OCD (e.g. obsessive washing, grooming, and checking). One patient also saw improvements in depression and anxiety and even became more extroverted.

23) Tourette’s Syndrome

A handful of preliminary studies have reported that using neurofeedback training to reduce theta brain waves and enhance activity in the sensorimotor cortex may give patients with Tourette’s syndrome better control over their movements. This could potentially help reduce or even completely eliminate their motor “tics” (sudden and uncontrolled movements).

24) Tinnitus

Tinnitus has been associated with particular brain wave patterns in the temporal lobe. According to two studies (with 21 and 15 tinnitus patients, respectively), neurofeedback was reported to show some early potential for reducing the severity of tinnitus symptoms.

Conclusion

Neurofeedback training has produced some intriguing results in clinical trials. The most notable potential benefits observed in such trials include improved cognitive function, working memory, and ability to learn. Thus, some researchers are currently investigating whether it could benefit people with learning disabilities, autism, OCD, ADHD, and Tourette’s, among others.

Some research has also found potential benefits of neurofeedback for various types of pain and movement disorders, as well as eating disorders, sleep disorders, and tinnitus. 

Evidence for treatment of certain conditions may be nuanced so we suggest you call us to understand what the best course of action is.

Here at Neurohealth Associates we specialize in Neurofeedback treatments. Neurofeedback may be helpful if you have unwanted mood swings, problems sleeping, anger management issues, motivation, or poor self-esteem. The easy, noninvasive treatment can painlessly improve your mental health condition and outlook on life.

Schedule a consultation with NeuroHealth today and find out how we can help you.