Recently a team of doctors set out to ascertain the difference between in-school training randomizing students to either receive neurofeedback or another form of cognitive training, here is the clinical abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate sustained improvements 6 months after a 40-session, in-school computer attention training intervention using neurofeedback or cognitive training (CT) administered to 7- to 11-year-olds with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
METHODS: One hundred four children were randomly assigned to receive neurofeedback, CT, or a control condition and were evaluated 6 months postintervention. A 3-point growth model assessed change over time across the conditions on the Conners 3–Parent Assessment Report (Conners 3-P), the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Parent Form (BRIEF), and a systematic double-blinded classroom observation (Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools). Analysis of variance assessed community-initiated changes in stimulant medication.
RESULTS: Parent response rates were 90% at the 6-month follow-up. Six months postintervention, neurofeedback participants maintained significant gains on Conners 3-P (Inattention effect size = 0.34, Executive Functioning ES = 0.25, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity ES = 0.23) and BRIEF subscales including the Global Executive Composite (ES = 0.31), which remained significantly greater than gains found among children in CT and control conditions. Children in the CT condition showed delayed improvement over immediate postintervention ratings only on Conners 3-P Executive Functioning (ES = 0.18) and 2 BRIEF subscales. At the 6-month follow-up, neurofeedback participants maintained the same stimulant medication dosage, whereas participants in both CT and control conditions showed statistically and clinically significant increases (9 mg and 13 mg , respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Neurofeedback participants showed significant improvements that were sustained 6 months after the intervention compared with those in the control and CT conditions, as reported by the parents consistently on all of the core ADHD subscales and executive functioning scales. Participants in the CT condition showed significant improvement 6 months after the intervention period on 2 executive functioning subscales. Medication dosage was sustained among participants in the neurofeedback condition, whereas for CT and control conditions it was increased. The finding that neurofeedback was superior to CT on multiple scales further supports its efficacy as a treatment of children with ADHD. Effects were reported earlier in the neurofeedback condition than in the CT condition and were also stronger at the 6-month follow-up period, showing the promise of neurofeedback as a treatment with sustained gains for children with ADHD.
Credit: American Academy of Pediatrics
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