Electroencephalogram-neurofeedback training may be an effective intervention tool that can be utilized as a supplementary treatment for depression.
Authors
Deepa Madathil, Associate Professor, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences, O.P. Jindal Global University, Haryana, India.
Abhishek Uday Patil, Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-devices (IDS2B), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Chemin Lin, Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Community Medicine Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan.
Shwu-Hua Lee, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Hsu-Wen Huang, Department of Linguistics and Translation, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Shun-Chi Wu, Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Chih-Mao Huang, Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-devices (IDS2B), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Summary
Depression, or major depressive disorder, is a common mental disorder that affects individuals’ behavior, mood, and physical health, and its prevalence has increased during the lockdowns implemented to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. There is an urgent need to update the treatment recommendations for mental disorders during such crises. Conventional interventions to treat depression include long-term pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Electroencephalogram-neurofeedback (EEG-NF) training has been suggested as a non-invasive option to treat depression with minimal side effects. In this systematic review, we summarize the recent literature on EEG-NF training for treating depression.
The 12 studies included in our final sample reported that despite several issues related to EEG-NF practices, patients with depression showed significant cognitive, clinical, and neural improvements following EEG-NF training.
Given its low cost and the low risk of side effects due to its non-invasive nature, we suggest that EEG-NF is worth exploring as an augmented tool for patients who already receive standard medications but remain symptomatic, and that EEG-NF training may be an effective intervention tool that can be utilized as a supplementary treatment for depression.
We conclude by providing some suggestions related to experimental designs and standards to improve current EEG-NF training practices for treating depression.
Published in: Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
To read the full article, please click here.
