Affordable Neurofeedback for Inattentive ADD and ADHD

Affordable Neurofeedback for Inattentive ADD and ADHD

By using EEG Biofeedback, you can train your brain to perform better and faster.  Several articles including one in the Journal of Attention Disorders, have recently confirmed that EEG Biofeedback, which is sometimes called Neurofeedback or EEG Neurobiofeedback, can improve ADHD, working memory, Inattentive ADD behaviors and slow cognitive processing speed (see citations below).

The problem with EEG biofeedback has always been the cost.  Practitioners and providers of Neurofeedback programs often charge $5000.00 for a 6-8 week treatment program.  This is out of budget range for many patients but a new technology may soon make EEG Neurofeedback affordable for everyone.

An EEG hardware development company, NeuroSky, has just released an affordable headset ($99.00) that allows you to do Neurofeedback in your home at an affordable price.  A company called Neurocog has developed an ADHD Neurofeedback software program called HokusFocus ($150.00) to use with the NeuroSky headset.  

EEG Biofeedback is a treatment that allows us to harness our brainwaves so that we can learn.  Different brain states produce brainwaves that have different frequencies. Some brain waves are associated with focus and others with a distracted state, some waves signal frustration and others a calm state. The NeuroSky head set is capable of detecting these different brain wave patterns and alerting us about our brain state.  With the use of the NeuroSky headset and software like HokusFocus, we can get teach our brain to get into a better "state of mind".

HokusFocus is an interactive game for kids of ages.  A recent study found that HocusFocus improved spatial learning, sustained attention, working memory and behavior in kids with ADHD.  The findings of this study are published in the Journal Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders. 

NeuroSky reports that software applications are being developed for ADHD adults as well.  The headset is also being used as a safety device for monitoring truck drive alertness and as an aid for discovering what is causing reading difficulties in certain students.

Affordable Neurofeedback for ADHD and Inattentive ADD adds another therapy to our treatment arsenal.  For people who tolerate stimulants poorly, or not at all, the development of an affordable Neurofeedback alternative may be a true life and brain saver.

References

J Atten Disord. 2011 Nov 16. [Epub ahead of print]

A Review of Neurofeedback Treatment for Pediatric ADHD.

Lofthouse N, Arnold LE, Hersch S, Hurt E, Debeus R.

Source

The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this paper was to review all randomized published trials and unpublished conference presentations on the neurofeedback (NF) treatment of pediatric ADHD, and their relevance, strengths, and limitations. Method: Via PsychInfo and Medline searches and contacts with NF researchers 14 studies were identified and reviewed. Results: The majority were conducted from 1994 to 2010, with 5- to 15-year-olds, usually male and White with the combined type of ADHD. Most studies used theta/beta NF with a unipolar-electrode placement at Cz and demonstrated, where reported, an overall ADHD mean effect size of d = 0.69, a medium effect. Main study strengths, within some studies, include use of randomization, treatment control conditions, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria, evidence-based assessment ofADHD, standard treatment outcome measures, multidomain assessment, and, for some studies, moderate sample size, some type of blind and the identification of medication as a concomitant treatment. Main study limitations (and directions for future research) include the lack of adequate blinding of participants, raters and NF trainers, a sham-NF/blinded control treatment condition, posttreatment follow-up, generalizability, specific details about delivery of NF, identification and control of comorbidity, and the identification, measurement, and control of concomitant treatments and potential side effects. Conclusion: Based on the results and methodologies of published studies, this review concludes that NF for pediatric ADHD can be currently considered as "probably efficacious." (J. of Att. Dis. 2011; XX(X) 1-XX).

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010 Sep;19(9):715-24. Epub 2010 May 25.

Neurofeedback training in children with ADHD: 6-month follow-up of a randomised controlled trial.

Gevensleben H, Holl B, Albrecht B, Schlamp D, Kratz O, Studer P, Rothenberger A, Moll GH, Heinrich H.

Source