Real-time fMRI neurofeedback: Progress and challenges

Abstract

In February of 2012, the first international conference on real time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtfMRI) neurofeedback was held at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), Switzerland. This review summarizes progress in the field, introduces current debates, elucidates open questions, and offers viewpoints derived from the conference. The review offers perspectives on study design, scientific and clinical applications, rtfMRI learning mechanisms and future outlook

Real‐time fMRI neurofeedback in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…Boys were asked to move the rocket toward space by any means they found helpful. Instructions were minimal (i.e., “you can try to concentrate on the rocket” or “try any other method that works for you”) as this has been shown to be more effective than explicit instructions [Sulzer et al, 2013], and instruction‐free approaches are common in EEG‐NF for ADHD children [Gevensleben et al, 2014; Strehl et al, 2006]. However, in rtfMRI‐NF it has been shown that for some regions it appears to make no difference whether instructions are given (e.g., motor regions [Sepulveda et al, 2016]), while explicit instructions may be beneficial for the self‐regulation of specific brain areas (e.g., limbic system [Zilverstand et al, 2015].…”

The self-regulating brain and neurofeedback: Experimental science and clinical promise

“…One follow-up study included 59 chronic pain patients, rather than the 12 patients in the original study, and found that, while only those receiving veritable feedback gained control over neural activity, pain ratings decreased equally between experimental and sham participants (Sulzer, Haller, et al, 2013). The failure to replicate the original findings may relate to the inflated likelihood of false positives when employing small sample sizes -a general concern across the neurosciences (Button et al, 2013).…”

“…Because these effects were absent in control participants, this pivotal report presented important evidence in support of rtfMRI-nf. However, enthusiasm turned into skepticism after several independent replication efforts, including by the original authors, were unable to corroborate the reported findings (Birbaumer, Ruiz, & Sitaram, 2013;Sulzer, Haller, et al, 2013).…”

“…Thus, current-day neurofeedback draws on diverse imaging methods to help drive volitional control over electromagnetic and hemodynamic alterations in brain activity (Cannon, 2015;Hammond, 2011;Thibault, Lifshitz, Birbaumer, & Raz, 2015). Within each imaging modality, moreover, researchers have developed distinct neurofeedback protocols that target different brain signals and their concomitant physiological processes (Hammond, 2011;Sulzer, Haller, et al, 2013).…”

“…(Mihara et al, 2012), 10. (Sulzer, Haller, et al, 2013), 11. (Zotev, Phillips, Yuan, Misaki, & Bodurka, 2013), 12.…”