Biofeedback

Abstract

The theory and practice of biofeedback has rapidly matured over the last three decades due in part to advances in the fields of microelectronics, digital computing, and signal processing. There has been concurrent progress in our understanding of complex biological systems, human disease mechanisms, and behavioral principles of learning involved in physiological functions. The medical and scientific instrumentation of biofeedback has proliferated along with the expansion of clinical applications of the technology to numerous disease states. In this article, an attempt is made to clearly define the diffuse area of biofeedback and provide a brief historical overview of its development. A review of the basic learning principles derived from laboratory findings underlying biofeedback and competing theories is made. Described are the major types of medical instrumentation and engineering design specifications of common biofeedback systems. Also covered are the basic physiological parameters captured and processed by these flexible medical devices. The literature documenting the outcomes of widely used biofeedback paradigms in clinical settings are briefly highlight. Finally, some major themes and future directions that the technology and medical application of biofeedback are likely to take us are proposed.