Efficacy of EEG Biofeedback for Attentional Processes
David A. Kaiser, Siegfried Othmer Los Angeles, CA
Attention Deficit Disorder is often assessed with tools which include a continuous performance test (CPT of vigilance and focused attention. CPTs are particularly useful in titrating medication due to the absence of practice effects. In the present work, a CPT test was employed to assess progress with EEG biofeedback training for 408 children and 122 adults referred for attentional deficits and affective complaints. The training protocol consisted of rewarding enhanced EEG amplitudes at the sensorimotor strip (site C3 or C4) in the 12-18 Hz frequency range, while simultaneously inhibiting excessive low frequency (4-7 Hz) and high-frequency (22-30 Hz) activity Significant improvement was found for measures of inattention, impulsivity and response variability after 20 training sessions, p < .001. Inattention and response variability in particular were restored to the normal range of functioning from pre-training deficit levels (Greenberg,1987). No effect of age or gender was found. Of the 530 subjects, 62 opted to continue training after 20 sessions. Impulse control and response variability was found to improve with additional sessions, p < .01. The extraordinary success rate of EEG biofeedback in remediating attentional problems, in the present and previous studies, suggests that profound effects on neurobiological mechanisms may be responsible for these results.
