Skip to main content
find a provider
neurofeedback Research

Learning Disorders

Review Papers

Electroencephalogram Biofeedback for Reading Disability and Traumatic Brain Injury [pdf]
by Thornton KE Ph.D. and Carmody DP Ph.D.

ABSTRACT
Reading disabilities present major challenges to the educational system. The estimated prevalence rate for learning disabilities is 15% of the student population, with 6.5 million children requiring special education in 2002. Approximately 63% of these special education children have specific learning disabilities or speech and language problems without a concomitant physical disability. Between 28% and 43% of inmates in adult correctional facilities require special education (versus 5% in normal population), and 82% of prison inmates in the United States are school dropouts.


Research Papers

Post WISC-R and TOVA improvement with QEEG guided neurofeedback training in mentally retarded: a clinical case series of behavioral problems [abs.]
by Surmeli T, Ertem A.

ABSTRACT
According to the DSM-IV, Mental Retardation is significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning accompanied by significant limitations in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, use of community resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work, leisure, health and safety. In pilot work, we have seen positive clinical effects of Neurofeedback (NF) applied to children with Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome) and other forms of mental retardation. Given that many clinicians use NF in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Generalized Learning Disability cases, we studied the outcomes of a clinical case series using Quantitative EEG (QEEG) guided NF in the treatment of mental retardation. This study provides the first evidence for positive effects of NF treatment in mental retardation. The results of this study encourage further research. (Clin EEG Neurosci. 2010 Jan;41(1):32-41.)


Effect of SMR-Beta Training on Neurocognitive Performance
by Kaiser D Ph.D.

ABSTRACT
One-hundred and two school-aged children (28 female, 74 male) with attentional problems (impulsive, inattentive, and/or hyperactive) participated in this study. Thirty-two were clearly diagnosed with ADHD/ADD. Mean age was 9.7 y, with a range from 6 to 14 years of age. Characteristically, the intake criteria were generous. Nearly half of the children exhibited learning disabilities, Conduct Disorder, or ODD comorbid conditions.


Neurofeedback for Elementary Students with Identified Learning Problems
by Orlando PC Ph.D. and Rivera RO B.S.

ABSTRACT
The goal of this research was to ascertain whether basic reading, reading comprehension, the reading composite, and IQ scores could be improved using neurofeedback. Pre-test and post-test reading and cognitive assessments were administered to sixth, seventh and eighth graders identified as having learning problems. Control and experimental groups were chosen at random.


EEG and Behavioral Changes Following Neurofeedback Treatment in Learning Disabled Children [abs.]
by Fernández T, Herrera W, Harmony T, Díaz-Comas L, Santiago E, Sánchez L, Bosch J, Fernández-Bouzas A, Otero G, Ricardo-Garcell J, Barraza C, Aubert E, Galán L, Valdés R

ABSTRACT
Neurofeedback (NFB) is an operant conditioning procedure, by which the subject learns to control his/her EEG activity. On one hand, Learning Disabled (LD) children have higher values of theta EEG absolute and relative power than normal children, and on the other hand, it has been shown that minimum alpha absolute power is necessary for adequate performance.


Facilitation of Performance on an Arithmetic Task as a Result of the Application of a Biofeedback Procedure to Suppress Alpha Wave Activity [abs.]
by Jackson GM and Eberly DA

ABSTRACT
An electroencephalographic (EEG) biofeedback procedure was used in a pilot study to decrease the percent of time in alpha wave activity with five mentally retarded adults while engaged in an arithmetic test.


Operant Conditioning of Left-Hemispheric Slow Cortical Potentials and Its Effect on Word Processing [abs.]
by Pulvermüller F, Mohr B, Schleichert H, Veit R

ABSTRACT
An electroencephalographic (EEG) biofeedback procedure was used in a pilot study to decrease the percent of time in alpha wave activity with five mentally retarded adults while engaged in an arithmetic test.


EEG Sensorimotor Rhythm Biofeedback Training: Some Effects on the Neurologic Precursors of Learning Disabilities [abs.]
by Tansey MA

ABSTRACT
This study presents a clinical treatment regime for pathological interhemispheric dysfunction with respect to a population of learning disabled boys. The results obtained replicate and extend earlier findings with respect to operantly conditioned increases in amplitude of sensorimotor transactions and its positive effect on learning disability.


EMG and EEG Biofeedback Training in the Treatment of a 10-year-old Hyperactive Boy with a Developmental Reading Disorder [abs.]
by Tansey MA and Bruner RL

ABSTRACT
The serial application of electromyographic (EMG) and sensorimotor (SMR) biofeedback training was attempted with a 10-year-old boy presenting a triad of symptoms: an attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, developmental reading disorder, and ocular instability. Symptom elimination was achieved, for all three aspects of the triad, following the procedure of first conditioning a decrease in EMG-monitored muscle tension and then conditioning increases in the amplitude of sensorimotor rhythm over the Rolandic cortex.


The Effect of Training Distinct Neurofeedback Protocols on Aspects of Cognitive Performance [abs.]
by Vernon D, Egner T, Cooper N, Compton T, Neilands C, Sheri A, Gruzelier J

ABSTRACT
The use of neurofeedback as an operant conditioning paradigm has disclosed that participants are able to gain some control over particular aspects of their electroencephalogram (EEG). Based on the association between theta activity (4-7 Hz) and working memory performance, and sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) activity (12-15 Hz) and attentional processing, we investigated the possibility that training healthy individuals to enhance either of these frequencies would specifically influence a particular aspect of cognitive performance, relative to a non-neurofeedback control-group.


Recent Research

Mind over chatter: Plastic up-regulation of the fMRI salience network directly after EEG neurofeedback.
Ros T, Théberge J, Frewen PA, Kluetsch R, Densmore M, Calhoun VD, and Lanius RA
NeuroImage, 65, 2013, pp 324-35

Improving Visual Perception through Neurofeedback.
Scharnowski F, Hutton C, Josephs O, Weiskopf N, and Rees G
Journal of Neuroscience, 32, 2012, pp 17830-41

The effectiveness of neurofeedback training on EEG coherence and neuropsychological functions in children with reading disability.
Nazari MA, Mosanezhad E, Hashemi T, and Jahan A
Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, 43, 2012, pp 315-22

Self-regulation of brain oscillations as a treatment for aberrant brain connections in children with autism.
Pineda JA, Juavinett A, and Datko M
Medical Hypotheses, 79, 2012, pp 790-8

Evidence-based information on the clinical use of neurofeedback for ADHD.
Moriyama TS, Polanczyk G, Caye A, Banaschewski T, Brandeis D, and Rohde LA
Neurotherapeutics, 9, 2012, pp 588-98

Current status of neurofeedback for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Lofthouse N, Arnold LE, and Hurt E
Current Psychiatry Reports, 14, 2012, pp 536-42

Individual alpha neurofeedback training effect on short term memory.
Nan W, Rodrigues JP, Ma J, Qu X, Wan F, Mak PI, Mak PU, Vai MI, and Rosa A
International Journal of Psychophysiology, 86, 2012, pp 83-7

Neurotherapy of traumatic brain injury/posttraumatic stress symptoms in OEF/OIF veterans.
Nelson DV, and Esty ML
Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 24, 2012, pp 237-40

Schizophrenia and the efficacy of qEEG-guided neurofeedback treatment: a clinical case series.
Surmeli T, Ertem A, Eralp E, and Kos IH
Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, 43, 2012, pp 133-44

Which attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder children will be improved through neurofeedback therapy?
Ahmadlou M, Rostami R, and Sadeghi V
Neuroscience Letters, 516, 2012, pp 156-60

Neurofeedback in children with ADHD: validation and challenges.
Gevensleben H, Rothenberger A, Moll GH, and Heinrich H
Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 12, 2012, pp 447-60

Taking back the brain: could neurofeedback training be effective for relieving distressing auditory verbal hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia?
McCarthy-Jones S
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38, 2012, pp 678-82

A review of neurofeedback treatment for pediatric ADHD.
Lofthouse N, Arnold LE, Hersch S, Hurt E, and DeBeus R
Journal of Attention Disorders, 16, 2012, pp 351-72