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A Pilot Study of Neurofeedback for Chronic PTSD

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Abstract

EEG Biofeedback (also known as neurofeedback) has been in use as a clinical intervention for well over 30 years; however, it has made very little impact on clinical care. One reason for this has been the difficulty in designing research to measure clinical change in the real world. While substantial evidence exists for its efficacy in treating attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, relatively little evidence exists for its utility in other disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study represents a “proof-of-concept” pilot for the use of neurofeedback with multiply-traumatized individuals with treatment-resistant PTSD. Participants completed 40 sessions of neurofeedback training two times per week with sensors randomly assigned (by the study coordinator, who was not blind to condition) to sensor placements of either T4-P4 or T3-T4. We found that neurofeedback significantly reduced PTSD symptoms (Davidson Trauma Scale scores averaged 69.14 at baseline to 49.26 at termination), and preceded gains in affect regulation (Inventory of Altered Self-Capacities-Affect Dysregulation scores averaged 23.63 at baseline to 17.20 at termination). We discuss a roadmap for future research.

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Notes

  1. Because the natural-log of zero is undefined, the transformed variable was calculated by takin the natural log of our time variable plus one. The natural-log of 1 is zero; therefore, the intercept for the natural-log model represented outcome levels at the first assessment.

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Acknowledgments

Richard Jacobson, Ilya Yacevich, Regina Musicaro, Marla Zucker Ph.D., Hilary Hogdon Ph.D., Janice Stubblefield. This study was supported by a Grant from the ANS Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute (JRI), 1269 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA, 02446, USA

    Mark Gapen, Bessel A. van der Kolk & Joseph Spinazzola

  2. Community Services Institute, Inc., 1695 Main St, Springfield, MA, 01103, USA

    Mark Gapen

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Bessel A. van der Kolk

  4. National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Durham, NC, USA

    Bessel A. van der Kolk & Joseph Spinazzola

  5. Center for the Advancement of Human Potential, Institute for Applied Neuroscience, 31 College Place, Building B, Suite 218, Asheville, NC, 28801, USA

    Ed. Hamlin

  6. Department of Psychology, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA

    Ed. Hamlin

  7. Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Medical School, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Ed. Hamlin

  8. National Center for PTSD, Boston, MA, USA

    Michael Suvak

  9. Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA, USA

    Michael Suvak

  10. The NeuroDevelopment Center, Providence, RI, USA

    Laurence Hirshberg

  11. Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Laurence Hirshberg

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  1. Mark Gapen
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  2. Bessel A. van der Kolk
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  3. Ed. Hamlin
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  4. Laurence Hirshberg
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  5. Michael Suvak
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  6. Joseph Spinazzola
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Correspondence to Mark Gapen.

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Gapen, M., van der Kolk, B.A., Hamlin, E. et al. A Pilot Study of Neurofeedback for Chronic PTSD. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 41, 251–261 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-015-9326-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-015-9326-5

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