Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle randomly assigned 37 adults with spinal-cord injury and chronic pain to receive 10 sessions of self-hypnosis (HYP) or EMG biofeedback relaxation (BIO) training for pain management. Participants in both treatment conditions reported substantial, but similar, decreases in pain intensity from before to after the treatment sessions.

Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School reviewed the evidence on the efficacy of biofeedback for the two most prevalent headache conditions--migraine and tension-type headache.

Two recently published meta-analyses yielded data from 150 outcome studies - randomized controlled trials as well as uncontrolled quasi-experimental designs. Of these, 94 studies were selected for inclusion, going by predefined criteria. Meta-analytic integrations were carried out separately for the two conditions of interest.

A review and meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of biofeedback on tension headaches was undertaken by researchers at Philipps-University of Marburg in Marburg, Germany.

A literature search identified 74 outcome studies, of which 53 were selected according to predefined inclusion criteria. Meta-analytic integration resulted in a significant medium-to-large effect size (d = 0.73; 95% confidence interval = 0.61, 0.84) that proved stable over an average follow-up phase of 15 months.

Biofeedback was found to be more effective than headache monitoring, placebo, and relaxation therapy conditions.  The strongest improvements resulted for frequency of headache episodes.  Further significant effects were observed for muscle tension, self-efficacy, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and analgesic medication.

Most effective of all was biofeedback in combination with relaxation. Effects were particularly large in children and adolescents. The review concluded that biofeedback constitutes an effective, evidence-based treatment option for tension-type headache.

A review of the research literature reports that electroencephalogram (EEG) biofeedback, also known as neurofeedback, is a promising intervention for patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, comparable in efficacy to stimulant medications.

Researchers from Washington State Toxicology Laboratory reviewed the literature on Electroencephalogram (EEG) biofeedback, also known as neurofeedback, to assess its promise as an alternative treatment for patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). (EEG biofeedback therapy rewards scalp EEG frequencies that are associated with relaxed attention, and suppresses frequencies associated with under- or over-arousal.)

This review reports that in large-scale clinical trials, the efficacy of EEG biofeedback for AD/HD is comparable to that of stimulant medications. Many different EEG biofeedback protocols for AD/HD are available. In particular, single-channel protocols developed by Lubar and inter-hemispheric protocols developed by the Othmers are widely practiced and supported by large-scale clinical studies.

Citation: Friel PN. EEG biofeedback in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Alternative Medicine Review. 2007 Jun; 12 (2): pages 146-51. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Investigators from Philipps-University of Marburg in Germany did a meta-analysis of the efficacy of biofeedback (BFB) in treating migraine. A computerized literature search of the databases Medline, PsycInfo, Psyndex and the Cochrane library, enhanced by a hand search, identified 86 outcome studies, of which 55 studies met the inclusion criteria.

Another new study, this one using neuro-imaging out of the University of Montreal, shows that neurofeedback is very likely highly effective in helping children with attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) disorder.

Given the fact that neuroimaging studies show abnormal functioning of the anterior cingulate cortex in those with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) during tasks involving selective attention, researchers at the University of Montreal conducted a randomized, controlled pilot study to examine whether neurofeedback training (NFT) could significantly improve cognitive functioning in children with ADHD.

They devised a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to measure the effect of NFT on the neural substrates of selective attention in children with AD/HD. Twenty AD/HD children, who were not taking any psychostimulant drugs participated to the study.

Researchers at the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences in Uttaranchal, India find in a randomized, controlled trial that biofeedback-assisted diaphramgmatic breathing plus systematic relaxation yields greater longterm benefits for migraine sufferers than propanalol..

Researchers at the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences in Uttaranchal, India, evaluated the effectiveness of biofeedback assisted diaphragmatic breathing and systematic relaxation for those suffering from migraine. They also compared the longterm benefits of these techniques with those of propranolol.

There were 192 migraine patients who were randomly distributed into two groups. The propranolol group received propranolol 80 mg/day while the biofeedback group received electromyogram (EMG) and temperature biofeedback assisted diaphragmatic breathing and systematic relaxation training, accompanied by home practice for 6 months.