Abstract
Background: Successful adaptation to our environment requires the ability to selectively attend to relevant stimuli while filtering out those that are irrelevant. Impairments in this selective processing are characteristic of many psychiatric disorders. Neurofeedback offers a promising approach for addressing deficits in attentional processing.
Objective: This study aimed to test the hypothesis that enhancing sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) activity improves attentional processing in healthy individuals (N = 50), and to investigate the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms supporting this effect.
Methods: Participants were randomly assigned either to the neurofeedback group receiving SMR neurofeedback training, in which they learned to voluntarily increase their sensorimotor activity within the 12-15Hz frequency range, or to the placebo-feedback group receiving sham feedback. Attentional processing and its neural correlates were assessed through a bimodal Oddball task before (T0) and after (T1) 10 neurofeedback sessions, through the recording of event-related potentials (ERPs). Data were analyzed using ANOVAs.
Results: Compared to the placebo group, the active neurofeedback group demonstrated a higher absolute SMR (p=0.040, d = 0.58) and Beta power (p=0.036, d = 0.58). In addition, they demonstrated a larger amplitude of the P3b component (p=0.044, η2p = 0.08).
Conclusion: Participants who demonstrated an increase in SMR power following neurofeedback training also showed an increase in the neural resources recruited for attentional processing. These findings suggest that protocols enhancing SMR may benefit cognitive rehabilitation strategies for disorders involving deficits in selective attentional processing.
Authors
Dousset, C., Wyckmans, F., Monseigne, T., Sistiaga, S., Ingels, A., Kajosch, H., & Campanella, S. (2025)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121608