ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2008) — Research on autistic
spectrum disorder (ASD) shows that neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback)
can remediate anomalies in brain activation, leading to symptom
reduction and functional improvement. This evidence raises the hopes
for a behavioral, psychophysiological intervention moderating the
severity of ASD.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized
by a lack of appropriate eye contact, facial expression, social
interaction, communication, and restricted repetitive behavior.
ASD represents a group of disorders, including Autism, PDD-nos,
Rett’s Disorder, Child Disintegrative Disorder, and Asperger’s
Disorder. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2006)
reported the prevalence of ASD as 2 to 6 per 1,000.
Research has shown that related symptoms of ASD are
the result of brain dysfunction in multiple brain regions. Functional
neuroimaging and electroencephalography research have shown this
to be related to abnormal neural connectivity problems. The brains
of individuals with ASD show areas of both excessively high connectivity
and deficient connectivity. In other words, some areas of the brain
are chatting excessively with themselves, while failing to communicate
normally with other relevant regions.
In one 2006 study using connectivity-guided neurofeedback,
pre-post analyses showed a 40 percent reduction in autistic symptoms,
enhancement of function between the brain and behavior, and reduction
of hyperconnectivity. These results begin to verify the theory that
interhemispheric, bipolar neurofeedback montages can lead to reduction
in hyperconnectivity based on the reward band trained.
Neurofeedback seems capable of remediating connectivity
disturbances when these data are considered as part of treatment
planning. Connectivity-guided neurofeedback is capable of significantly
remedying these anomalies and reducing autistic symptoms. Hyperconnectivity
seen in patients with ASD can be remedied with coherence training
and other neurofeedback approaches.
The research is reviewed in a new article published
in Biofeedback.
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