Abstract
Neurofeedback through visual, auditory, or tactile sensations improves cognitive functions and alters the activities of daily living. However, some people, such as children and the elderly, have difficulty concentrating on neurofeedback for a long time. Constant stressless neurofeedback for a long time may be achieved with auditory neurofeedback using music. The primary purpose of this study was to clarify whether music-based auditory neurofeedback increases the power of the alpha wave in healthy subjects. During neurofeedback, white noise was superimposed on classical music, with the noise level inversely correlating with normalized alpha wave power. This was a single-blind, randomized control crossover trial in which 10 healthy subjects underwent, in an assigned order, normal and random feedback (NF and RF), either of which was at least 4 weeks long. Cognitive functions were evaluated before, between, and after each neurofeedback period. The secondary purpose was to assess neurofeedback-induced changes in cognitive functions. A crossover analysis showed that normalized alpha-power was significantly higher in NF than in RF; therefore, music-based auditory neurofeedback facilitated alpha wave induction. A composite category-based analysis of cognitive functions revealed greater improvements in short-term memory in subjects whose alpha-power increased in response to NF. The present study employed a long period of auditory alpha neurofeedback and achieved successful alpha wave induction and subsequent improvements in cognitive functions. Although this was a pilot study that validated a music-based alpha neurofeedback system for healthy subjects, the results obtained are encouraging for those with difficulty in concentrating on conventional alpha neurofeedback.Trial registration: 2018077NI, date of registration: 2018/11/27
Highlights
Neurofeedback is a method to self-regulate brain function by measuring brain activity and presenting it to subjects
Verification of Alpha Wave Neurofeedback nAP is normalized alpha-power calculated every three seconds based on the corresponding calibration data
A crossover analysis revealed that normalized alpha-power was significantly higher in normal feedback (NF) than in random feedback (RF)
Summary
Neurofeedback is a method to self-regulate brain function by measuring brain activity and presenting it to subjects. One of the most widely utilized methods of neurofeedback involves the alpha wave from EEG (Yeh et al, 2020). The augmentation of alpha waves by neurofeedback may mitigate the symptoms of psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression (Markiewcz, 2017; Schoenberg & David, 2014; Schönenberg et al, 2017). An increasing number of studies have reported the usefulness of alpha wave feedback in patients with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and emphasized its importance in clinical settings (Lofthouse et al, 2012). Previous studies mostly adopted a neurofeedback protocol in which the amplitude of alpha wave power was visually presented
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