Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback that uses a person own brain electrical activity, usually measured with electroencephalography, to reinforce particular mental states through operant conditioning, and it is used as a non invasive form of neurotherapy. Real time visual or auditory feedback about brain activity is given to the person, and over repeated sessions this is meant to help them learn to regulate their own brain function. Its roots trace to Edward Thorndike's 1898 law of effect and Hans Berger's 1924 work detecting brain electrical activity by EEG, with Joe Kamiya reporting the first neurofeedback study in 1962 and M. Barry Sterman training cats in 1967 to alter their EEG patterns, incidentally finding that this made the cats more resistant to seizures. Evidence for how well neurofeedback works remains mixed, with research suggesting some reported improvements may reflect placebo effects rather than genuine changes in brain regulation, its effect on ADHD found not to be clinically significant, and its usefulness for depression and post traumatic stress disorder still regarded as uncertain and controversial.