Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25566028›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in human neuroscience2014

Tuning pathological brain oscillations with neurofeedback: a systems neuroscience framework.

Tomas Ros, Bernard J Baars, Ruth A Lanius, Patrik Vuilleumier

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05456958 (Self-regulation of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 98 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
98citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05456958 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Self-regulation of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Neurocircuitry Using Multiple Sessions of Real-Time Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (RtfMRI)

TypeinterventionalSponsorAndrew NicholsonRan2023 to 2025Enrolled60ConditionsPost Traumatic Stress DisorderArmsMRI Biofeedback, Sham-MRI Biofeedback
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

98 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Psilocybin-assisted neurofeedback for the improvement of executive functions: a randomized semi-naturalistic-lab feasibility study.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024
    Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Neurofeedback for functional neurological disorders: future directions for research and clinical practice.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026
    Review
  15. Review
  16. [Research on auditory neurofeedback technology and its multi-disciplinary applications].Sheng wu yi xue gong cheng xue za zhi = Journal of biomedical engineering = Shengwu yixue gongchengxue zazhi · 2026
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

38 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Tomas RosLaboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neurosciences, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
Bernard J BaarsTheoretical Neurobiology, The Neurosciences Institute La Jolla, CA, USA.
Ruth A LaniusDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario London, ON, Canada.
Patrik VuilleumierLaboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neurosciences, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Neurofeedback (NFB) is emerging as a promising technique that enables self-regulation of ongoing brain oscillations. However, despite a rise in empirical evidence attesting to its clinical benefits, a solid theoretical basis is still lacking on the manner in which NFB is able to achieve these outcomes. The present work attempts to bring together various concepts from neurobiology, engineering, and dynamical systems so as to propose a contemporary theoretical framework for the mechanistic effects of NFB. The objective is to provide a firmly neurophysiological account of NFB, which goes beyond traditional behaviorist interpretations that attempt to explain psychological processes solely from a descriptive standpoint whilst treating the brain as a "black box". To this end, we interlink evidence from experimental findings that encompass a broad range of intrinsic brain phenomena: starting from "bottom-up" mechanisms of neural synchronization, followed by "top-down" regulation of internal brain states, moving to dynamical systems plus control-theoretic principles, and concluding with activity-dependent as well as homeostatic forms of brain plasticity. In support of our framework, we examine the effects of NFB in several brain disorders, including attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In sum, it is argued that pathological oscillations emerge from an abnormal formation of brain-state attractor landscape(s). The central thesis put forward is that NFB tunes brain oscillations toward a homeostatic set-point which affords an optimal balance between network flexibility and stability (i.e., self-organised criticality (SOC)).

Indexed as

brain computer interface (BCI)brain disordersbrain plasticitycriticalityelectroencephalography (EEG)magnetoencephalography (MEG)neurofeedbackneuromodulation

Identifiers

PMID25566028
PMCPMC4270171

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.