ReviewFrontiers in human neuroscience2016
The Do's and Don'ts of Neurofeedback Training: A Review of the Controlled Studies Using Healthy Adults.
Review in Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Efficacy of Virtual Reality-Based EEG Neurofeedback in Health-Related Symptoms Relief: A Systematic Review.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2025Pooled it
- EEG-neurofeedback and executive function enhancement in healthy adults: A systematic review.Psychophysiology · 2021Pooled it
- Neurofeedback for Pain Management: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2020Pooled it
- Amygdala Modulation During Emotion Regulation Training With fMRI-Based Neurofeedback.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2019Pooled it
- The potential of real-time fMRI neurofeedback for stroke rehabilitation: A systematic review.Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · 2018Pooled it
- Volitional modulation of beta-band EMG coherence through frequency-specific neurofeedback.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Closed-Loop Infraslow Brain-Computer Interface can Modulate Cortical Activity and Connectivity in Individuals With Chronic Painful Knee Osteoarthritis: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.Clinical EEG and neuroscience · 2025Trial
- Impact of Mobile Neurofeedback on Internet Addiction and Neurocognitive Function in Neurotypical Children: Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2024Trial
- Neural and behavioral adaptations to frontal theta neurofeedback training: A proof of concept study.PloS one · 2023Trial
- Attention neuroenhancement through tDCS or neurofeedback: a randomized, single-blind, controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Cognitive Training with Neurofeedback Using fNIRS Improves Cognitive Function in Older Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Musical Auditory Alpha Wave Neurofeedback: Validation and Cognitive Perspectives.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2021Trial
- Power Spectral Density and Functional Connectivity Changes due to a Sensorimotor Neurofeedback Training: A Preliminary Study.Neural plasticity · 2019Trial
- Frontal brain activity and cognitive processing speed in multiple sclerosis: An exploration of EEG neurofeedback training.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2019Trial
- The Cybathlon BCI race: Successful longitudinal mutual learning with two tetraplegic users.PLoS biology · 2018Trial
- Low-beta frequency band neurofeedback training: effects on attentional orientation, executive control, and underlying neural mechanisms.Behavioral and brain functions : BBF · 2026Article
- Alpha power increases spontaneously during a neurofeedback session.Communications psychology · 2026Article
- Spontaneous Modulation of Alpha Power During a Neurofeedback Session Without Instructions.Psychophysiology · 2026Article
- Neurofeedback: Applications, advancements, and future directions.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Review
- Lower limb motor effects of DBS neurofeedback in Parkinson's disease assessed through IMU-based UPDRS movement quality metrics.Scientific reports · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The goal of EEG neurofeedback (EEG-NFB) training is to induce changes in the power of targeted EEG bands to produce beneficial changes in cognitive or motor function. The effectiveness of different EEG-NFB protocols can be measured using two dependent variables: (1) changes in EEG activity and (2) behavioral changes of a targeted function (for therapeutic applications the desired changes should be long-lasting). To firmly establish a causal link between these variables and the selected protocol, similar changes should not be observed when appropriate control paradigms are used. The main objective of this review is to evaluate the evidence, reported in the scientific literature, which supports the validity of various EEG-NFB protocols. Our primary concern is to highlight the role that uncontrolled nonspecific factors can play in the results generated from EEG-NFB studies. Nonspecific factors are often ignored in EEG-NFB designs or the data are not presented, which means conclusions should be interpreted cautiously. As an outcome of this review we present a do's and don'ts list, which can be used to develop future EEG-NFB methodologies, based on the small set of experiments in which the proper control groups have excluded non-EEG-NFB related effects. We found two features which positively correlated with the expected changes in power of the trained EEG band(s): (1) protocols which focused on training a smaller number of frequency bands and (2) a bigger number of electrodes used for neurofeedback training. However, we did not find evidence in support of the positive relationship between power changes of a trained frequency band(s) and specific behavioral effects.
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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.