Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37459978›Full record

Trial reportJournal of affective disorders2023

Enhanced efficacy of CBT following augmentation with amygdala rtfMRI neurofeedback in depression.

Laurie Compère, Greg J Siegle, Emily Riley, Sair Lazzaro, Marlene Strege, Elizabeth Pacoe, Gia Canovali, Scott Barb, Theodore Huppert, Kymberly Young

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of affective disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. 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
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Neurofeedback in Major Depression.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Effectiveness of fMRI-based Neurofeedback Therapy on Depression: A Systematic Review.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Bioethical and critical consciousness in clinical translational neuroscience.Journal of clinical and translational science · 2025
    Review
  9. Neurofeedback: new territories and neurocognitive mechanisms of endogenous neuromodulation.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024
    Article
  10. Translation of monosynaptic circuits underlying amygdala fMRI neurofeedback training.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Article
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

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Laurie CompèreDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Greg J SiegleDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Emily RileyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Sair LazzaroDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Marlene StregeDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Elizabeth PacoeDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Gia CanovaliDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Scott BarbDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Theodore HuppertDepartment of Radiology and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, 300 Technology Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Kymberly YoungDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. Electronic address: youngk@pitt.edu.
University of Pittsburgh · US

Funding

Effects of Amygdala Neurofeedback on Depressive Symptoms and Processing BiasesR00MH101235 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI YOUNG, KYM · 2016 to 2018
$727k
NIMH NIH HHS R00 MH101235
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) being a standard treatment in major depressive disorder (MDD), nearly half of patients do not respond. As one of the predictors of CBT's efficacy is amygdala reactivity to positive information, which is often decreased in MDD, we explored whether real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rtfMRI-nf) training to increase amygdala responses during positive memory recall prior CBT would enhance its efficacy.

methodsIn a double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial, 35 adults with MDD received two sessions of rtfMRI-nf training to increase their amygdala (experimental group, n = 16) or parietal (control group, n = 19) responses during positive memory neurofeedback prior to receiving 10 CBT sessions. Depressive symptomatology was monitored between the rtfMRI sessions, the first three, 9th and 10th sessions of CBT and at 6 months and 1 year follow-up.

resultsParticipants in the experimental group showed decreased depressive symptomatology and higher remission rates at 6 months and 1 year follow-up than the control group. Analysis of CBT content highlighted that participants in the experimental group focused more on positive thinking and behaviors than the control group. LIMITATIONS: The study was relatively small and not sufficiently powered to detect small effects.

conclusionsCBT, when combined with amygdala neurofeedback, results in sustained clinical changes and leads to long-lasting clinical improvement, potentially by increasing focus on positive memories and cognitions.

Indexed as

Major Depressive DisorderNeurofeedbackAdultAmygdalaDepressionHumansImage Processing, Computer-AssistedMagnetic Resonance ImagingAmygdalaAutobiographical memoryCognitive behavioral therapyEmotion: fMRI neurofeedback: Major depressive disorder

Identifiers

PMID37459978
PMCPMC10530481
OpenAlexW4384470968

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.