Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39747930›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2025

A safety and feasibility randomized placebo controlled trial exploring electroencephalographic effective connectivity neurofeedback treatment for fibromyalgia.

Lucy Anderson, Dirk De Ridder, Paul Glue, Ramakrishnan Mani, Cindy van Sleeuwen, Mark Smith, Divya Bharatkumar Adhia

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 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.

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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
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

7 authors.

Lucy AndersonDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Dirk De RidderDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Paul GlueDepartment of Psychological Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Ramakrishnan ManiSchool of Physiotherapy, Centre for Health, Activity, and Rehabilitation Research, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Cindy van SleeuwenDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Mark SmithNeurofeedback Therapy Services of New York, New York, NY, USA.
Divya Bharatkumar AdhiaDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. divya.adhia@otago.ac.nz.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition contributing to significant disability worldwide. Neuroimaging studies identify abnormal effective connectivity between cortical areas responsible for descending pain modulation (pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, pgACC) and sensory components of pain experience (primary somatosensory cortex, S1). Neurofeedback, a brain-computer interface technique, can normalise dysfunctional brain activity, thereby improving pain and function. This study evaluates the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of a novel electroencephalography-based neurofeedback training, targeting effective alpha-band connectivity from the pgACC to S1 and exploring its effect on pain and function. Participants with fibromyalgia (N = 30; 15 = active, 15 = placebo) received 12 sessions of neurofeedback. Feasibility and outcome measures of pain (Brief Pain Inventory) and function (Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) were collected at baseline and immediately, ten-days, and one-month post-intervention. Descriptive statistics demonstrate effective connectivity neurofeedback training is feasible (recruitment rate: 6 participants per-month, mean adherence: 80.5%, dropout rate: 20%), safe (no adverse events) and highly acceptable (average 8.0/10) treatment approach for fibromyalgia. Active and placebo groups were comparable in their decrease in pain and functional impact. Future fully powered clinical trial is warranted to test the efficacy of the effective connectivity neurofeedback training in people with fibromyalgia with versus without chronic fatigue.

Indexed as

ElectroencephalographyFeasibility StudiesFibromyalgiaNeurofeedbackAdultChronic PainFemaleGyrus CinguliHumansMaleMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeBrain computer interfaceFibromyalgiaNeurofeedbackPain

Identifiers

PMID39747930
PMCPMC11696880

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.