Trial reportBrain and behavior2025
Can EEG-Neurofeedback Training Enhance Effective Connectivity in People With Chronic Secondary Musculoskeletal Pain? A Secondary Analysis of a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.
Trial report in Brain and behavior, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Neurofeedback Training for Managing Neuropathic Pain-Like Features in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Protocol for an Open-Label Pilot Feasibility Clinical Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Pain in Osteoporosis: Current and Future Strategies.Drugs & aging · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionPersistent musculoskeletal pain is associated with altered functional and effective connectivity (EC) between cortical regions involved in pain processing. Especially, disruptions in the infraslow fluctuation (ISF) frequency band can contribute to pain persistence. ISF electroencephalography-neurofeedback (EEG-NF) has emerged as a potential non-invasive neuromodulatory intervention targeting cortical brain regions to restore balance and modulate pain-related pathways. However, limited research explores its effect on EC, a measure of directional information flow critical to pain experience and modulation.
methodsA secondary analysis was performed using data from a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled feasibility clinical trial. Participants with chronic painful knee osteoarthritis (OA) were randomized to receive either ISF-NF or sham-NF. Nine neurofeedback sessions targeted the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and bilateral primary somatosensory cortex (SSC: S1Lt & S1Rt). EEG data was collected at baseline and post-intervention. Granger causality was used to measure EC changes, and between-group statistical analyses were conducted with adjustments for multiple comparisons.
resultsTwenty-one participants (mean age: 61.7 ± 7.6 years; 62% female) completed the study. ISF-NF training significantly improved EC between pgACC and dACC, pgACC and SSC, and other targeted regions, while reducing EC from S1Rt to dACC. Changes were observed predominantly in the ISF frequency band, indicating enhanced cortical communication and modulation of pain pathways.
conclusionISF-NF training enhanced EC in cortical regions implicated in pain processing, supporting its potential as a neuromodulatory intervention for chronic musculoskeletal pain. Further trials are needed to confirm clinical efficacy and optimize protocol designs.
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