TUESDAY, Feb. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Children receiving in-school computer attention training for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have greater improvements with neurofeedback rather than cognitive training (CT), according to research published online Feb. 17 in Pediatrics.
Naomi J. Steiner, M.D., of The Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues randomly assigned 104 children, aged 7 to 11 years, with ADHD to receive neurofeedback, CT, or a control condition, in conjunction with in-school computer attention training.
The researchers found that, at six months postintervention, children receiving neurofeedback, compared with CT or the control condition, continued to have significantly greater gains on the Conners 3-Parent Assessment Report. These gains included changes in inattention, executive functioning, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Parent Form subscales. At six months, children receiving neurofeedback maintained the same dosage of stimulant medication, while children receiving CT or the control condition had dosage increases of 9 mg (P = 0.002) and 13 mg (P < 0.001), respectively.
"Neurofeedback participants made more prompt and greater improvements in ADHD symptoms, which were sustained at the six-month follow-up, than did CT participants or those in the control group," the authors write. "This finding suggests that neurofeedback is a promising attention training treatment for children with ADHD."
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
