title: Neurofeedback and traumatic brain injury: a literature review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback whereby a patient can learn to control measurements of brain activity such as those recorded by an electroencephalogram. It has been explored as a treatment for sequelae of traumatic brain injury, although the use of neurofeedback remains outside the realm of routine clinical practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Google Scholar™ was used to find 22 examples of primary research. Measures of symptom improvement, neuropsychological testing, and changes in subjects' quantitative electroencephalogram were included in the analysis. A single reviewer classified each study according to a rubric devised by 2 societies dedicated to neurofeedback research.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All studies demonstrated positive findings, in that neurofeedback led to improvement in measures of impairment, whether subjective, objective, or both. However, placebo-controlled studies were lacking, some reports omitted important details, and study designs differed to the point where effect size could not be calculated quantitatively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neurofeedback is a promising treatment that warrants double-blind, placebo-controlled studies to determine its potential role in the treatment of traumatic brain injury. Clinicians can advise that some patients report improvement in a wide range of neuropsychiatric symptoms after undergoing neurofeedback, although the treatment remains experimental, with no standard methodology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA. E-mail: gmay@med.wayne.edu.
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: Randall
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balon
authors.forename: Nash
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boutros
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D058765:Neurofeedback / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome