title: Maintenance of Voluntary Self-regulation Learned through Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback.
abstract: Neurofeedback based on real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an emerging technique that allows for learning voluntary control over brain activity. Such brain training has been shown to cause specific behavioral or cognitive enhancements, and even therapeutic effects in neurological and psychiatric patient populations. However, for clinical applications it is important to know if learned self-regulation can be maintained over longer periods of time and whether it transfers to situations without neurofeedback. Here, we present preliminary results from five healthy participants who successfully learned to control their visual cortex activity and who we re-scanned 6 and 14 months after the initial neurofeedback training to perform learned self-regulation. We found that participants achieved levels of self-regulation that were similar to those achieved at the end of the successful initial training, and this without further neurofeedback information. Our results demonstrate that learned self-regulation can be maintained over longer periods of time and causes lasting transfer effects. They thus support the notion that neurofeedback is a promising therapeutic approach whose effects can last far beyond the actual training period.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical CenterGeneva, Switzerland; Geneva Neuroscience CenterGeneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Robineau
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, CIBM, University of GenevaGeneva, Switzerland; Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanne, Switzerland; Institute of Mathematics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Djalel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Meskaldji
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, CIBM, University of GenevaGeneva, Switzerland; Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanne, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New HavenCT, USA.
authors.forename: Yury
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koush
authors.affiliation: Geneva Neuroscience CenterGeneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective SciencesGeneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sebastian W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Rieger
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mermoud
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mathematics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morgenthaler
authors.affiliation: Geneva Neuroscience CenterGeneva, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, CIBM, University of GenevaGeneva, Switzerland; Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Dimitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Van De Ville
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical CenterGeneva, Switzerland; Geneva Neuroscience CenterGeneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective SciencesGeneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Patrik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vuilleumier
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric University Hospital, University of Zurich, ZürichSwitzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, ZürichSwitzerland; Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich, ZürichSwitzerland.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scharnowski
keywords: brain training; maintenance; neurofeedback; real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); self-regulation; visual attention; visual imagery