Effect of Neurofeedback on Brain Functional Connectivity in Adult ADHD Patients: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) appears with symptoms such as inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. ADHD is most common in childhood, but its consequences may continue into adulthood. There are several treatments for ADHD. A non-pharmacological method is to use neurofeedback therapy. Neurofeedback is a biofeedback in which an EEG signal is recorded from a person's brain and given to a processor. The processed signal is fed back to the person in various ways such as image or sound, and the person is taught a kind of self-regulation. In this study, we investigated the effect of neurofeedback on brain functional connectivity in ADHD patients using resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI) data. We used the rs-fMRI data of adult ADHD patients before and after neurofeedback treatment. After preprocessing, we analyzed the data using Independent Component Analysis (ICA), and compared brain functional connectivity before and after neurofeedback treatment. Using a two-tailed paired t-test, we showed that 20 sessions of neurofeedback in adults with ADHD generated significant changes in their brain functional connectivity.