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Perspectives of the ASHA Special... Dec 2023This study aimed to examine the feasibility of telepractice delivery of a treatment package including visual-acoustic biofeedback and motor-based treatment for residual...
PURPOSE
This study aimed to examine the feasibility of telepractice delivery of a treatment package including visual-acoustic biofeedback and motor-based treatment for residual speech sound disorder affecting /ɹ/ in school-age children. The overall study used a single-case randomization design; however, this preliminary report will simply quantify changes in accuracy before and after completion of the treatment package. The present analysis did not differentiate between the relative contributions of biofeedback and motor-based treatments.
METHOD
Seven children aged 9-14 received speech therapy for /ɹ/ distortions via telepractice. The study design consisted of three phases: baseline (four sessions), treatment (20 sessions), and post-treatment (three sessions). Treatment included two sessions weekly for a duration of 10 weeks. The participants received one motor-based/non-biofeedback session and one visual-acoustic biofeedback session per week. The order of treatment within each week was randomly determined prior to the start of therapy. Overall progress was assessed using untrained listeners' ratings of word probes administered in the baseline and posttreatment phases.
RESULTS
Findings revealed that six of the seven participants showed a clinically significant response to the overall treatment package, although the magnitude of individual responses varied across speech contexts (consonantal and vocalic) and participants.
CONCLUSION
The present results suggest that a treatment combining visual-acoustic biofeedback and motor-based treatment for residual /ɹ/ errors treatment can be effectively delivered via telepractice. Considerations for technology setup and treatment protocols are provided.
PubMed: 38764857
DOI: 10.1044/2023_persp-23-00120 -
Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in... 2024Stress management and biofeedback interventions have been shown to be effective in improving mental and physical health outcomes. However, previous research studies and... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Stress management and biofeedback interventions have been shown to be effective in improving mental and physical health outcomes. However, previous research studies and synthesized models for applying these interventions in research utilization are insufficient.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to synthesize a model for applying stress management and biofeedback interventions in research utilization.
METHODS
A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines.Multiple studies were used to assess the effectiveness of applying stress management and biofeedback interventions published from 2017 to 2023. The process included identifying the research questions, conducting a comprehensive literature search, assessing study quality, extracting data, synthesizing the data, analyzing and interpreting the findings, drawing conclusions, and making recommendations.
RESULTS
The results indicated a significant mean effect size without evidence of publication bias. The effect sizes of the subgroups among the study variables were not significantly different [ = 4.02, = .26]. However, there were significant differences regarding the mean effect sizes among the studies [ = 63.59, .001] and also in terms of the test of subgroups among the participants [ = 8.49, .04].
CONCLUSION
The results emphasize the importance of evidence-based practice and highlight the need for ongoing evaluation and refinement of interventions. The proposed model was supported by related theories and research studies in order to ensure the robustness and reliability to guide practice and future research in the field of biofeedback interventions. By following this model, researchers and practitioners can ensure that stress management and biofeedback interventions are evidence-based and are effective in improving mental and physical health outcomes.
PubMed: 38660573
DOI: 10.2174/0117450179276691231229071003 -
Brain Sciences Nov 2023Insomnia, often associated with anxiety and depression, is a prevalent sleep disorder. Biofeedback (BFB) treatment can help patients gain voluntary control over...
Insomnia, often associated with anxiety and depression, is a prevalent sleep disorder. Biofeedback (BFB) treatment can help patients gain voluntary control over physiological events such as by utilizing electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) power. Previous studies have rarely predicted biofeedback efficacy by measuring the changes in relative EEG power; therefore, we investigated the clinical efficacy of biofeedback for insomnia and its potential neural mechanisms. We administered biofeedback to 82 patients with insomnia, of whom 68 completed 10 sessions and 14 completed 20 sessions. The average age of the participants was 49.38 ± 12.78 years, with 26 men and 56 women. Each biofeedback session consisted of 5 min of EMG and 30 min of EEG feedback, with 2 min of data recorded before and after the session. Sessions were conducted every other day, and four scale measures were taken before the first, fifth, and tenth sessions and after the twentieth session. After 20 sessions of biofeedback treatment, scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were significantly reduced compared with those before treatment (-5.5 ± 1.43,t = -3.85, = 0.006), and scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) (-7.15 ± 2.43, t = -2.94, = 0.012) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (STAI-S: -12.36 ± 3.40, t = -3.63, = 0.003; and STAI-T: -9.86 ± 2.38, t = -4.41, = 0.001) were significantly lower after treatment than before treatment. Beta and theta power were significantly reduced after treatment, compared with before treatment (F = 6.25, = 0.014; and F = 11.91, = 0.001). Alpha power was increased after treatment, compared with before treatment, but the difference was not prominently significant ( > 0.05). EMG activity was significantly decreased after treatment, compared with before treatment (F = 2.11, = 0.015). Our findings suggest that BFB treatment based on alpha power and prefrontal EMG relieves insomnia as well as anxiety and depression and may be associated with increased alpha power, decreased beta and theta power, and decreased EMG power.
PubMed: 38002502
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13111542 -
Cureus Feb 2024Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common yet debilitating and chronic condition that consists of disturbances in bowel habits and abdominal pain that is frequently... (Review)
Review
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common yet debilitating and chronic condition that consists of disturbances in bowel habits and abdominal pain that is frequently relieved with defecation. While the first line of treatment for IBS is pharmacological treatment, this has been shown to fail, leading to the patient being classified as having refractory IBS. The quality of life (QOL) of these patients is greatly hindered; in this case, there are rarely moments of relief. Additional modalities of treatment have been employed in classical cases of IBS, such as psychotherapy, and research has started to evaluate its effectiveness with refractory IBS. Both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and gut-directed hypnotherapy (GDH) are effective in treating classical IBS as they restructure and bring a state of meditation to the patient, allowing them to work through the symptoms. The question is whether it remains successful in refractory cases. This systematic review was conducted with strict adherence to PRISMA guidelines with an initial inquiry resulting in 28,978 publications through PubMed, ScienceDirect, and ProQuest databases. Through automatic and manual screening processes, articles that were peer-reviewed experimental or observation publications done between 2003 and 2023 were included in this study, resulting in 21 publications. Across all studies evaluating CBT, it was consistently found to be successful in improving symptom severity and frequency, QOL, and extracolonic symptoms such as anxiety and depression. When broken down into delivery methods, minimal contact CBT was found to be just as, if not superior, to standard contact. Within this, telephone-delivered CBT was superior to web-delivered CBT. GDH and biofeedback therapy were found to also significantly improve all domains of IBS with no difference between them. Acceptance and commitment therapy were found only to improve associated symptoms. However, there was no significant improvement in their QOL, whereas integrative group therapy found no significant improvement in any domain. Because IBS is so common and crippling to those affected, its crucial to continuously improve QOL through advancement in treatment modalities. Further research should focus more on other modes of therapy as success has been shown in standard therapeutic techniques.
PubMed: 38487115
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.54138 -
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback Dec 2023To determine whether heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BF) training, compared to a psychoeducation control condition can strengthen the integration of the central... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
To determine whether heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BF) training, compared to a psychoeducation control condition can strengthen the integration of the central and autonomic nervous systems as measured by neuropsychological measures in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Participants were recruited from two university hospitals in Taipei, Taiwan. A total of 49 participants with mTBI were recruited for this study. Forty-one participants completed the study, 21 in the psychoeducation group and 20 in the HRV-BF group. Randomized controlled study. The Taiwanese Frontal Assessment Battery, the Semantic Association of Verbal Fluency Test, the Taiwanese version of the Word Sequence Learning Test, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test-Revised, and the Trail Making Test were used as performance-based neuropsychological functioning measures. The Checklist of Post-concussion Symptoms, the Taiwanese version of the Dysexecutive Questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the National Taiwan University Irritability Scale were used as self-report neuropsychological functioning measures. Furthermore, heart rate variability pre- vs. post-training was used to measure autonomic nervous system functioning. Executive, information processing, verbal memory, emotional neuropsychological functioning, and heart rate variability (HRV) were improved significantly in the HRV-BF group at the posttest whereas the psychoeducation group showed no change. HRV biofeedback is a feasible technique following mild TBI that can improve neuropsychological and autonomic nervous system functioning. HRV-BF may be clinically feasible for the rehabilitation of patients with mTBI.
Topics: Humans; Brain Concussion; Heart Rate; Autonomic Nervous System; Cognition; Biofeedback, Psychology
PubMed: 37335413
DOI: 10.1007/s10484-023-09592-4 -
NeuroImage Oct 2023Emotion regulation plays a key role in human behavior and overall well-being. Neurofeedback is a non-invasive self-brain training technique used for emotion regulation...
Emotion regulation plays a key role in human behavior and overall well-being. Neurofeedback is a non-invasive self-brain training technique used for emotion regulation to enhance brain function and treatment of mental disorders through behavioral changes. Previous neurofeedback research often focused on using activity from a single brain region as measured by fMRI or power from one or two EEG electrodes. In a new study, we employed connectivity-based EEG neurofeedback through recalling positive autobiographical memories and simultaneous fMRI to upregulate positive emotion. In our novel approach, the feedback was determined by the coherence of EEG electrodes rather than the power of one or two electrodes. We compared the efficiency of this connectivity-based neurofeedback to traditional activity-based neurofeedback through multiple experiments. The results showed that connectivity-based neurofeedback effectively improved BOLD signal change and connectivity in key emotion regulation regions such as the amygdala, thalamus, and insula, and increased EEG frontal asymmetry, which is a biomarker for emotion regulation and treatment of mental disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression and coherence among EEG channels. The psychometric evaluations conducted both before and after the neurofeedback experiments revealed that participants demonstrated improvements in enhancing positive emotions and reducing negative emotions when utilizing connectivity-based neurofeedback, as compared to traditional activity-based and sham neurofeedback approaches. These findings suggest that connectivity-based neurofeedback may be a superior method for regulating emotions and could be a useful alternative therapy for mental disorders, providing individuals with greater control over their brain and mental functions.
Topics: Humans; Neurofeedback; Emotional Regulation; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Brain; Electroencephalography
PubMed: 37586444
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120320 -
Experimental Brain Research Sep 2023Binary feedback, providing information solely about task success or failure, can be sufficient to drive motor learning. While binary feedback can induce explicit...
Binary feedback, providing information solely about task success or failure, can be sufficient to drive motor learning. While binary feedback can induce explicit adjustments in movement strategy, it remains unclear if this type of feedback also induces implicit learning. We examined this question in a center-out reaching task by gradually moving an invisible reward zone away from a visual target to a final rotation of 7.5° or 25° in a between-group design. Participants received binary feedback, indicating if the movement intersected the reward zone. By the end of the training, both groups modified their reach angle by about 95% of the rotation. We quantified implicit learning by measuring performance in a subsequent no-feedback aftereffect phase, in which participants were told to forgo any adopted movement strategies and reach directly to the visual target. The results showed a small, but robust (2-3°) aftereffect in both groups, highlighting that binary feedback elicits implicit learning. Notably, for both groups, reaches to two flanking generalization targets were biased in the same direction as the aftereffect. This pattern is at odds with the hypothesis that implicit learning is a form of use-dependent learning. Rather, the results suggest that binary feedback can be sufficient to recalibrate a sensorimotor map.
Topics: Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Learning; Generalization, Psychological; Movement; Reward; Feedback, Sensory; Adaptation, Physiological
PubMed: 37580611
DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06683-w -
Scientific Reports Mar 2024To investigate the short-term effects and differences between exercise alone and exercise combined with self-mobilization training on chronic non-specific neck pain... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
To investigate the short-term effects and differences between exercise alone and exercise combined with self-mobilization training on chronic non-specific neck pain (CNSNP). Thirty subjects who met the criteria were recruited and randomly assigned to the exercise training group, the exercise combined with cervical self-mobilization training group (ECCM), and the exercise combined with cervicothoracic self-mobilization training group (ECCTM). The exercise training group received 6 weeks of deep neck flexor under biofeedback and scapular stability training, and the other two groups received 6 weeks of cervical self-mobilization and cervicothoracic self-mobilization, respectively, in addition to exercise training. Neck pain, cervical range of motion (ROM), neck disability, strength and endurance of deep neck flexor and quality of life were assessed before and after 6 weeks of training. The study results showed that all the three training programs for 6 weeks increased the strength and endurance of deep neck flexor, increased cervical ROM, reduced pain, and improved neck function (P < 0.05). The exercise combined with self-mobilization two groups compared with only the exercise training group had better improvement in ROM of extension, lateral flexion, rotation and quality of life (P < 0.05). Compared with exercise alone and exercise combined with cervical self-mobilization training, the exercise combined with cervicothoracic self-mobilization training was the best in improving ROM of right lateral flexion (exercise training group vs ECCTM: P < 0.01, d = 1.61, ECCM vs ECCTM: P < 0.05, d = 1.14) and pain (exercise training group vs ECCTM: P < 0.05, d = 1.34, ECCM vs ECCTM: P < 0.05, d = 1.23). Deep flexor muscle and shoulder stability training can improve the endurance and strength of the deep flexor muscles of the neck and coordinate the movement patterns of the shoulder and neck. Self-mobilization techniques can promote improvements in cervical lateral flexion and rotation range of motion, alleviate neck disability and further improve quality of life. A combination of exercise and cervicothoracic self-mobilization training appears beneficial for the management of neck pain.
Topics: Humans; Exercise; Exercise Therapy; Manipulation, Spinal; Neck Pain; Quality of Life
PubMed: 38438448
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55181-8 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Oct 2023Neurofeedback, utilizing an electroencephalogram (EEG) and/or a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device, is a real-time measurement of brain activity... (Review)
Review
Neurofeedback, utilizing an electroencephalogram (EEG) and/or a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device, is a real-time measurement of brain activity directed toward controlling and optimizing brain function. This treatment has often been attributed to improvements in disorders such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, and epilepsy, among others. While there is evidence suggesting the efficacy of neurofeedback devices, the research is still inconclusive. The applicability of the measurements and parameters of consumer neurofeedback wearable devices has improved, but the literature on measurement techniques lacks rigorously controlled trials. This paper presents a survey and literary review of consumer neurofeedback devices and the direction toward clinical applications and diagnoses. Relevant devices are highlighted and compared for treatment parameters, structural composition, available software, and clinical appeal. Finally, a conclusion on future applications of these systems is discussed through the comparison of their advantages and drawbacks.
Topics: Humans; Neurofeedback; Mental Health; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; Electroencephalography; Anxiety Disorders
PubMed: 37896575
DOI: 10.3390/s23208482 -
Journal of Clinical Medicine Aug 2023Microperimetric biofeedback training improved visual acuity and fixation stability in patients who previously underwent macular surgery. We aimed to compare the...
BACKGROUND
Microperimetric biofeedback training improved visual acuity and fixation stability in patients who previously underwent macular surgery. We aimed to compare the functional results of biofeedback training with the standard of care in patients who underwent successful inverted Internal Limiting Membrane (ILM)-flap technique for high myopic macular holes (hMMH).
METHODS
This was a retrospective, comparative, cohort study. Patients with hMMH after surgical hole closure underwent microperimetric biofeedback using structured light stimulus plus acoustic tone (n = 12; Biofeedback) or standard of care with scheduled visits (n = 11; Control). Best-corrected visual acuity, retinal sensitivity at central 12° (RS) and 4° (CRS) with a mean deviation at central 12° (MD), and fixation stability as bivariate contour ellipse area (BCEA 68%, 95%, and 99%) were assessed at baseline and month 1, 3, 6, and 12. The Mann-Whitney test was used to test the difference between the groups.
RESULTS
Baseline functional parameters were not significantly different among the groups. BCVA significantly improved in each group (Biofeedback, = 0.002; Control, ≤ 0.02) at all follow-up visits. CRS significantly improved at 6 ( = 0.03) and 12 ( = 0.01) months in the Biofeedback group and at month 12 ( = 0.01) in the Control group. RS ( = 0.001) and MD ( = 0.005) improved at the last follow-up only in the trained group. After training, BCEA 68% and 95% significantly improved (6 and 12 months, < 0.05). The Biofeedback group had better results in RS ( ≤ 0.02), CRS ( ≤ 0.02), and BCEA 68%, 95%, and 99% ( ≤ 0.01) compared to the Control at all follow-ups. BCVA and MD were better in the Biofeedback group at month 3 ( = 0.01), and month 3 ( = 0.01) and 12 ( = 0.003), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Microperimetric biofeedback can increase retinal sensitivity and stabilize fixation better than the standard care over months after a successful inverted ILM-flap for hMMH.
PubMed: 37629230
DOI: 10.3390/jcm12165188