Neurofeedback In Addiction Treatment
Neurotherapy/neurofeedback is considered an excellent addiction treatment when supplemented with other therapies. The treatment’s ability to retrain the mind to make more positive decisions is a fantastic tool for recovering users. Studies have shown that neurofeedback decreases cravings and improves general mental health in alcohol, nicotine and opiate–dependent patients. Other studies suggest that it may be even more effective than pharmacotherapy alone in treating addiction in the long term.
Still, it is essential to note that when treating a substance use disorder, so far, no single program can lead to a cure. Neurofeedback training is best used in combination with other therapies due to the complex nature of addiction. Neurotherapy can help a person stay substance-free beyond the initial rehabilitation stages when used with other medication-assisted treatments and counseling. The therapy is an excellent resource for patients who want to learn how to respond to triggers without relying on addictive substances.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a foremost authority on addiction, refers to substance use disorders as brain disorders. Any notion that drug addiction owes to a moral failing or a lack of self-control is simply outdated; addiction is a brain disease. The initial decision to abuse a drug may be voluntary, but over time, individuals will lose their ability to make a voluntary decision vis-à-vis drugs. This is because drug use leads to structural changes in the brain that motivate the affected person to keep using drugs.
In view of the brain disease model of addiction, it makes sense that neurofeedback can treat addiction. A neurofeedback specialist who is working with a recovering person can create a brain map to locate any areas in the brain where electrical activity is abnormal. From there, the specialist can create a targeted training program to redress inactivity, underactivity, or over-activity. As the physiological hallmarks of the addiction improve, the symptoms of addiction should as well, including relapse.
A UCLA study found that neurofeedback can improve the rate of abstinence. This technology was tested in 2005 in a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) neurofeedback and addiction treatment study. It relied, in part, on addiction research that shows: (1) that individuals with a history of addiction tend to have a very difficult time changing their behavior (hence the 40-60 percent drug relapse rate), and (2) the brain usually experiences instability in the early stages of recovery.
The UCLA study revealed that EEG biofeedback treatment plus participation in a 12-Step program could help recovering people to accept change (from addiction to recovery) and help the brain to become stable. In specific, EEG treatment improved the participants’ rates of abstinence at the one-year recovery mark. The participants were able to achieve this positive outcome, in part, because EEG treatment helped to keep the brain’s cortex active when they felt like resisting change (which in this case was running away from their recovery plan or relapsing). The study noted that EEG biofeedback is not a standalone treatment for drug recovery, but it can be beneficial when used in conjunction with an abstinence supportive service, such as a 12-Step program.
Advancements in addiction research keep underscoring how drugs hijack the brain. Clinicians are increasingly understanding the need to look into the brains of recovering individuals. When it comes to drug addiction, anyone affected by it sees the symptoms in action. The true source of the problem was invisible throughout much of the history of drug addiction, but not anymore. Brain maps can now show recovering individuals the neurobiological reality of their disease. Neurofeedback sessions can be an effective form of treatment for those recovering individuals who would like to learn how to train their brains back to a state conducive to a drug-free living.
Neurofeedback Facts & Success Rates
REFERENCES
Neurotherapy/neurofeedback is considered an excellent addiction treatment when supplemented with other therapies. The treatment’s ability to retrain the mind to make more positive decisions is a fantastic tool for recovering users. Studies have shown that neurofeedback decreases cravings and improves general mental health in alcohol, nicotine and opiate–dependent patients. Other studies suggest that it may be even more effective than pharmacotherapy alone in treating addiction in the long term.
Still, it is essential to note that when treating a substance use disorder, so far, no single program can lead to a cure. Neurofeedback training is best used in combination with other therapies due to the complex nature of addiction. Neurotherapy can help a person stay substance-free beyond the initial rehabilitation stages when used with other medication-assisted treatments and counseling. The therapy is an excellent resource for patients who want to learn how to respond to triggers without relying on addictive substances.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a foremost authority on addiction, refers to substance use disorders as brain disorders. Any notion that drug addiction owes to a moral failing or a lack of self-control is simply outdated; addiction is a brain disease. The initial decision to abuse a drug may be voluntary, but over time, individuals will lose their ability to make a voluntary decision vis-à-vis drugs. This is because drug use leads to structural changes in the brain that motivate the affected person to keep using drugs.
In view of the brain disease model of addiction, it makes sense that neurofeedback can treat addiction. A neurofeedback specialist who is working with a recovering person can create a brain map to locate any areas in the brain where electrical activity is abnormal. From there, the specialist can create a targeted training program to redress inactivity, underactivity, or over-activity. As the physiological hallmarks of the addiction improve, the symptoms of addiction should as well, including relapse.
A UCLA study found that neurofeedback can improve the rate of abstinence. This technology was tested in 2005 in a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) neurofeedback and addiction treatment study. It relied, in part, on addiction research that shows: (1) that individuals with a history of addiction tend to have a very difficult time changing their behavior (hence the 40-60 percent drug relapse rate), and (2) the brain usually experiences instability in the early stages of recovery.
The UCLA study revealed that EEG biofeedback treatment plus participation in a 12-Step program could help recovering people to accept change (from addiction to recovery) and help the brain to become stable. In specific, EEG treatment improved the participants’ rates of abstinence at the one-year recovery mark. The participants were able to achieve this positive outcome, in part, because EEG treatment helped to keep the brain’s cortex active when they felt like resisting change (which in this case was running away from their recovery plan or relapsing). The study noted that EEG biofeedback is not a standalone treatment for drug recovery, but it can be beneficial when used in conjunction with an abstinence supportive service, such as a 12-Step program.
Advancements in addiction research keep underscoring how drugs hijack the brain. Clinicians are increasingly understanding the need to look into the brains of recovering individuals. When it comes to drug addiction, anyone affected by it sees the symptoms in action. The true source of the problem was invisible throughout much of the history of drug addiction, but not anymore. Brain maps can now show recovering individuals the neurobiological reality of their disease. Neurofeedback sessions can be an effective form of treatment for those recovering individuals who would like to learn how to train their brains back to a state conducive to a drug-free living.
Neurofeedback Facts & Success Rates
- In a study, neurofeedback resulted in between 70-85% of participants being able to self-regulate their brain activity.1
- One study suggests that someone’s fluid intelligence, gamma power during a cognitive task, learning ability, and alpha power at rest can predict the efficacy they’ll have with neurofeedback.2
- In a group of participants with Parkinson’s Disease, success rates of neurofeedback in helping someone change their brain activity ranged from 47% to 100%.2
- In a study conducted on 287 children with ADHD, neurofeedback was shown to be most effective in children with primary ADHD and co-occurring dyslexia.3
REFERENCES
- Kidshealth.org. (2022). EEG (Electroencephalogram).
- Anil, K., Hall, S. D., Demain, S., Freeman, J. A., Ganis, G., & Marsden, J. (2021). A systematic review of neurofeedback for the management of motor symptoms in parkinson’s disease. Brain Sciences, 11(10), 1292.
- B;, K. A. K. P. S. M. K. (n.d.). [clinical and neurophysiological data of neurofeedback therapy in children with ADHD]. Przeglad lekarski.
- Loriette, C., Ziane, C., & Hamed, S. B. (2021, October 19). Neurofeedback for cognitive enhancement and intervention and brain plasticity. Revue Neurologique.
- Skottnik, L., Sorger, B., Kamp, T., Linden, D., & Goebel, R. (2019). Success and failure of controlling the real‐time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback signal are reflected in the striatum. Brain and Behavior, 9(3).
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3650238/