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01-09-2019 | Psychiatry and Preclinical Psychiatric Studies - Original Article

Feasibility of NIRS-based neurofeedback training in social anxiety disorder: behavioral and neural correlates

Authors: Ann-Christin S. Kimmig, Thomas Dresler, Justin Hudak, Florian B. Haeussinger, Dirk Wildgruber, Andreas J. Fallgatter, Ann-Christine Ehlis, Benjamin Kreifelts

Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission | Issue 9/2019

Abstract

Attention biases towards threat signals have been linked to the etiology and symptomatology of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) may contribute to attention biases in anxious individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) neurofeedback (NF) training—targeting the dlPFC—and its effects on threat-related attention biases of individuals with SAD. 12 individuals with SAD participated in the NIRS-NF training lasting 6–8 weeks and including a total of 15 sessions. NF performance increased significantly, while the attention bias towards threat-related stimuli and SAD symptom severity decreased after the training. The individual increase in neurofeedback performance as well as the individual decrease in SAD symptom severity was correlated with decreased responses to social threat signals in the cerebral attention system. Thus, this pilot study does not only demonstrate that NIRS-based NF is feasible in SAD patients, but also may be a promising method to investigate the causal role of the dlPFC in attention biases in SAD. Its effectiveness as a treatment tool might be examined in future studies.

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Title: Feasibility of NIRS-based neurofeedback training in social anxiety disorder: behavioral and neural correlates
Authors: Ann-Christin S. Kimmig
Thomas Dresler
Justin Hudak
Florian B. Haeussinger
Dirk Wildgruber
Andreas J. Fallgatter
Ann-Christine Ehlis
Benjamin Kreifelts
Publication date: 01-09-2019
Publisher: Springer Vienna
Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission / Issue 9/2019
Print ISSN: 0300-9564
Electronic ISSN: 1435-1463
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-018-1954-5

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Feasibility of NIRS-based neurofeedback training in social anxiety disorder: behavioral and neural correlates

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