Study of the Efficacy of Neurofeedback Training on Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy Receives 2018 FNAN Award

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Each year, the Foundation for Neurofeedback and Applied Neuroscience presents an award – which includes an honorarium of one thousand dollars – to the authors of the publication that, in its consideration, has most significantly advanced the field of neurofeedback during the preceding year.

The winners of this year's FNAN award for excellence in neurofeedback are a team of researchers consisting of Sarah Prinsloo, Diane Novy, Larry Driver, Randall Lyle, Lois Ramondetta, Cathy Eng, Jennifer McQuade, Gabriel Lopez, and Lorenzo Cohen for their article "Randomized Controlled Trial of Neurofeedback on Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Pilot Study," which appeared in the June 1, 2017 issue of the journal Cancer. 

Neurofeedback – also known as neurotherapy or electroencephalographic (EEG) biofeedback – is a noninvasive technology that allows individuals to change cognitive functioning, affective state or overall performance by learning voluntarily changes in brain activity.  The process trains individuals to vary patterns of brain activity based on information from sensors on the scalp.

One of the most-severe side effects of the chemotherapy used in treating cancer patients can be a peripheral neuropathy that is often painful and debilitating for the patient.  Estimates of this incidence of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) after treatment can range as high as 71% to 96%.

In the study that received this year's award, cancer survivors at the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center – mostly female, with a mean age of 62.5 years, and at least a grade three neuropathy rating - were randomly divided into two groups: 30 individuals who received neurofeedback training and 32 individuals who served as a wait-list control. Pre and post measures for both groups included the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) measure and other secondary measures of pain severity.  Quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) data was also collected.  Each patient in the neurofeedback group received twenty sessions of training based on their own qEEG pattern.

One hundred percent of the participants completed the program.  After treatment, the neurofeedback group showed significantly greater improvement than controls in their BPI worst-pain item (on a 10-point scale, 2.43 for neurofeedback versus 0.09 for controls).  Similar improvements were also seen in the secondary measures.

According to Foundation board member John Fisher: "This work is both important and exciting because it opens a door to finding a new paradigm for lessening the suffering that chemotherapy-induced neuropathy inflicts on cancer survivors.  And it's a well-constructive pilot study that begs further exploration of this approach." 

Foundation director Michael O'Bannon noted that:  "The investigators have made an impressive advance in demonstrating the usefulness of neurofeedback for an important area of pain management.  This study shows that neurofeedback can offer an alternative to pain medication which is well accepted by patients."

Although the Foundation for Neurofeedback and Applied Neurofeedback had no association with this study, it has subsequently provided support to these researchers in the form of an equipment grant for a follow-up investigation beginning after the publication of this study.

For further information, please refer to the original research article: Sarah Prinsloo, Diane Novy, Larry Driver, Randall Lyle, Lois Ramondetta, Cathy Eng, Jennifer McQuade, Gabriel Lopez, and Lorenzo Cohen, "Randomized Controlled Trial of Neurofeedback on Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Pilot Study," Cancer, 2017 June 01, 123 (11), 1989-1997.

The Foundation for Neurofeedback and Applied Neuroscience (FNAN) is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation, based in California, dedicated to encouraging research into the mechanisms underlying neurofeedback and its clinical applications. It seeks to foster meaningful scientific research by providing technical assistance and other support to individuals seeking to extend the horizons of the field.  FNAN awards its prize for the best neurofeedback article on an annual basis.

For further information, contact: H. John Fisher, (413) 535-5999 or [email protected] or The Foundation for Neurofeedback and Applied Neuroscience, c/o Goldstein, 6654 Nevada Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 91303, (800) 898-7458, www.neurofeedbackfoundation.org.

SOURCE Foundation for Neurofeedback and Applied Neuroscience

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