Closed-loop neurofeedback of alpha synchrony during goal-directed attention

Abstract

Alpha oscillations in sensory cortex, under frontal control, desynchronize during attentive preparation. Here, in a selective attention study with simultaneous EEG in humans of either sex, we first demonstrate that diminished anticipatory alpha synchrony between the mid-frontal region of the dorsal attention network and ventral visual sensory cortex (frontal-sensory synchrony (FSS)) significantly correlates with greater task performance. Then, in a double-blind, randomized controlled study in healthy adults, we implement closed-loop neurofeedback of the anticipatory alpha FSS signal over ten days of training. We refer to this closed-loop experimental approach of rapid neurofeedback (NF) integrated within a cognitive task as cognitive neurofeedback (cNF). We show that cNF results in significant trial-by-trial modulation of the anticipatory alpha FSS measure during training, concomitant plasticity of stimulus-evoked alpha/theta responses, as well as transfer of benefits to response time improvements on a standard test of sustained attention. In a third study, we implement cNF training in children with ADHD, replicating trial-by-trial modulation of the anticipatory alpha FSS signal as well as significant improvement of sustained attention response times. These first findings demonstrate the basic mechanisms and translational utility of rapid cognitive-task-integrated neurofeedback.