A new neuroscientific approach using decoded neurofeedback (DecNef)

Abstract

Neurofeedback is defined as a method to read out information from the brain and feed the information back to the brain. This technology has developed in the past ten years and attracted considerable attention as potential treatments for rehabilitation and psychiatric disease. We recently invented the decoded neurofeedback (DecNef) method, a new neurofeedback technique using functional magnetic resonance imaging. With DecNef, subjects were trained to regulate their brain activation pattern in a specific area and lead the pattern to a target state. We found that the DecNef training for several days leads to perceptual improvement that corresponds to the induced target state. DecNef enables us to test cause-and-effect relationships between neural activation in a target brain area and changes in perception, cognition, and behavior. In this sense, this method can be a powerful tool in cognitive and systems neuroscience. In addition, the concept of DecNef, leading a neural activation pattern to a specific state,can be applied for a variety of fields including engineering and medical treatment.