Autism and Neurofeedback Research Summary

EEG Neurofeedback study (Jerusiewicz, 2002)

• 20 children with ASD in experimental group.

• 20 children with ASD in control group

• Experimental group completed an average of 36 neurofeedback sessions

• Pre- and post-treatment scores on the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) were collected.

Pilot study results: percentage of improvement on ATEC

Neurofeedback group Control group

Speech/Language 29% 0%

Sociability 33% 7%

Sensory/Cognitive 17% 0%

Health/Physical/Behavior 26% 5%

Total 26% 3%

HEG Neurofeedback research (Limsila & Toomim, 2003)

• Largest HEG study to date.

• 180 autistic children in Thailand

• After 40 sessions, the cohort's mean HEG readings (prefrontal activation) increased 53%

• Of the 81 subjects who were studying in public school, 86% increased their GPA by more than 0.5 (mean = 0.94) points on a 4-point scale

• Only 4% decreased their GPA by more than 0.5 points (mean = 0.57)

EEG Neurofeedback research (Coben & Padolsky, 2006)

• 37 subjects with autism • 20 EEG neurofeedback sessions

• Wait list control group (n=12) matched for gender, age, race, handedness, IQ & treatment

• 89% success rate

• 40% reduction of autistic symptoms on ATEC

• Significant improvements on neuropsychological tests of Attention, Language, Visual-Perception & Executive Functioning

• QEEG & infrared imaging demonstrated gains

HEG Neurofeedback Research (Coben 2006)

• 28 subjects with autism

• 20 nir or pir HEG sessions

• Wait list control group (n=12) matched for gender, age, race, handedness, IQ & treatment

• All subjects had previously completed 20 sessions of EEG neurofeedback

• All subjects had identified frontal system dysfunction based on neurobehavioral testing, neuropsychological testing, infrared imaging, and QEEG data

• 90% success rate

• 42% reduction in autistic symptoms on ATEC

• 43% reduction in social interaction deficits

• 47% reduction in communication deficits

• 44% reduction in sensory/cognitive deficits

• 39% reduction in behavior deficits

• Statistically significant (p < .05) improvements in neurobehavioral and neuropsychological functioning