Hesam‐Shariati, N., Chang, W., Wewege, M.A. et al. (6 more authors) (2022) The analgesic effect of electroencephalographic neurofeedback for people with chronic pain: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. European Journal of Neurology, 29 (3). pp. 921-936. ISSN 1351-5101
Abstract
Background
Electroencephalographic (EEG) neurofeedback has been utilized to regulate abnormal brain activity associated with chronic pain.
Methods
In this systematic review, we synthesized the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effect of EEG neurofeedback on chronic pain using random effects meta-analyses. Additionally, we performed a narrative review to explore the results of non-randomized studies. The quality of included studies was assessed using Cochrane risk of bias tools, and the GRADE system was used to rate the certainty of evidence.
Results
Ten RCTs and 13 non-randomized studies were included. The primary meta-analysis on nine eligible RCTs indicated that although there is low confidence, EEG neurofeedback may have a clinically meaningful effect on pain intensity in short-term. Removing the studies with high risk of bias from the primary meta-analysis resulted in moderate confidence that there remained a clinically meaningful effect on pain intensity. We could not draw any conclusion from the findings of non-randomized studies, as they were mostly non-comparative trials or explorative case series. However, the extracted data indicated that the neurofeedback protocols in both RCTs and non-randomized studies mainly involved the conventional EEG neurofeedback approach, which targeted reinforcing either alpha or sensorimotor rhythms and suppressing theta and/or beta bands on one brain region at a time. A posthoc analysis of RCTs utilizing the conventional approach resulted in a clinically meaningful effect estimate for pain intensity.
Conclusion
Although there is promising evidence on the analgesic effect of EEG neurofeedback, further studies with larger sample sizes and higher quality of evidence are required.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 European Academy of Neurology. |
Keywords: | chronic pain; EEG neurofeedback; meta-analysis; systematic review |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > ScHARR - Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 09 May 2022 13:43 |
Last Modified: | 09 May 2022 13:43 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/ene.15189 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:186534 |