One-Class fMRI-Inspired EEG Model for Self-Regulation Training

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/ Meir-Hasson Y, Keynan JN, Kinreich S, Jackont G, Cohen A, Podlipsky-Klovatch I, Hendler T, Intrator N.PLoS One. 2016 May 10;11(5):e0154968.

 

Applying an EFP-neurofeedback procedure to train amygdala down-regulation in participants that did not undergo fMRI.

The amygdala brain region is involved in emotional processing, and its dysregulation is associated with emotional dysfunction. Therefore, if we could teach a person to self-regulate their activity of this brain region, it may alleviate their symptoms. Such neural-regulation training is accomplished via neurofeedback, in which the amygdala activity is recorded, analyzed in real time and presented as feedback to the trainee. A major limitation in the scalability of this procedure for clinical use is that measurement of such deep brain activity requires fMRI scanning. To remove this limitation, an amygdala EFP was developed for use in an EEG-only neurofeedback procedure.

 

The article describes the innovative computational methods that were used to achieve an effective common model for amygdala EFP. The model was developed from simultaneous EEG-fMRI recordings in one group of participants, and tested in EEG-only neurofeedback in a new group of participants. Participants in the new group learned to substantially reduce their amygdala EFP signal if they had been trained with true feedback, but not if they had been trained with sham feedback. This shows that amygdala EFP can be implemented in EEG-based neurofeedback without the need for patient MRI scanning.

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To read the full article in PLOS ONE - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0154968