研究目的
To investigate the feasibility of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) neurofeedback (NF) training—targeting the dlPFC—and its effects on threat-related attention biases of individuals with SAD.
研究成果
This pilot study demonstrates that NIRS-based NF is feasible in SAD patients and may be a promising method to investigate the causal role of the dlPFC in attention biases in SAD. Its effectiveness as a treatment tool might be examined in future studies.
研究不足
The sample size is small and does not contain an adequate control condition which precludes any definitive statements on the specificity of observed effects to the increase in dlPFC activation control in contrast to other factors including placebo effects or other unspecific intervention effects. Furthermore, no random sampling was applied resulting in a reduced external validity. Due to the technical limitations of NIRS, it was not possible to investigate cerebral NF correlates in subcortical areas.