Neurofeedback therapy for alcohol use disorder.

Abstract

Neurofeedback is a therapeutic learning process that provides visual and auditory feedback to an individual about his or her brainwaves in order to teach self-regulation of brain func- tion. Currently, neurofeedback therapy has been attempted to apply to various psychiatric disorders and certain therapeutic effects have been shown. The advantage of incorporating neurofeedback therapy to the conventional treatments is 1) the action on the central nervous-system can be expected. by directly reinforcing EEG, 2) on the premise of neural plasticity, without ongoing intervention, long-term therapeutic effect can be expected, 3) except rare temporary headache, no significant side effects are reported, 4) compared to other psychotherapies, neurofeedback is expected to have a therapeutic effect within a relatively short period of time. The present paper outlines neurofeedback therapy in the treatment of alcohol dependence and points out the new direction and remaining issues in neurofeedback therapy.