Efeito do treinamento com neurofeedback por espectroscopia infravermelha sobre o desempenho cognitivo mensurável em sujeitos saudáveis: um estudo piloto

• Ano de defesa: 2016
• Autor(a) principal: Ducos, Daniella Valverde [UNIFESP]
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)
• Palavras-chave em Português: Neurofeedback; Cognition; Spectroscopy; Hemoencefalografia; Heg neurofeedback; Cognição; Espectroscopia de luz próxima ao infravermelho
• Link de acesso: https://sucupira.capes.gov.br/sucupira/public/consultas/coleta/trabalhoConclusao/viewTrabalhoConclusao.jsf?popup=true&id_trabalho=3639001; https://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/47368

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a hemoencephalographic neurofeedback training (HEG-nf) protocol, a technique based on operant conditioning by use of infrared spectroscopy, over the cognitive performance of healthy young adults. Methods: Twelve individuals were selected and enrolled in training for 10 sessions, twice a week. Training was adjusted so that subjects received visual and auditory feedback whenever they increased cerebral blood flow in relation to a baseline that was defined by the mean blood perfusion level measured during the session?s 10 initial seconds. Sensor was positioned alternately on F7, Fp1, Fp2 and F8 sites, according to the 10-20 system. Neuropsychological data were collected from subjects with a comprehensive battery of tests at baseline (T1), and again by the end of HEG-nf (T2) and 3-month follow-up (T3). Results: The Linear Mixed Model showed evidence that participants achieved a significant improvement on measures of inhibitory control, sustained attention and visuospatial learning from T1 to T2, which were maintained between T1 and T3. Performance improvement on working memory and speed of information processing tasks was significant from T1 to T2. Performance on cognitive flexibility tasks showed inconclusive results. The variable reflecting gain on cerebral oxygen saturation as a training effect evidenced an unsteady but positive result by the end of training protocol. Conclusion: Results showed that this intervention optimizes cognitive abilities, especially those related to executive functioning, in healthy young adults. Cognitive enhancement seems to be related to the capacity of increasing cerebral oxygen saturation in prefrontal cortex by HEG-nf.