This study tested a brain-training method in 88 boys with ADHD aged 10 to 18. The boys received feedback from a brain scanner (fMRI neurofeedback) on activity in an area called the right inferior frontal cortex. Half of them got real feedback, and half got fake, or sham, feedback. Neither the boys nor the researchers knew who got which. The study took age and medication into account. Recruitment stopped early because of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Real feedback did not beat sham on a task that measures how well a person can stop an action. It also did not change activity in the targeted area when the boys stopped successfully.
Two measures did change differently between the groups over time. One was how much the boys slowed down after making a mistake. The other was activity in the matching area on the left side while the brain checked for errors. Neither result showed the real group getting better. In both cases, the sham group went down, while the real group showed no reliable change. The sham group also started out higher on both measures.
Only 7 of the 44 boys who got real feedback (15.9%) were classed as progressive learners. The authors list several limits. Only boys took part, so the results may not apply to girls. Most of the boys were on medication, which could have hidden effects. The study may have been too small to detect smaller effects.
The numbers Stats and what the terms mean
The statistics behind the plain-language claims above.
- Lukito, 2024: stopping success, real versus sham feedback, F 1,86 = 0.26, p = 0.61.
- Lukito, 2024: slowing after a mistake, change over time that differed by group, F 1,86 = 4.37, p = 0.040.
- Lukito, 2024: slowing after a mistake, drop in the sham group, p = 0.007.
- Lukito, 2024: slowing after a mistake, change in the real feedback group, p = 0.84.
- Lukito, 2024: left side error-checking activity, change over time that differed by group, p = 0.034, F = 20.1.
- Lukito, 2024: left side error-checking activity, rise in the real feedback group, p = 0.076. What the terms mean:
- p The chance of seeing a result this large if there were no real effect; below 0.05 is usually treated as unlikely to be down to chance.
- F A test score comparing differences between groups or time points with the normal spread in the data; larger means a bigger difference.
Source: Steve Lukito, Sheut-Ling Lam, Marion Criaud, et al.. Effects of fMRI neurofeedback of right inferior frontal cortex on inhibitory brain activation in children with ADHD. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (2024). doi:10.1098/rstb.2023.0097