Neurocognitive Effects of Neurofeedback: A Systematic Review of the Applicability and Therapeutic Effect in Patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, Psychosis or Clinical High Risks for Psychosis.

In 30 seconds

This PRISMA-guided systematic review assessed neurocognitive, humoral, and therapeutic outcomes of neurofeedback in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. It included 14 studies: 10 randomised controlled trials and 4 clinical trials. Across the reviewed studies, neurofeedback was associated with reported improvements in processing speed, social functioning, working memory, and emotional regulation. Some studies also described changes in brain activity linked to auditory hallucinations, increased connectivity between language and default mode networks, and improvements in BDNF, self-efficacy, or clinical symptoms. The abstract does not report a pooled effect estimate or a single quantitative outcome.

Key findings

• The review included 14 studies: 10 randomised controlled trials and 4 clinical trials.
• Reported improvements included processing speed, social functioning, working memory, and emotional regulation.
• Several studies reported modulation of brain activity in regions associated with auditory hallucinations and increased connectivity between language and default mode networks.
• Some studies found improvements in BDNF levels, self-efficacy, and clinical symptoms.

Why it matters

Cognitive impairment and negative symptoms remain challenging aspects of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and the review identifies neurofeedback as a potential approach targeting cognitive and neural outcomes. Its reported effects span functional performance and brain activity, but the findings are drawn from a varied set of studies and do not establish a consistent magnitude of benefit.

What to keep in mind

The abstract provides no pooled effect estimate and describes findings across 14 studies, limiting assessment of the size and consistency of benefit from the information reported.