Investigation of the neurofeedback technique using MRI

• Grant number: 16/22116-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2018
• End date: May 23, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics
• Principal Investigator: Gabriela Castellano
• Grantee: Carlos Alberto Stefano Filho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07559-3 - BRAINN - The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, AP.CEPID
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/18409-9 - Physical therapy assisted with a robot for motor volitional control in children with cerebral palsy: neurophysiological correlates, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Neurofeedback (NFB) training has been used as an alternative or complementary treatment for various types of mental illnesses or neurological conditions, such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, control of drug addiction, epilepsy and depression. The method consists of individual training of a person, such that they learn how to modulate their cerebral response according to a given strategy. However, there are several aspects of the NFB training that are not, yet, fully understood, such as the neural substrates responsible for causing brain changes. Thus, a better understanding of this technique is of major importance from an academic point of view, providing clearance of the NFB mechanism, as well as from a medical point of view, allowing the possibility of applying it to new treatments. The aim of this work is to perform a study of the NFB training technique, in order to allow better understanding of the manner through which it may induce brain changes in a person performing the treatment. To do so, healthy subjects will be asked to participate in the study, and will be assigned to one of three groups: the NFB group, that will perform an electroencephalography (EEG) based NFB training; the sham-NFB group, that will participate in a similar training to the NFB group, but with "noise" instead of actual brain signals; and a control group, that will not perform any type of treatment. All subjects will be evaluated through magnetic resonance (MR) exams to search for possible brain changes due to NFB training. These exams will include structural analyses, such as VBM (voxel based morphometry) and DTI (diffusion tensor imagining), and functional analyses (rfMRI, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging). Also, simultaneous EEG-fMRI acquisitions may be performed, in order to obtain complementary information from the NFB training users' brain, since these two techniques provide signals of distinct natures. This work will be developed within the "Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology" (BRAINN), a FAPESP's RDIC, in the Neurophysics Group of the "Gleb Wataghin" Physics Institute of UNICAMP. This work has already been approved by UNICAMP's ethical committee, on 25/05/2016 (CAAE 53041616.6.0000.5404). (AU)

Scientific publications

(9)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

S.R.M. ALMEIDA; C.A. STEFANO FILHO; J. VICENTINI; S.L. NOVI; R.C. MESQUITA; G. CASTELLANO; L.M. LI. Modeling functional network topology following stroke through graph theory: functional reorganization and motor recovery prediction. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, v. 55, 2022-08-15. (16/22116-9, 17/10341-0, 13/07559-3)

STEFANO FILHO, CARLOS ALBERTO; SERRANO, J. IGNACIO; ATTUX, ROMIS; CASTELLANO, GABRIELA; ROCON, EDUARDO; DEL CASTILLO, M. DOLORES; IEEE. Criteria for event-related (de)synchronization detection and feature consistency for motor imagery-based neuromodulation. 2020 IEEE 20TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BIOINFORMATICS AND BIOENGINEERING (BIBE 2020), v. N/A, p. 8-pg., 2020-01-01. (17/10341-0, 19/18409-9, 13/07559-3, 16/22116-9)

SUAREZ URIBE, LUISA FERNANDA; STEFANO FILHO, CARLOS ALBERTO; DE OLIVEIRA, VINICIUS ALVES; DA SILVA COSTA, THIAGO BULHOES; RODRIGUES, PAULA GABRIELLY; SORIANO, DIOGO COUTINHO; BOCCATO, LEVY; CASTELLANO, GABRIELA; ATTUX, ROMIS. A correntropy-based classifier for motor imagery brain-computer interfaces. BIOMEDICAL PHYSICS & ENGINEERING EXPRESS, v. 5, n. 6, OCT 2019. (16/22116-9, 13/07559-3, 17/10341-0)

STEFANO FILHO, CARLOS ALBERTO; IGNACIO SERRANO, JOSE; ATTUX, ROMIS; CASTELLANO, GABRIELA; ROCON, EDUARDO; DEL CASTILLO, MARIA DOLORES. Reorganization of Resting-State EEG Functional Connectivity Patterns in Children with Cerebral Palsy Following a Motor Imagery Virtual-Reality Intervention. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL, v. 11, n. 5, MAR 2021. (16/22116-9, 19/18409-9)

STEFANO FILHO, CARLOS A.; ATTUX, ROMIS; CASTELLANO, GABRIELA; COTA, VR; BARONE, DAC; DIAS, DRC; DAMAZIO, LCM. Considerations on the Individualization of Motor Imagery Neurofeedback Training. COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE, v. 1068, p. 13-pg., 2019-01-01. (17/10341-0, 16/22116-9, 13/07559-3)

STEFANO FILHO, CARLOS A.; ATTUX, ROMIS; CASTELLANO, GABRIELA. Actual, sham and no-feedback effects in motor imagery practice. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, v. 71, n. B, JAN 2022. (13/07559-3, 17/10341-0, 16/22116-9)

STEFANO FILHO, C. A.; COSTA, T. B. S.; URIBE, L. F.; RODRIGUES, P. G.; SORIANO, D. C.; ATTUX, R.; CASTELLANO, G.. On the (in)efficacy of motor imagery training without feedback and event-related desynchronizations considerations. BIOMEDICAL PHYSICS & ENGINEERING EXPRESS, v. 6, n. 3, MAY 2020. (16/22116-9, 17/10341-0, 19/09512-0, 13/07559-3)

STEFANO FILHO, CARLOS ALBERTO; ATTUX, ROMIS; CASTELLANO, GABRIELA. Motor imagery practice and feedback effects on functional connectivity. JOURNAL OF NEURAL ENGINEERING, v. 18, n. 6, DEC 2021. (17/10341-0, 16/22116-9, 13/07559-3)

ALMEIDA, S. R. M.; STEFANO FILHO, C. A.; VICENTINI, J.; NOVI, S. L.; MESQUITA, R. C.; CASTELLANO, G.; LI, L. M.. Modeling functional network topology following stroke through graph theory: functional reorganization and motor recovery prediction. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, v. 55, n. 1, p. 13-pg., 2022-01-01. (17/10341-0, 13/07559-3, 16/22116-9)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

STEFANO FILHO, Carlos Alberto. Neural correlates of motor imagery neurofeedback training. 2021. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin Campinas, SP.