A Study on Resting EEG Effective Connectivity Difference before and after Neurofeedback for Children with ADHD

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Child Psychology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Altered functional brain networks are common in ADHD, but effective connectivity remains understudied.
• Few studies have investigated how neurofeedback (NF) training impacts effective connectivity in children with ADHD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore effective brain networks in children with ADHD.
• To investigate the positive influence of NF training on these networks.

Main Methods:

• Electroencephalogram (EEG) data from 22 children with ADHD (pre- and post-NF) and 15 controls.
• Phase Transfer Entropy (PTE) used to analyze effective connectivity.
• Network topological properties and flow gain measured across delta, theta, alpha, and beta bands.

Main Results:

• Pre-NF ADHD children showed altered network topology (higher clustering, lower path length in delta band) and abnormal flow gain across bands.
• Post-NF ADHD children's network properties approached those of healthy controls.
• NF training led to significant symptom improvement in ADHD, as reported by parents.

Conclusions:

• Effective brain connectivity is altered in children with ADHD.
• NF training can normalize altered brain network properties and improve ADHD symptoms.
• This study provides novel evidence of phase-based effective connectivity differences in ADHD and NF's ability to mitigate them.