While conventional treatments for depression, such as antidepressants and psychotherapy, are effective for many, complementary approaches can also be considered, such as neurofeedback. This non-invasive technique, rooted in neuroscience, aims to retrain brain activity in real time using visual and/or auditory signals. Neurofeedback is gaining growing interest as a complementary approach for depression.
What Is Neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback is a technique based on the idea that the brain can learn to regulate itself through targeted training. Using an electroencephalogram (EEG), the brain’s electrical activity is measured in real time, and visual or auditory feedback is then provided to the individual. This feedback helps the brain recognize its imbalances and gradually adjust its functioning patterns.
The neurofeedback process is divided into several stages:
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Initial Assessment
The first step in a neurofeedback session is to perform a quantitative EEG to create a brain activity map. The practitioner identifies areas that are functioning too slowly, too quickly, or in a disorganized way. This data is used to design a personalized plan targeting depression, with specific goals such as reducing anxiety or improving mood, and focusing on the brain regions that need training.
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Session Process
A neurofeedback session typically lasts 50 minutes. Sensors placed on the scalp continuously record brain activity. A software program analyzes this data and sends a positive signal when the brain produces the desired brainwaves—such as lighting up an image or triggering music. This unconscious conditioning process encourages the brain to adopt more stable patterns. The protocol usually includes 12 or more sessions, depending on the individual’s specific needs and response to training.
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Goals and Benefits of Neurofeedback
The aim is to regulate brain activity—reducing brainwaves associated with apathy or anxiety, and strengthening those linked to concentration, calmness, and alertness. This approach can help improve mood, sleep, cognitive functions, and emotional balance—all of which are often affected in depression.
The Link Between Brain Activity and Depression
Depression is associated with specific imbalances in brain activity that affect the regulation of emotions, stress, motivation, and cognitive functions. Studies have shown frequent underactivation of the left prefrontal cortex—linked to positive emotions and decision-making—as well as overactivation in specific areas such as the amygdala, associated with fear and anxiety. Other abnormalities affect the anterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus, which are involved in emotional memory and stress regulation.
These dysfunctions disrupt the balance of brainwaves, often with a predominance of slow waves (theta, delta) associated with mental fatigue, or an excess of fast/high-beta waves linked to agitation or anxiety. Such imbalances can perpetuate depressive symptoms, such as social withdrawal, rumination, difficulty concentrating, and loss of motivation.
Neurofeedback for depression works precisely to help the brain regain more stable and balanced functioning. Training dysfunctional brain areas to produce more adaptive activity patterns supports better emotional and cognitive self-regulation, thereby aiding the recovery process in individuals with depressive symptoms.
How Does Neurofeedback Act on Depression?
Neurofeedback aims to correct irregularities in brain activity by specifically targeting the affected regions. Its effects include:
- Regulating brain activity: Neurofeedback modifies brainwave patterns to restore more stable and functional activity in areas involved in mood and cognition.
- Learning through conditioning: Using real-time EEG-based visual or auditory feedback, the brain gradually learns to modulate its activity. This learning process relies on positive reinforcement of beneficial patterns.
- Improving emotional self-regulation: By stimulating brain regions involved in emotional control and stress management, neurofeedback promotes greater emotional stability and reduced anxiety.
- Reducing cognitive symptoms: Neurofeedback helps improve concentration, motivation, memory, and mental clarity—functions often impaired in depressive states.
Advantages of Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback for depression offers several significant benefits. It is a non-invasive and painless technique, relying on the measurement of brainwaves via electrodes placed on the scalp, with no discomfort involved.
This approach is also tailored to each person’s specific brain activity, allowing targeted and practical training of the brain areas involved in emotional or cognitive difficulties. Through brain learning and neuroplasticity, neurofeedback offers the potential for lasting improvement by strengthening neural connections that support better mental and emotional balance.
Neurofeedback can also be a valuable complement to medication, typically with few or no side effects.
Conclusion
Neurofeedback, as offered by Neuroperforma, can be effective in improving symptoms of depression. This technique may be recommended alongside psychotherapy and medication.