A meta-analysis of neurofeedback for treating substance use disorders

A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the efficacy of neurofeedback (NFB) in the treatment of individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) in between-group studies. This study reports findings from the first exhaustive search of the literature on the topic and included articles selected from a total of 58 databases/repositories. Studies were evaluated using Hedge's g as the effect size measure and were assessed for risk of bias using funnel plot, Fail-Safe N, and Trim and Fill analysis. Ten studies, containing 30 effect sizes were evaluated to determine the overall efficacy of NFB for decreasing symptoms of SUD (N = 397), yielding a mean effect size of g = –1.49 (CI 95 = –1.95, –1.03; PI 95 = –4.37 to 1.39). This meta-analysis provides strong evidence for the efficacy of NFB in treating SUD while also highlighting the value of wholistic client care in SUD treatment.