RecruitingNot ApplicableNCT05936697

Neurofeedback Training For Older Adults

Neurofeedback Training to Improve Prefrontal Functioning in Older Adults With Subclinical Depression and Anxiety: a Randomised Control Trial

Sponsor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Enrollment

90 participants

Start Date

Feb 15, 2023

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Conditions

Depression, Anxiety

Summary

Symptoms of depression and anxiety are common in older adults and are associated with poor outcomes and the risk of dementia. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is crucial for emotion regulation. Poor PFC function may underlie subclinical depression and anxiety symptoms in older people, which could progress to clinical conditions. Neurofeedback training based on electroencephalography (EEG) or functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) teaches individuals to self-regulate different aspects of brain activity and induce neurocognitive improvements. This proposed project will examine whether prefrontal EEG and fNIRS neurofeedback training programmes can enhance the mood and cognition of older adults with subclinical depression and anxiety.

Eligibility

Min Age: 60 YearsMax Age: 79 Years

Inclusion Criteria9

(i) age of 60-79 years;
(ii) right-handedness as assessed using the short form of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (Veale, 2014);
(iii) a moderate or higher score on at least one of the depression and anxiety subscales (but not necessarily both) of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), which has been shown to yield reliable and valid scores;
(iv) no history of neurological or psychiatric disorder;
(v) no history of traumatic brain injury requiring hospitalisation;
(vi) not currently using psychotropic medication;
(vii) ability to read Traditional Chinese text;
(viii) normal or corrected-to-normal vision; and
(ix) a score of at least 19 on the Hong Kong Montreal Cognitive Assessment

Exclusion Criteria1

does not fulfill any of the above criteria

Interventions

DEVICEfNIRS

For fNIRS to be recorded by the wearable OctaMon+ system (Artinis Medical Systems, The Netherlands), two sources, each surrounded by four detectors positioned approximately 3 cm apart, will be placed on the scalp such that the two channels near the fissure on each side of the head are surrounded F3 and F4. Data will be sampled at 50 Hz.

DEVICEEEG

For EEG to be recorded by the ANT eego rt8 amplifier (ANT Neuro, Hengelo, The Netherlands), electrodes will be placed at Fp1, F3, F4, Fz, Fpz, Cz, GND (ground), lower VEOG, and on the two earlobes (references). Data will be collected at 2,048 Hz.

OTHERBaseline Training

In the sham condition, participants will receive visual feedback based on pre-recordings and/or other participants' recordings. Participants will undergo a 3-min rest period before and after each training session to track changes in resting-state brain activity within and across sessions.