Neuroplastic Effects of Meditation-Based Neurofeedback on the Pathological Brain

Numerous mental illnesses have been connected to the dysregulation of particular brain systems. However, few therapy approaches are able to change such specific patterns of brain activity. Nevertheless, this may be accomplished using closed-loop brain imaging techniques like neurofeedback, which aim to directly alter brain activity. Yet, due to methodological issues and the lack of specificity in neurofeedback, it has never been widely accepted in the field of mental health. In this article, we'll review two recent studies of our group that show real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-NF) to be a potential treatment for altering the unique and individualized brain systems that underlie mental health conditions. One with auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia patients and the other with teenagers with a history of affective disorders