EEG Biofeedback Therapy as an Adjunct Treatment for PTSD

The proposed study, "Placebo-controlled study of EEG biofeedback therapy as an adjunct treatment for PTSD, evaluating symptoms and EEG dynamics", will investigate the brain dynamics associated with PTSD symptom reduction associated with EEG biofeedback therapy or sham EEG biofeedback in addition to treatment as usual at the Naval Medical Center, San Diego (NMCSD) OASIS program. EEG biofeedback treatment protocols for PTSD and other disorders have been developed and honed by private practice clinicians over the past 25 years, during which EEG biofeedback has become an increasingly popular adjunct therapy. The reported success of EEG biofeedback as a non-drug intervention with lasting efficacy warrants a clinical study investigating not only symptom reduction, but also the underlying neurobiological mechanism. To this end, we propose a study using high density EEG recordings before and after treatment for PTSD symptoms to determine which brain activities correlate with reported symptom changes. The proposed study could expand treatment alternatives for servicemen with PTSD. If EEG biofeedback is shown to improve symptom reduction over the placebo controlled condition, it would offer a non-pharmacological intervention that would avoid undesirable side effects, and accelerate recovery compared with the current standard of care.