Clinical efficacy of neurofeedback training on children with tic disorder

Objective To investigate the effect of neurofeedback training for tics symptoms and electroencephalogram (EEG) spectrum change in children with tic disorder. Methods 19 patients with transient tic disorder (TTD), 20 with chronic motor or vocal tic disorder (CTD) and 15 with Tourette’s disorder (TS) received 40 sessions of neurofeedback training. The clinical effect was evaluated with Yale Global Tic Severity Scale, and brain activity improvement with EEG theta /beta, theta / sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) power ratio. Results The patients with three types of tic disorder all showed a reduction of tics symptoms (TTD: 10.32±0.82 vs. 5.91±5.74; CTD: 12.35±1.50 vs. 4.00±2.22; TS: 25.33±2.80 vs. 13.73±4.22; P<0.01). Additionally, the patients showed theta decreasing and SMR enhancing after the sessions. The ratio of theta /beta (TTD: 2.52±0.38 vs. 2.33±0.32; CTD: 2.43±0.39 vs. 2.21±0.30; TS: 2.64±0.35 vs. 2.39±0.26) and theta/SMR was significantly lower than before treatment (P<0.01). Conclusion Neurofeedback training is an effective and valuable treatment in tic disorder especially in the patients with transient tic disorder and mild chronic motor or vocal tic disorder. Key words: Tic disorder; Neurofeedback; Sensorimotor rhythm; Electroencephalogram spectrum analysis