Using neurofeedback to enhance executive function skills.
Executive function skills are the skills necessary to pay attention, organize and plan, and to initiate and complete tasks. Another important aspect of this is being able to accomplish these things while maintaining the appropriate emotional regulation.
Neurofeedback has been shown to improve executive function skills both in those who struggle in these areas as well in healthy individuals. The latter supports the growing utilization of neurofeedback as a “bio-hack” intervention for the purpose of optimizing executive performance. Studies have demonstrated significant improvement in memory and performance test scores in those doing neurofeedback (as compared to a "sham" treatment group that saw no improvement).
With children, executive function skills are essential to academic performance, and when those skills are compromised, those children often struggle and it is apparent to both the parents and the teachers. A recent study demonstrated the benefit that neurofeedback had on this population, and found that when compared to a control group, those doing neurofeedback saw significant improvement in "cognitive functions (sustained attention, verbal working memory, and response inhibition), parent- and teacher-rated behavior problems and on academic performance rated by teachers" Additionally, this study found that these improvements were sustained when assessed 6 months after receiving NFT.
Another study found that neurofeedback had positive effects with respect to higher executive functions in adults, specifically n specific EFs also leads to behavioral benefits in response inhibition, task switching, and memory updating.
Neurofeedback has been shown to enhance executive function skills in healthy adults as well, confirming the use of neurofeedback for optimizing performance and for peak performance purposes. This study found that in healthy adults, those doing neurofeedback therapy were shown to significantly improve their working memory on performance tests, while a sham control group demonstrated no improvement.
Whether you are struggling with executive functioning, or you simply want to enhance your potential and productivity, neurofeedback has been shown to be beneficial in this regard.
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