Neurofeedback and biofeedback for post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and depression

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and depression are psychiatric disorders that interfere with daily-life activities and need psychological and pharmacological treatments. Approximately, 5.7 % of Canadians 18 years and older are affected by GAD, 6.8% by PTSD, and 4.8% by major depression. Biofeedback therapies are non-pharmacological treatments that use non-invasive techniques with bio-monitoring system and sensors to measure, amplify and feedback information about physiological processes such as respiration, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), blood flow and blood pressure, to the individual being monitored, thus assisting the individual to be aware of these processes and to gain voluntary control over body and mind. Neurofeedback, also known as brainwave biofeedback, is a subspecialty of biofeedback that monitors brainwave activity from electrodes placed on the scalp. Training with neurofeedback aims to enable the individual to modify patterns of cortical activity and normalize brain activity. This study was conducted to review the clinical effectiveness and guidelines of biofeedback and neurofeedback in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and depression.