Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Jul 23, 2020
Date Accepted: Sep 14, 2020
What is the analgesic effect of EEG neurofeedback for people with chronic pain? A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Chronic pain is a global health problem, affecting around one in five individuals in the general population. The understanding of the key role of functional brain alterations in the generation of chronic pain has led researchers to focus on pain treatments that target brain activity. Electroencephalographic (EEG) neurofeedback attempts to modulate the power of maladaptive EEG frequency powers to decrease chronic pain. Although several studies provide promising evidence, the effect of EEG neurofeedback on chronic pain is uncertain.
Objective:
This systematic review aims to synthesise the evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the analgesic effect of EEG neurofeedback. In addition, the findings of non-randomised studies will be synthesised in a narrative review.
Methods:
The search strategy will be performed on five electronic databases (Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, and CINAHL) for published studies and on clinical trial registries for completed unpublished studies. We will include studies that used EEG neurofeedback as an intervention for people with chronic pain. Risk of bias tools will be used to assess methodological quality of the included studies. RCTs will be included if they have compared EEG neurofeedback with any other intervention or placebo control. The data from RCTs will be aggregated to perform a meta-analysis for quantitative synthesis. The primary outcome measure is pain intensity assessed by self-report scales. Secondary outcome measures include depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and sleep quality measured by self-reported questionnaires. Further, the studies will be investigated for additional outcomes addressing adverse effects and resting-state EEG analysis. Additionally, all types of non-randomised studies will be included for a narrative synthesis. The intended and unintended effects of non-randomised studies will be extracted and summarised in a descriptive table.
Results:
Ethics approval is not required for a systematic review as there will be no patient involvement. The search for this systematic review has commenced in July 2020, and the findings are expected to be published in early 2021.
Conclusions:
This systematic review will provide recommendations for researchers and health professionals, as well as people with chronic pain about the evidence for the analgesic effect of EEG neurofeedback. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020177608
Citation
Per the author's request the PDF is not available.
Copyright
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