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. 2024 Nov 20;10(23):e40561.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e40561. eCollection 2024 Dec 15.

Improved effect of EEG-biofeedback intervention on cognitive function in childhood idiopathic epilepsy with ADHD: A retrospective study

Dazhi Cheng  1   2 , Yuchen Yang  3 , Xiuxian Yan  2 , Qian Chen  2
Affiliations

Improved effect of EEG-biofeedback intervention on cognitive function in childhood idiopathic epilepsy with ADHD: A retrospective study

Dazhi Cheng et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Background: Although childhood idiopathic epilepsy syndromes are frequently associated with a good prognosis, they also have a high prevalence of comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The current study aimed to examine whether an intervention using electroencephalogram (EEG) biofeedback can improve cognitive performance in childhood idiopathic syndromes with ADHD.

Methods: In this study, thirty-six childhood idiopathic epilepsy syndrome patients with comorbid ADHD were divided into either the treatment or the control group. All participants' cognitive functions were assessed by a standardized test battery on processing speed, spatial perception, arithmetic, semantic comprehension, forward/backward verbal working memory, non-verbal matrix reasoning, visual attention and executive function before and after the training.

Results: ANOVA analysis showed that the treatment group improved significantly on task performances in forward digit span and backward digit span tasks, but not in other cognitive assessments. The findings indicated that the treatment group receiving the EEG-Biofeedback intervention showed improved verbal working memory.

Conclusions: The findings suggested that EEG biofeedback can improve the core cognitive function in childhood idiopathic epilepsy syndromes with ADHD.

Keywords: ADHD; Childhood epilepsy; Cognitive function; Electroencephalogram biofeedback; Working memory.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Illustration of intervention procedure.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Examples of neuropsychological tests.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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