NCT06142786

Individualized Alpha Neurofeedback for ADHD

Recruiting now NA Last updated 17 July 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Enhancing the individualized upper alpha frequency band and suppressing the lower alpha band. in ADHD in 60 participants. Currently enrolling.

Timeline

1 June 2024

Primary endpoint
25 December 2025

25 December 2026

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	The University of Hong Kong
Phase	NA
Status	Recruiting now
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	quadruple
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	60
Start date	1 June 2024
Primary completion	25 December 2025
Estimated completion	25 December 2026
Sites	1 location across Hong Kong

Drugs / interventions tested

• Enhancing the individualized upper alpha frequency band and suppressing the lower alpha band.
• Sham neurofeedback

Conditions studied

• ADHD — all drugs for ADHD →

Sponsor

The University of Hong Kong

Who can join

Adults 5 to 13, any sex, with ADHD. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders, characterised by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Although pharmacotherapy is considered the first-line treatment for ADHD at all ages (at least for severe cases), non-pharmacological therapies might be equally effective without the risk of drug side effects. Some studies have shown that electroencephalographic (EEG) neurofeedback improves parent-rated ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents. However, whether neurofeedback is an effective treatment for ADHD is still under debate.

Several issues may hinder the evaluation of the effectiveness of neurofeedback treatment in previous studies. Firstly, previous neurofeedback studies did not utilize effective neurophysiological markers for ADHD. Theta/Beta ratio, the most common neurofeedback marker for treating ADHD in the past two decades, has recently been suggested to be only weakly correlated to individuals' attention. Secondly, previous studies mostly used the norm of the EEG markers in age/gender matched healthy children as the training target for ADHD children, which largely ignored the individual variations in EEG acquisition. Third, most of the previous studies lack a rigorous study design, for comparing neurofeedback with a 'placebo' condition and evaluating its specific and non-specific effects.

In the current studies, we propose to conduct a sham-controlled, triple-blind trial to evaluate the effectiveness of an individual-based neurofeedback treatment for ADHD children and adolescents. The EEG marker for neurofeedback in treating ADHD would be the individualized lower/higher alpha band power, based on the recent methodological advances in EEG spectrum processing (1/f model fit and individualized peak alpha frequency modelling) . The training target will be individualized and defined according to the neurophysiological pattern shown in pre-training resting-state conditions, and thus each participant will be trained to achieve their own optimum state of engagement. Sham neurofeedback will be used as a placebo condition, controlling for the non-specific effect of neurofeedback. The study will be triple-blinded (i.e, participants, individuals who administered treatment or intervention, and those who assessed the outcomes were masked).

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. From Aberrant Brainwaves to Altered Plasticity: A Review of QEEG Biomarkers and Neurofeedback in the Neurobiological Landscape of ADHD.
   Kopańska M, Trojniak J. · · 2025 · cited 3× · PMID 40940749 · DOI 10.3390/cells14171339