The Effect of Neurofeedback on Joint Attention and Brain Electrical Activity in Boys ‎with High-Functioning Autism

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental condition. People with autism have difficulty with social skills such as joint attention. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of neurofeedback on joint attention and brain electrical activity in 6 to 8 year-old boys with autism.

Thirty boys with high functioning autism in the age range of 6-8 years were selected and randomly assigned into one of the neurofeedback and control groups. The neurofeedback group received alpha increase (8-12 Hz), decrease theta (5-8 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) for 30 hours of neurofeedback intervention. Each training session lasted between 45 and 60 minutes. The control group received the same amount of simulated intervention. In the two stages of pre and post intervention, the participants' joint attention was measured by the initial social communication scale. Also, EEG were recorded for each participant for 5 minutes in two stages pre and post-test to compare the changes of alpha, theta and beta waves. A mixed-design ANOVA 2 (group) x 4 (phases: pre-test, post-test, short-term follow-up and long-term follow-up) and ANCOVA was used to analyze and evaluate the effect of the intervention program on participants' post-test scores and their pre-test entered as covariate variable. Statistical tests were performed by SPSS software version 23.

The statistical results showed that the neurofeedback group improved in the post-test compared to the pre-test. Also, there was a significant difference in the joint attention index between two groups in the post-test (p <0.05). In addition, participants in the neurofeedback group were able to make the desired changes in alpha, theta and beta waves compared to the control group at rest (p <0.05).

According to the results of the present study, it can be concluded that non-invasive intervention programs such as neurofeedback can improve the joint attention of children with high functioning autism.