Comparison of the Effectiveness of Pharmacotherapy and Neurofeedback on Improving Executive Functions in Children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood that adversely affects the executive functions of people with the disorder. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness and compare pharmacotherapy and neurofeedback in improving executive functions in children with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder.

This research was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design with two experimental and one control groups. The statistical population included all male children with ADHD in exceptional schools of Rasht city in the second semester of the academic year 2020-2021. The research sample consisted of 36 children in the mentioned community who were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to three groups (12 in the pharmacotherapy group, 12 in the neurofeedback group and 12 in the control group). Data collection tool of this research included Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) (Gioia et al., 2000). Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance in SPSS22.

The results showed that both pharmacotherapy and neurofeedback methods were effective on improving overall executive functions in children with ADHD (p<0.001). However, neurofeedback was more effective than pharmacotherapy on improving overall executive functions and its components in children with ADHD (p <0.001).

As well as the effect of pharmaceutical therapy on brain structures, neurofeedback also uses operant conditioning learning principles to affect brain structures, and functionally, it also improves self-regulation skills, enhances brain function, and ultimately improves executive function in children with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder as well as changes and improves brain waves.