Neural Noise

Neurofeedback treatment in VA clinical care

3 min read

  • A new neurofeedback treatment has been reported by the US Department of Veterans Affairs as showing promise (March 2025); VA rollout implies real-world use in veteran populations.1 1

Gardner updates

  • A new neurofeedback treatment has shown promise in VA clinical care, with relevance for veteran populations. 1

  • Individualized EEG-based neurofeedback protocol relieves concussion symptoms in the VA population, supporting neurofeedback as a non-invasive clinical intervention. 2

  • Neurofeedback equipment was reported to improve treatment for TBI and other diagnoses in a military/VA context (DVIDS). 3

Weekly enrichment (2026-07-20)

  • The VA report refers to a randomized controlled trial by the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System evaluating infra-low-frequency neurofeedback (ILF NFB) for chronic post-concussive symptoms in combat Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), led by Dr. Judy Carlson.4 5
  • The trial was published in Explore: The Journal of Science & Healing (Feb. 15, 2025; Carlson, Ross, Tyrrell, Fiame, Nunokawa, Siriwardhana, & Schaper; Explore 21:103137; DOI 10.1016/j.explore.2025.103137).5
  • Of 87 enrolled participants, 36 completed the intervention (twenty half-hour ILF NFB sessions plus 4 assessments, roughly 3 sessions/week over 10–12 weeks) and 38 completed the control condition (eight weekly 15-minute health-related discussions plus 4 assessments); both groups continued treatment-as-usual and data were analyzed by intent-to-treat.5
  • Participants were 86% male and 14% female with a mean age of 45; baseline-to-end-of-treatment improvements were clinically and statistically significant for headache (p < 0.0001), sleep (p < 0.0001), and attention (p = 0.0022).5
  • Secondary outcomes also improved significantly after ILF NFB: quality of life (p < 0.0001), depressive symptoms (p < 0.0001), and PTSD symptoms (p = 0.0001), with the neurofeedback group falling below the cutoff for probable PTSD at end of treatment and improvements appearing sustained long-term.4 5
  • A secondary analysis reported large effect sizes, with Headache Impact Test scores dropping from 61.3 to 48.9 (P < .001, d = 1.53) and Insomnia Severity Index scores from 17.2 to 7.9 (P < .001, d = 1.53); at 2-month follow-up headache (d = 1.14) and sleep (d = 0.97) gains persisted, though the attention measure was no longer significant.6
  • The VA notes this was the first study to compare unique/optimal-frequency neurofeedback against a control group and the first to apply the technique to Veterans with TBI, a population for which effective treatments have been hard to identify; larger trials are still needed.4
  • Context for BCI/neurofeedback deployment: the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline states there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against neurofeedback for PTSD, positioning it as an option mainly for patients who have not responded to or do not prefer first-line treatments.7
  • A distinct EEG-fMRI-pattern (EFP) neurofeedback device, Prism (amygdala-derived biomarker), received FDA clearance in 2023 after an open-label trial of 79 PTSD patients (15 sessions over 8 weeks) reporting 32% remission, 67% response, and a 13.5-point mean CAPS-5 reduction at 3 months; a DoD-funded multisite sham-controlled trial in Veterans and civilians (NCT06770998) is ongoing.8

Footnotes

  1. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiekFVX3lxTE9mWDY0UGVyZXJ3aXBUcUlSc3ZTSVJOc0YxcnI4TFlGSVN3Uk5BbU1uNWJFX3pxcWhJdS1rdGI2ZEc5RkNMcV9NNTdnQ0pXZnFpYUdzalp5UmtQek1ERHJYVjJPbzdKeTI1QXRZWkQ2MHppMUk2YnRmT213?oc=5 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipgFBVV95cUxQR0k3WlRCYnh2SEs1NzExLUNUdHlWSTdzbS0tTC1qcVA5VUxLR05aTWx5MjFnQXdTRTNsNHpsdktSb2J4a3A0cmwzYnpYOFhMNjhxTnJvcEN5VVo1UmFUS2VRTGZWTUpxQl9DY1VDeWhTNzUzeTgzNlhRX1lYSlZDZ1lNd1ltZUNOenJuT2UwTU0yemo5bmNJYTVyZEg5cDQ0b0ZSZmxR?oc=5 ↩

  3. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMioAFBVV95cUxQYXNfcWVDdFcydjVyeTJZVlI1VUFoUnk4TGw4empxRVlkQTNtRjlvT3JxVzNETDd6bkZCeks1LVlqc1Bhb0VITEtLaU95VUthRk03N3NlWm5NNm9DUzZ3Qk9CWGtyNDNmWGRqb1pITDFCSU82ZlZlUlRqNGQwZ2g2QTBDWXRuMXQyNTVWREQ2QURVblgtZnRwa0M5TW1JNERW?oc=5 ↩

  4. https://www.research.va.gov/currents/0425-Individualized-neurofeedback-relieves-concussion-symptoms.cfm ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2025.103137 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  6. https://www.mdedge.com/fedprac/article/273406/neurology/clinical-impact-infra-low-frequency-neurofeedback-combat-veterans-chronic-postconcussive-symptoms ↩

  7. https://health.mil/Reference-Center/Publications/2026/01/09/Neurofeedback-for-PTSD ↩

  8. https://physicianfocus.nyulangone.org/neurofeedback-training-at-the-forefront-of-ptsd-treatment-and-beyond/ ↩

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