The effect of neurofeedback on brain waves in children with spastic cerebral palsy

Background & objectives: Lack of early detection and intervention of cerebral palsy in children can lead to multiple disabilities. Neurofeedback is a new treatment method that may cause neuro and metabolic function regulation in brain. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of neurofeedback on brain waves in children with spastic cerebral palsy. Material & Methods: This study was semi-experimental with preand posttest. The sampling method was available. The samples include all children 4-15 years old with spastic cerebral palsy; were admitted to rehabilitation centers of Tehran, in 2013. Twenty-six children with cerebral palsy with a mean age of 9.1 ± 4.8 years on the basis of inclusion & exclusion criteria (IQ above 80) were enrolled. Five sessions of neurofeedback were done. Brain waves were recorded before and after intervention by the EEG / ERP 19-channels standard with a sampling frequency of 250Hz and were compared to brain waves patterns of 50 normal, 4-15 years old children (control group). Results: The average of delta (low frequency) power decreased and the alpha (higher frequencies) power increased over the children after intervention in each channel. These mean that intervention bring brain waves pattern to near normal and these changes may be the signs of brain waves improvement. Conclusion: It seems that neurofeedback improve the brain waves in children with cerebral palsy. It’s necessary to do more investigations about the efficacy of this method in treatment of cerebral palsy.