The effectiveness of ILF neurofeedback in various diagnostic groups
A recent study by Theis and colleagues (2025) examines the effectiveness of ILF Neurofeedback in different diagnostic categories and investigates whether subjective changes in symptoms correlate with objective performance measurements.
Introduction
Globally, there is an increase in psychiatric disorders, leading to a growing demand for treatments. Psychotherapy, based on learning processes, and pharmacotherapy, which targets chemical imbalances, are the two dominant therapeutic options, considered effective in treating psychiatric disorders.
However, access to psychotherapy is not always available, and waiting times can extend to several months, with high dropout rates also being reported. Pharmacotherapy is widely used, but in many cases, side effects may occur that reduce quality of life. Moreover, it does not produce long-lasting effects, meaning that the benefits may disappear immediately after discontinuing the medication. In some cases, drug treatment does not even lead to the desired results.
Thus, the demand for new complementary approaches is increasing. Neurofeedback is one of them. It is based on the idea of overcoming dysregulations in brain activity that contribute to the development of mental disorders. Various studies (including case studies) have demonstrated the effectiveness of neurofeedback.
Study Design
In an observational study, data were collected from 256 individuals treated in therapeutic clinics. Participants were grouped according to ICD-10 F codes into four categories:
- F3 – Affective disorders (MO)
- F4 – Neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders (NS)
- F8 – Disorders of psychological development (PD)
- F9 – Behavioral and emotional disorders with onset in childhood and adolescence (BE)
Both patient-reported symptoms (subjective criteria) and continuous cognitive performance tests were evaluated for correlation.
Symptom Progression
Symptom monitoring is a method frequently used in neurofeedback. It tracks relevant symptoms throughout the course of training. In this study, symptom monitoring was carried out after each ILF neurofeedback session. It was found that the average symptom score decreased significantly over time. The greatest reduction was observed during the first 10 sessions.
The correspondence discriminant analysis of the symptom monitoring data produced the graph below. It can be observed that, for the different disorder groups, there are distinct symptom profiles that differentiate one group from the others.
Continuous Performance Test
The QIK test (continuous performance test) is an objective measure used to obtain information such as reaction time or commission and omission errors. The QIK test was administered before and after ILF neurofeedback training. Data analysis showed a significant reduction in reaction time after neurofeedback training, regardless of the diagnostic group. The same applies to omission and commission errors — a significant reduction in both types of errors was observed after training, independent of the diagnostic group.
Correlation Between the Two Measurements
The correlation between objective and subjective measurements was evaluated. For the group with affective disorders, a correlation was found between the changes observed in symptom monitoring and commission errors. In addition, in the PD group (psychological development disorders), a correlation was identified between symptom monitoring measurements and correct responses, as well as omission errors.
Conclusion
This study, conducted in a naturalistic setting, demonstrated the effectiveness of ILF neurofeedback on self-assessment and performance across four diagnostic groups. Both a reduction in symptoms and an improvement in performance, as measured by the QIK test, were observed. Although in some diagnostic groups a correlation was found between symptom reduction and performance improvement, this suggests that subjective evaluations and objective performance measurements may be either independent or conditionally dependent on the diagnostic group or specific symptoms.
References
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