Neurofeedback is a well-investigated treatment for ADHD and epilepsy, especially when restricted to standard protocols such as theta/beta, slow cortical potentials and sensori-motor rhythm neurofeedback. Advances in any field are welcome and other techniques are being pursued. Manufacturers and clinicians are marketing ‘superior’ neurofeedback approaches including 19 channel Z-score neurofeedback (ZNFB) and 3-D LORETA neurofeedback (with or without Z-scores; LNFB). We conducted a review of the empirical literature to determine if such claims were warranted. This review included the above search terms in Pubmed, Google scholar and any references that met our criteria from the ZNFB publication list and was restricted to group based studies examining improvement in a clinical population that underwent peer review (book chapters, magazine articles or conference presentations are not included since these are not peer reviewed). Fifteen relevant studies emerged with only six meeting our criterion. Based on review of these studies it was concluded that empirical validation of these approaches is sorely lacking. There is no empirical data that supports the notion that 19-channel z-score neurofeedback is effective or superior. The quality of studies for LNFB was better compared to ZNFB and some suggestion for efficacy was demonstrated for ADHD and Tinnitus distress. However, these findings need to be replicated, extended to other populations and have yet to show any “superiority.” Our conclusions continue to emphasize the pervasive lack of evidence supporting these approaches to neurofeedback and the implications of this are discussed.

中文翻译：

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19频道Z评分和LORETA神经反馈：证据是否支持炒作？

神经反馈是对注意力缺陷多动障碍和癫痫病的一种经过充分研究的治疗方法，尤其是在限于标准方案（例如theta / beta，缓慢的皮层电位和感觉运动节律神经反馈）时。欢迎在任何领域取得进展，并正在寻求其他技术。制造商和临床医生正在营销“高级”神经反馈方法，包括19通道Z分数神经反馈（ZNFB）和3-D LORETA神经反馈（有或没有Z分数； LNFB）。我们对经验文献进行了审查，以确定是否有这样的主张。该评价包括Pubmed，Google Scholar中的上述搜索词，以及符合ZNFB出版物列表中我们标准的所有参考文献，并且仅限于基于小组的研究，这些研究检查了经过同行评审的临床人群的病情改善（本书各章，不包括杂志文章或会议演讲，因为未经同行评审）。进行了15项相关研究，只有6项符合我们的标准。根据对这些研究的回顾，得出的结论是，对这些方法的经验验证非常缺乏。没有任何经验数据支持19通道z评分神经反馈有效或优越的观点。与ZNFB相比，LNFB的研究质量更好，并且对ADHD和耳鸣困扰的疗效有一些建议。但是，这些发现需要复制，扩展到其他人群，并且尚未显示出任何“优势”。我们的结论继续强调普遍缺乏支持这些神经反馈治疗方法的证据，并对此进行了讨论。