Neurofeedback Training for Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: a Protocol Study

Comparison of Effects Between SMR/Delta Ratio and beta1/Theta Ratio Neurofeedback Trainings for Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

This is a non-pharmacological study evaluating the effects of SMR/delta ratio and beta1/theta ratio neurofeedback trainings on cognitive performance and electrical brain activity in elderly with mild cognitive impairment.

Older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) are at high risk to progress to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Slowing down effect of dementia by enhancing brain plasticity represents one of the most prominent challenges. Neurofeedback is one of the promising techniques that showed therapeutic efficacy and cognitive improvement in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, stroke. We aim to study the effects of two neurofeedback training protocols, SMR/delta ratio and beta1/theta ratio, on cognitive performances in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment and to assess whether MCI patients change in brain electrical activity in a resting state after training.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment
• MMSE score >24
• Subjective memory complaint confirmed by an informant.
• Perform at/or below 1.5 standard deviations from the mean for age and education-matched norms on more than one of the neuropsychological tests.
• Preserve activity of daily living
• Absence of dementia.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Psychiatric and neurological disorders
• History of alcohol or other substance consumption