SynthesisNeuroscience and biobehavioral reviews2021
The efficacy of real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback for psychiatric illness: A meta-analysis of brain and behavioral outcomes.
Synthesis in Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Self-navigating the "Island of Reil": a systematic review of real-time fMRI neurofeedback training of insula activity.Translational psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of fMRI neurofeedback reporting and effects in clinical populations.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2020Pooled it
- Whole-brain mechanism of neurofeedback therapy: predictive modeling of neurofeedback outcomes on repetitive negative thinking in depression.Translational psychiatry · 2024Trial
- Feasibility of training the dorsolateral prefrontal-striatal network by real-time fMRI neurofeedback.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Neurofeedback in Major Depression.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Study protocol for a multi-session randomized sham-controlled trial of PCC- and amygdala-targeted neurofeedback for the treatment of PTSD.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Functional brain network dynamics of brooding in depression: Insights from real-time fMRI neurofeedback.Journal of affective disorders · 2025Article
- Clinical response to neurofeedback in major depression relates to subtypes of whole-brain activation patterns during training.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Article
- Integrating Virtual Reality, Neurofeedback, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (Hybrid): Protocol of a Pilot, Unblinded, Single-Arm Interventional Study.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Neurofeedback Training Facilitates Awareness and Enhances Emotional Well-being Associated with Real-World Meditation Practice: A 7-T MRI Study.Mindfulness · 2025Article
- Training individuals with schizophrenia to gain volitional control of the theory of mind network with real-time fMRI: A pilot study.Schizophrenia research. Cognition · 2024Article
- Translation of monosynaptic circuits underlying amygdala fMRI neurofeedback training.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Article
- High-precision neurofeedback-guided meditation training optimises real-world self-guided meditation practice for well-being.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Training of Selective Attention in Older Adults.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- The Clinical Impact of Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback on Emotion Regulation: A Systematic Review.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation and neurofeedback modulation during episodic future thinking for individuals with suicidal thoughts and behaviors.Behaviour research and therapy · 2024Article
- Exploring protocol development: Implementing systematic contextual memory to enhance real-time fMRI neurofeedback.Journal of electrical bioimpedance · 2024Article
- Identifying brain targets for real-time fMRI neurofeedback in chronic pain: insights from functional neurosurgery.Psychoradiology · 2024Article
- No evidence from a negative mood induction fMRI task for frontal functional asymmetry as a suitable neurofeedback target.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Closing the loop between brain and electrical stimulation: towards precision neuromodulation treatments.Translational psychiatry · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rtfMRI-NF) has gained popularity as an experimental treatment for a variety of psychiatric illnesses. However, there has yet to be a quantitative review regarding its efficacy. Here, we present the first meta-analysis of rtfMRI-NF for psychiatric disorders, evaluating its impact on brain and behavioral outcomes. Our literature review identified 17 studies and 105 effect sizes across brain and behavioral outcomes. We find that rtfMRI-NF produces a medium-sized effect on neural activity during training (g = .59, 95 % CI [.44, .75], p < .0001), a large-sized effect after training when no neurofeedback is provided (g = .84, 95 % CI [.37, 1.31], p = .005), and small-sized effects for behavioral outcomes (symptoms g = .37, 95 % CI [.16, .58], p = .002; cognition g = .23, 95 % CI [-.33, .78], p = .288). Mixed-effects analyses revealed few moderators. Together, these data suggest a positive impact of rtfMRI-NF on brain and behavioral outcomes, although more research is needed to determine how rtfMRI-NF works, for whom, and under what circumstances.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.