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CLINICAL TRIAL article
Front. Pain Res.
Sec. Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Pain
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpain.2025.1479914
A home-based EEG neurofeedback treatment for Chronic Neuropathic Pain -A pilot study
Provisionally accepted- 1 East Kent Hospitals University Nhs Foundation Trust, Ashford, United Kingdom
- 2 Exsurgo Limited, Auckland, New Zealand
- 3 University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom
Objective: This study assessed the effect of an 8-week home-based neurofeedback intervention in chronic neuropathic pain patients. Subjects/Patients: A cohort of eleven individuals with chronic neuropathic pain receiving treatment within the NHS framework.Methods: Participants were trained to operate a home-based neurofeedback system. Each received a portable Axon system for one week of electroencephalogram (EEG) baselines, followed by an 8week neurofeedback intervention, and subsequent 12 weeks of follow-up EEG baselines. Primary outcome measures included changes in the Brief Pain Inventory and Visual Analogue Pain Scale at post-intervention, and follow-ups compared with the baseline. Secondary outcomes included changes in depression, anxiety, stress, pain catastrophizing, central sensitization, sleep quality, and quality of life. EEG activities were monitored throughout the trial.Results: Significant improvements were noted in pain scores, with all participants experiencing overall pain reduction. Clinically significant pain improvement (≥30%) was reported by 5 participants (56%). Mood scores showed a significant decrease in depression (p<0.05), and pain catastrophizing (p<0.05) scores improved significantly at post-intervention, with continued improvement at the first-month follow-up.The findings indicate that an 8-week home-based neurofeedback intervention improved pain and psychological well-being in this sample of chronic neuropathic pain patients. A randomized controlled trial is required to replicate these results in a larger cohort.Trial Registration: The trial is registered with NCT Registration: NCT05464199.
Keywords: Chronic neuropathic pain, EEG Neurofeedback, Home-based neurofeedback, Brain-computer interface, Neuromodulation, neuropathic pain, Remote Telehealth
Received: 13 Aug 2024; Accepted: 24 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sakel, Ozolins, Saunders and Biswas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Riya Biswas, Exsurgo Limited, Auckland, New Zealand
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.