EvidenceCLimitedStudies in people with real weaknesses: small, short or conflicting trials, or observational studies only.
Neurofeedback eased anxiety in several small trials, but the best reviews can't separate its effect from placebo A dummy treatment that looks like the real one, so people can't tell which they got. and attention. We don't know yet if it works better than other treatments.
Who it's for
People with anxiety curious about it; not shown to beat standard treatments.
What to expect
Small trials show lower anxiety scores; real-world size is unclear.
Watch out for
Weak studies, no clear sham controls, and side effects rarely tracked.
Anxiety scores fell after neurofeedback in both groups
Bars show average anxiety scores before training and after the fifth session for the group trained on the left side of the brain.
Before training47.15
After fifth session38.69
points on the anxiety scale
Anxiety scores fell after neurofeedback in both groups
A review of randomized trials People are assigned by chance to the treatment or a comparison, so a difference in results is likely caused by the treatment itself. of biofeedback (including brain-wave neurofeedback) for anxiety disorders found it beat a waiting list. It did not beat active treatments or training in the wrong direction, so its specific effect can't be told apart from general treatment effects. Most trials were rated weak1Systematic review · 2020Biofeedback and Neurofeedback for Anxiety Disorders: A Quantitative and Qualitative Systematic Review.Further, significant limitations were identified in the existing literature, with the majority receiving a "weak" rating according to Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) rating system guidelines. Future directions for research are discussed.Adv Exp Med Biol.
A trial of 32 women found that frontal alpha asymmetry neurofeedback lowered anxiety and negative mood more than an active control training. Chance is unlikely to explain it, but the trial was small and short2Randomized trial · 2017 · 16 peopleFrontal alpha asymmetry neurofeedback for the reduction of negative affect and anxiety.No training-specific modulation emerged for positive affect and depressive symptoms. These findings provide a strong rationale for the use of frontal alpha asymmetry neurofeedback for the reduction of negative affect and anxiety in clinical settings.Behav Res Ther.
A trial of 26 women with generalized anxiety disorder gave ten 40-minute sessions of alpha training over the left or right parietal lobe. Anxiety scores fell in both groups and kept falling at four weeks. With no no-training or sham group, the drop can't be credited to the training4Randomized trial · 2021 · 13 peopleNeurofeedback training improves anxiety trait and depressive symptom in GAD.Neurofeedback training of alpha activity over the parietal lobe is effective in GAD patients, especially the anxiety trait and depressive symptoms.Brain Behav.
A trial of 26 healthy people with high anxiety used brain-scan neurofeedback aimed at amygdala-prefrontal links. Anxiety dropped with the real target but not with a sham target, and control held for 3 days. The test was a proof of concept in a short crossover design3Randomized trial · 2019 · 26 peopleReal-Time Functional Connectivity-Informed Neurofeedback of Amygdala-Frontal Pathways Reduces Anxiety.The present results demonstrate for the first time that successful self-regulation of amygdala-prefrontal top-down regulatory circuits may represent a novel intervention to control anxiety. As such, the present findings underscore both the critical contribution of amygdala-prefrontal circuits to emotion regulation and…Psychother Psychosom.
A meta-analysis A study that pools the results of several earlier studies into one overall estimate. It is usually the strongest kind of evidence. of brain-scan neurofeedback in psychiatric disorders found a large anxiety benefit versus controls. Studies differed widely, and only 8 of 22 controlled trials showed clinical benefit over control. The authors called for stronger trials5Meta-analysis · 2022Real-time fMRI neurofeedback as a new treatment for psychiatric disorders: A meta-analysis.However, the between-studies heterogeneity is very high. The use of RT-fMRI-NF as a treatment for psychiatric symptoms is promising, however, further double-blind, multicentric, randomized-controlled trials are warranted.Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry.
A meta-analysis of consumer headband neurofeedback with meditation found a very small drop in distress versus controls. It found no sign the devices changed brain activity. The authors suggest a placebo effect may be at work. Side effects were rarely measured6Meta-analysis · 2025 · 30 peopleConsumer-Grade Neurofeedback With Mindfulness Meditation: Meta-Analysis.Assertions that consumer-grade devices can allow participants to modulate their brains and deepen their meditations are not currently supported. It is possible that neurofeedback effects may rely on "neurosuggestion" (placebo effects of neurotechnology). Future research should examine more extensive calibration and…J Med Internet Res.
A trial of 180 healthy soldiers in stressful training found that EEG neurofeedback aimed at the amygdala improved stress coping measures compared with controls. Anxiety itself wasn't the main outcome9Randomized trial · 2019 · 180 peopleElectrical fingerprint of the amygdala guides neurofeedback training for stress resilience.Neural target engagement was demonstrated in a follow-up fMRI-NF, showing greater amygdala blood-oxygen-level-dependent downregulation and amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal cortex functional connectivity following Amyg-EFP-NF relative to NoNF. Together, these results demonstrate limbic specificity and efficacy of…Nat Hum Behav.
Effect sizes How big a difference is on a common scale, so studies that measured it in different ways can be compared. About 0.2 is small, 0.5 medium and 0.8 large. compare groups, so one person's gain depends on how anxious they were to begin with.
Key studies
Study
Who
What it found
Review of trials, 20201Systematic review · 2020Biofeedback and Neurofeedback for Anxiety Disorders: A Quantitative and Qualitative Systematic Review.Further, significant limitations were identified in the existing literature, with the majority receiving a "weak" rating according to Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) rating system guidelines. Future directions for research are discussed.Adv Exp Med Biol
People with anxiety disorders
Beat waiting list; not active treatments or reversed training
Trial, 20172Randomized trial · 2017 · 16 peopleFrontal alpha asymmetry neurofeedback for the reduction of negative affect and anxiety.No training-specific modulation emerged for positive affect and depressive symptoms. These findings provide a strong rationale for the use of frontal alpha asymmetry neurofeedback for the reduction of negative affect and anxiety in clinical settings.Behav Res Ther
32 women
Anxiety fell more than with active control
Trial, 20193Randomized trial · 2019 · 26 peopleReal-Time Functional Connectivity-Informed Neurofeedback of Amygdala-Frontal Pathways Reduces Anxiety.The present results demonstrate for the first time that successful self-regulation of amygdala-prefrontal top-down regulatory circuits may represent a novel intervention to control anxiety. As such, the present findings underscore both the critical contribution of amygdala-prefrontal circuits to emotion regulation and…Psychother Psychosom
26 healthy, highly anxious people
Real target cut anxiety; sham did not
Trial, 20214Randomized trial · 2021 · 13 peopleNeurofeedback training improves anxiety trait and depressive symptom in GAD.Neurofeedback training of alpha activity over the parietal lobe is effective in GAD patients, especially the anxiety trait and depressive symptoms.Brain Behav
26 women with generalized anxiety
Scores fell in both groups; no control group
Meta-analysis, 20225Meta-analysis · 2022Real-time fMRI neurofeedback as a new treatment for psychiatric disorders: A meta-analysis.However, the between-studies heterogeneity is very high. The use of RT-fMRI-NF as a treatment for psychiatric symptoms is promising, however, further double-blind, multicentric, randomized-controlled trials are warranted.Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
Psychiatric patients, brain-scan neurofeedback
Large anxiety effect; very mixed results
Safety
Side effects were not assessed in 19 of 21 consumer-device studies and were not found in the 2 that checked6Meta-analysis · 2025 · 30 peopleConsumer-Grade Neurofeedback With Mindfulness Meditation: Meta-Analysis.Assertions that consumer-grade devices can allow participants to modulate their brains and deepen their meditations are not currently supported. It is possible that neurofeedback effects may rely on "neurosuggestion" (placebo effects of neurotechnology). Future research should examine more extensive calibration and…J Med Internet Res.
What we don't know
Whether neurofeedback beats sham feedback or standard treatments such as therapy in larger, well-run trials.
Which method, number of sessions or target works best, and whether benefits last.
Written by AI from the studies listed, without review by a clinician, and graded with the GRADE method. It can be wrong, so check the studies it cites. Education, not medical advice.