Compared with a nonalcoholic control group and a traditionally treated alcoholic control group, alcoholics who received brainwave training showed significant increases in percentages of alpha and theta rhythms in the EEG traces (as visually assessed by blind raters), increased amplitude in alpha rhythm, and sharp reductions in depression scores compared with the control groups (Peniston and Kulkosky 1989). Neurofeedback techniques have been found to be effective for treating alcohol and other SUDs (Sokhadze et al. 2008; Trudeau et al. 2009) and to improve performance and well-being in individuals with other behavioral/emotional problems (Gruzelier 2009). According to Gruzelier (2009), neuroanatomical circuitry underlying alpha-theta neurofeedback involves cognitive as well as affective/motivational functions subserved by the interaction between distal and widely distributed brain connections, mainly from the ascending mescencephalic-cortical arousal system and limbic circuits. These studies suggest that neurofeedback methods may become effective therapeutic tools for AUD, although more studies are needed to both confirm and enhance their applications.
