EEG operant conditioning in intractable epileptics
J. F. Lubar, H. S. Shabsin, S. E. Natelson, G. S. Holder, S. F. Whitsett, W. E. Pamplin and D. I. Krulikowski
Eight epileptic patients with mixed seizures refractory to medical control
participated in a double-blind crossover study to determine the
effectiveness of operant conditioning of the EEG as an anticonvulsant
procedure. Baseline levels of seizures were recorded for four months prior
to the beginning of treatment. Participants then received false
(noncontingent) feedback for two months followed by an ABA-patterned
training program lasting a total of ten months. Subjects were assigned to
three treatment groups based on different schedules of EEG feedback. They
were first trained (A1 phase) either to suppress slow activity (3 to 8 Hz),
to enhance 12- to 15-Hz activity, or to simultaneously suppress 3- to 8-Hz
and enhance 11- to 19-Hz activity. This was followed by a B phase, in which
patients were trained to enhance slow activity (3 to 8 Hz). In the final
phase (A2), the initial training contingencies were reinstated.
Neuropsychological tests were performed before and after training, and
changes in EEG activity as determined by Fast Fourier spectral analyses
were analyzed. Five of eight patients experienced a decrease in their mean
monthly seizure rate at the completion of feedback training as compared
with their initial baseline level.
