Are there differences in neurofeedback and biofeedback?

Neurofeedback is EEG biofeedback. It’s just a specialized form of biofeedback. General biofeedback, sometimes called peripheral biofeedback, deals more with relaxation, but also has long been used for stress disorders, migraines and headaches, and more recently, incontinence. EEG biofeedback more directly trains changes in brain function. It is used more for psychiatric, psychological, and neurological issues.

EEG Biofeedback tends to target issues around behavior, attention, mood and affect regulation, cognition, learning and memory issues, and neurological issues.

Biofeedback

All biofeedback provides physiological data to the individual. General, or peripheral, biofeedback is more familiar to health professionals than EEG. Often when someone says neurofeedback, physicians and other health professionals assume that you are talking about biofeedback.

General biofeedback includes: EMG/muscle relaxation, GSR/galvanic skin response often associated as an indicator of stress, heart rate variability, temperature (hand warming) and breathing training. A relatively new application is highly effective with incontinence problems.

Neurofeedback

In EEG feedback, as the individual changes their EEG, it directly impacts activation and timing. This is thought to have a more direct effect on central nervous system function. Neurofeedback is the fastest-growing segment of the biofeedback field. Most biofeedback reduces stress and is relaxing. Neurofeedback provides a more direct impact on brain regulation than other biofeedback modalities. It may require more education to deliver.

Some clinicians, like those who started with peripheral feedback, have combined hand temperature or EMG training with neurofeedback for certain kinds of problems, particularly stress-related issues, pain, and addiction problems. Many therapists dropped peripheral measures saying that they made faster progress with neurofeedback by itself than by combining.

Combining Neurofeedback and Biofeedback

There is a emerging trend by experienced clinicians to add heart rate variability training, GSR, breathing rate training, and others as homework or as an adjunct for clients also doing neurofeedback.  They are all methods for self-regulation that can support the client. All these can help gain balance between the tone of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

Often combining one or two of these is often reported to be helpful. And though most clinicians have their favorites, there is no clear information whether one is preferable over another. Clinicians need to listen to their clients and make suggestions based on presenting symptoms and situations.