PTSD therapy with fMRI-decoded neurofeedback bypassing conscious exposure: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

Exposure-based therapy is effective for alleviating fear among patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Nonetheless, because the therapy itself induces fear, patients sometimes abandon treatment prematurely. One emerging alternative therapy employs real-time fMRI-Decoded Neurofeedback (DecNef). It aims to alleviate excessive physiological responses to threat, while bypassing conscious exposure procedure. With DecNef, neural activation patterns for feared cues are first identified. Then these patterns are subsequently induced through feedback without the patient’s awareness of the cues. However, evidence for DecNef’s efficacy is so far limited to laboratory settings and small numbers of patients. In the proposed study, we will test the effectiveness of DecNef for PTSD patients in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study with an improved procedure to decode nonconscious neural activities in response to trauma-related cues. To minimize patient variability, we will employ a crossover design with a six-month interval, considering the compatibility of DecNef to such a design. We will further examine the supposed implicit and stress-free nature of DecNef treatment. The mechanisms of DecNef will be examined with neuroimaging and computational approaches. If successful, this study may offer a less subjectively unpleasant new avenue for PTSD therapy.