Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran The Effect of Neurofeedback Training on Inhibition and Emotional Control in Children with ADHD Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

Executive functions Executive function can be defined as the basic cognitive abilities underlying planning, flexibility, self-regulation, and purposeful behavior (Munro, Weyandt, Marraccini, & Oster, 2017). Executive functions represent the abilities that organize, order and handle necessary information for daily activities (McCloskey, 2015). Executive functions commonly coordinate higher level thinking processes, which lays the foundation for problem-solving ability, and are vital for conditions that call for active control over thoughts and actions (Brock, et al., 2009). Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

Emotional control Emotional control has been considered “the process of initiating, maintaining, modulating, or changing the occurrence, intensity, or duration of internal feeling states and emotion-related physiological processes (Eisenberg et al., 2000). Research has shown that children who have trouble regulating their emotions in the classroom are more prone to exhibit later psychopathology (e.g., Cole et al., 1996), and aggression (e.g., Calkins and Marcovitch, 2010), as well as to suffer from peer rejection and poor academic outcomes (Trentacosta and Izard, 2007; Ursache et al., 2012). Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

inhibition Inhibition refers to the ability to control the response or ignore the information that impedes the completion of tasks (Nesbitt, et al., 2013). For example, when a child goes from playground to the math class, s/he must be able to inhibit the desire to continue playing, listen to the teacher's instructions, retain them in the mind and start a new activity (Becker, et al., 2014). Children with poor executive function have trouble controlling impulsive behaviors and regulating their emotions, which hinder their participation in the classroom activities and subsequently affect their academic performance (Baptista, et al., 2016). Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder Executive functions have been damaged in people with various disorder; one of these conditions is Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (Tye and et al, 2017). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is described by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder frequently occur in childhood and have prevalence rate proximally 2 to 9 percent (Lee & Jung, 2017). Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

neurofeedback Neurofeedback is a noninvasive and without medicine method of brain training that can help diversity of disorders such as pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, cognitive decline, autism, attention and hyperactivity disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Luctkar-Flude & Groll, 2015; Ninaus, et al., 2015). This method improves cognitive performance as well as regulate stress level, emotional and behavioral functioning (Ninaus, et al., 2015). These abilities change the brain activity and lead to symptomatic and behavioral modifications. Throughout neurofeedback, brain action is supervised by electrodes located on the vertex and feedback to the person by auditory and visual stimulus produced through computer without presenting any disturbing stimulus into the brain (Luctkar-Flude & Groll, 2015). So the present study explored the effect of neurofeedback training on emotional control and inhibition in ADHA children. Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

Method This study was quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test design. The subjects included 10 children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder who were selected by convenience sampling method. First, behavioral rating inventory of executive functions (BRIEF)was run on children. Subjects then participated in neurofeedback sessions (theta/beta protocol). After the completion of training sessions, emotional control and inhibition were measured through BRIEF. The collected data were analyzed using paired T test and SPSS ver. 19. Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

Table 1. Results of paired T test for emotional control variable result showed that neurofeedback training significantly improved inhibition (p<0/05) and emotional control (p<0/05). Table 1. Results of paired T test for emotional control variable source M SD t P pretest 20.8 8.4 7.17 .000 posttest 16.57 6.3 Table 2. Results of paired T test for inhibition variable source M SD t P pretest 23.5 7.14 10.95 .000 posttest 18.48 5.6 Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

Discussion In neurofeedback training sessions, children learn to increase necessary frequencies and decline the unnecessary frequencies by presenting rewards and operating conditioning, this process can have an impact on attention and other cognitive abilities (Lee & Jung, 2017). TBR neurofeedback training (increasing theta and/or reducing beta activity) is a compensatory mechanism that taught to children. Thus children could learn to be attentive because basic neural networks changed and strengthen (Arns, et al., 2014). In the review of Arns and Kenemans (2014) is expressed symptoms in some persons with ADHD has been created by sleep problems. They believed that neurofeedback through improvement of sleep spindle due to decrease sleep problems and enhance outcomes in individual with ADHD (Arns & Kenemans, 2014). In addition, neurofeedback is a self-regulation training that enhances control on brain and decreases abnormal brain activity, subsequently improve brain functions such as emotional control and inhibition (Holtmann, Sonuga-Barke, Cortese, & Brandeis, 2014).

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION inhibition THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

inhibition Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran

inhibition Asadi Gandomani, Assistant professor, University of Bojnord, Iran