Real-Time fMRI in the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders

Multiple mental disorders have been associated with dysregulations of precise brain processes. However, few therapeutic approaches are currently available in order to correct such specific patterns of brain activity. Since the late 60s and early 70s, many have hoped that this feat could be achieved by closed-loop brain imaging approaches, such as neurofeedback, that aim at modulating brain activity directly. However, neurofeedback never acquired mainstream acceptance in mental health, in part due to methodological considerations. Here, we argue that, when contemporary methodological guidelines are followed, neurofeedback is one of the few intervention methods in psychology that can be assessed in double-blind placebo-controlled trials. Furthermore, using new advances in machine learning and statistics, it is now possible to target very precise patterns of brain activity for therapeutic purposes. We review the recent literature in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback and discuss current and future applications to mental health.