A randomized, double-blind study tested real-time fNIRS neurofeedback in 60 healthy young adults. Participants practiced cognitive reappraisal while receiving either feedback from individualized left prefrontal channels or yoked sham feedback.
What changed Active training increased activity in the targeted lateral prefrontal region across four neurofeedback runs. During a socially evaluated cold pressor test, the active group reported lower subjective stress, but not lower pain. Post-training anxiety was also reduced.
Why it matters The study connects successful regulation of a measured brain signal with a specific transfer outcome under laboratory stress. It also illustrates how feedback can be individualized to a participant's functional signal rather than a fixed location alone.
What the evidence supports These results concern short-term stress regulation in healthy young adults. They do not establish treatment efficacy for an anxiety or stress-related disorder, long-term benefit, or superiority over established clinical care. Adverse-event details, funding and conflicts were not available in the reviewed abstract.
Published September 8, 2026. Prepared with AI assistance and checked against the authoritative indexed abstract on September 11, 2026.