Regulation in acute stress experience through functional near-infrared spectroscopy neurofeedback of the prefrontal cortex.

Participants receiving real fNIRS neurofeedback reported less stress during a laboratory stress test and less anxiety after training. Pain ratings did not improve, and the study did not involve a clinical population.

Tsang MHL, Chen JC, Jiang H, Becker B.
Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · Publication date: 2026-09-08
Added to site: 2026-09-11
DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2026.111918

First-publication date from the authoritative indexed record.

Modalities

Neurofeedback, fNIRS

Clinical focus

Stress, Anxiety, Emotion regulation

Population

Young healthy adults

Sample

60 participants

Intervention / method

Cognitive reappraisal training followed by four neurofeedback runs targeting individualized left lateral prefrontal channels

Comparator

Yoked sham feedback

Clinician summary

Active training increased lateral prefrontal activity across runs and transferred to lower subjective stress, but not pain, during a socially evaluated cold pressor test. Post-training anxiety was also reduced.

How to interpret the findings

The sample comprised healthy young adults, outcomes followed a brief laboratory intervention, and the reviewed abstract does not establish durability, clinical efficacy or adverse-event details.

Equipment and disclosures

Real-time fNIRS feedback from individualized lateral prefrontal channels was described; commercial hardware was not verified from the abstract.

Funding and competing-interest disclosures were not verified from the reviewed abstract.

Related evidence

Compare findings from the same clinical area, including mixed results.

• The effect of heart rate variability biofeedback training on stress and anxiety: a meta-analysis. · Positive with limitations
• The effects of swLORETA Z-score neurofeedback for patients comorbid with major depressive disorder and anxiety symptoms. · Positive with limitations
• Effects of swLORETA Z-score neurofeedback in Z-coherence of the fronto-limbic circuit in patients with major depressive disorder. · Positive with limitations
• The potential of infra-low frequency neurofeedback training in peak performance: The first double-blinded placebo-controlled longitudinal study in healthy adults. · Neutral / negative
• Modulation of neuroendocrine and autonomic responses to competitive stress by slow cortical potentials training in golfers: An exploratory randomized controlled trial. · Mixed
• Acute Psychophysiological Effects Of 4-7-8 And Nadi Shodhana Breathing: A Randomized Crossover Study. · Mixed
• The Effects of Alpha-Theta EEG Biofeedback Training on Anxiety and Stress: Novel Use of Hair Cortisol Concentration as a Biomarker · Positive with limitations
• Psychological and physiological changes following a mindfulness-based intervention integrating breathing training and HRV biofeedback in adults with anxiety disorders · Mixed
• Effects of daily heart rate variability biofeedback practice on the amygdala's structural covariance network. · Positive with limitations