A Biofeedback Training in Schoolchildren With an Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

This study aims towards investigating the efficacy of a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-based neurofeedback training in a virtual reality (VR) classroom in schoolchildren with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The investigators are especially interested in the training's impact on academic performance, executive functioning (EF) and behavioral ADHD symptoms. Furthermore, the investigators aim at examining the influence of teachers' instructional behavior on children with ADHD's learning in a short virtual reality classroom scenario. Several studies provide evidence that poor academic achievement in ADHD is mainly due to impairments in EF and ADHD behavior (e.g., Frazier, Youngstrom, Glutting, \& Watkins, 2007; Miller et al., 2013). Furthermore, studies show that these factors are related to neurophysiological characteristics found in electroencephalographic (EEG) or functional NIRS (fNIRS) examinations (e.g., Barry, Clarke, \& Johnstone, 2003; Barry, Johnstone, \& Clarke, 2003; Loo \& Barkley, 2005; Negoro et al., 2010). Neurofeedback trainings aim at improving these neurophysiological as well as cognitive-behavioral deficits (Gevensleben, Moll, Rothenberger, \& Heinrich, 2014), and are expected to improve academic performance in children with ADHD accordingly. Training in a VR classroom, from the investigators' perspective, facilitates generalization of self-regulation competences to real-life academic situations and at the same time increases the effort invested into the training compared to a training in 2D settings. Consequently, training in a VR classroom is hypothesized to lead to greater improvement in academic performance, EF and a greater decrease of ADHD symptoms than a training in a 2D setting. Moreover, the investigators hypothesize that these effects are more pronounced in children who receive a NIRS-based neurofeedback training compared to children receiving a biofeedback training based on an electromyogram (EMG).