Neurofeedback for resilience and stress prevention
Work-related stress is a major factor contributing to chronic ill health and health disparities. Neurofeedback allows people to train self-regulation techniques for brain activation based on real-time feedback. The members of this partnership have been at the forefront of progress in the field of neurofeedback through the development of software tools (Brain Innovation) and clinical applications (Maastricht University). This project will apply neurofeedback training in emergency workers with the aim of preventing long-term stress.
The direct costs related to absence from work due to stress-related illness have been estimated at €800M per year in the Netherlands based on costs of sick leave. Overall costs due to work-related mental illness have even been estimated at 4.7 billion per year. One group that is particularly affected by stress and high risk of stress disorders triggered by traumatic events are emergency workers who make up appr. 1% of the Dutch workforce. The consortium hypothesized that neurofeedback can help emergency workers with their emotion regulation, increase their resilience and ultimately decrease the prevalence of stress-related disorders in this population. They will assess the feasibility of self-regulation protocols for brain activity associated with threatening or otherwise potentially traumatising situations, using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)-based neurofeedback. They will evaluate relevant triggers and how to model them with fMRI paradigms, and then couple them with non-invasive brain computer interfaces that allow participants to observe and regulate their brain activity. Paradigms will be developed in close consultation with user groups, and evaluated both for their neural and behavioural effects.
This is the first time that the effect of fMRI-neurofeedback on resilience and stress responses in emergency personnel will be investigated. With this project, it is hoped to create the experimental proof of concept for the further development of neurofeedback-based tools for stress prevention and reduction.
