Autonomic biofeedback therapy in epilepsy. Nagai Y.
Pharmacological intervention is a mainstay for treatment of epilepsy. However, a third of patients with epilepsy remain drug resistant. Behavioural treatments such as biofeedback training can be potential effective alternative interventions for drug resistant epilepsy. This paper describes a biofeedback therapy in which the training of patients to control peripheral autonomic tone (galvanic skin response) changes in central control of seizure occurrence. This paper introduces; 1) the theoretical development of methodology, 2) the effect of GSR biofeedback in reducing seizure frequency in drug resistant epilepsy, 3) insights into the neural mechanisms of effective GSR biofeedback through neuromodulatory autonomic control and 3) future prospects of this approach as a therapeutic tool instantiated as an Autonomic Cognitive Rehabituation Training (ACRT).
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)/Electrodermal/Skin Conductance Biofeedback on Epilepsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nagai Y1, Jones CI1, Sen A2. Front Neurol. 2019 Apr 24;10:377
Objectives: Dynamic changes in psychophysiological arousal are directly expressed in the sympathetic innervation of the skin. This activity can be measured as tonic and phasic fluctuations in electrodermal activity [Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)/skin conductance]. Biofeedback training can enable an individual to gain voluntary control over this autonomic response and its central correlates. Theoretically, control of psychophysiological arousal may be harnessed as a therapy for epilepsy, to mitigate pre-ictal states. Evidence is accumulating for the clinical efficacy of GSR biofeedback training in the management of drug resistant epilepsy. In this review, we analyse current evidence of efficacy with GSR biofeedback and evaluate the methodology of each study.
Method: We searched published literature pertaining to interventional studies of GSR biofeedback for epilepsy, through MEDLINE and Cochrane databases (1950-2018). Using percentage seizure reduction as an indicator of therapeutic efficacy induced by GSR biofeedback, we used meta-analytic methods to summarize extant findings. We also compare and contrast study design with relevance to the interpretation of outcomes.
Results: Out of 21 articles retrieved for GSR/EDA/Skin conductance biofeedback, four studies were identified as interventional trials, involving 99 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy in total. Three of these studies included a control group and a positive therapeutic effect of biofeedback was reported in each of these. The difference in seizure frequency percentage (Biofeedback-Control) was between -54.4 and -74.0% with an overall weighted mean difference of -64.3% (95% CI: -85.4 to -43.2%). The response rates (proportion of patients manifesting >50% reduction in seizure frequency) varied from 45 to 66% across studies.
Significance: This timely evaluation highlights the potential value of GSR biofeedback therapy, and informs the optimal study design of larger scale studies that are now required to more definitively establish the utility of this non-invasive, non-pharmacological interventional approach for drug-resistant epilepsy.
Epileptic Seizures are Reduced by Autonomic Biofeedback Therapy Through Enhancement of Fronto-limbic Connectivity: A Controlled Trial and Neuroimaging Study. Nagai Y1, Aram J2, Koepp M3, Lemieux L3, Mula M4, Critchley H5, Sisodiya S3, Cercignani M5. EBioMedicine. 2018 Jan;27:112-122.
BACKGROUND: Thirty-percent of patients with epilepsy are drug-resistant, and might benefit from effective noninvasive therapeutic interventions. Evidence is accumulating on the efficacy of autonomic biofeedback therapy using galvanic skin response (GSR; an index of sympathetic arousal) in treating epileptic seizures. This study aimed to extend previous controlled clinical trials of autonomic biofeedback therapy with a larger homogeneous sample of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. In addition, we used neuroimaging to characterize neural mechanisms of change in seizure frequency following the therapy.
METHODS: Forty patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (age: 18 to 70years old), on stable doses of anti-epileptic medication, were recruited into a controlled and parallel-group trial from three screening centers in the UK. Patients were allocated to either an active intervention group, who received therapy with GSR biofeedback, or a control group, who received treatment as usual. Allocation to the group was informed, in part, by whether patients could travel to attend repeated therapy sessions (non-randomized). Measurement of outcomes was undertaken by an assessor blinded to the patients’ group membership. Resting-state functional and structural MRI data were acquired before and after one month of therapy in the therapy group, and before and after a one-month interval in the control group. The percentage change of seizure frequency was the primary outcome measure. The analysis employed an intention-to-treat principle. The secondary outcome was the change in default mode network (DMN) and limbic network functional connectivity tested for effects of therapy. The trial was registered with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) portfolio (ID 15967).
FINDINGS: Data were acquired between May 2014 and October 2016. Twenty participants were assigned to each group. Two patients in the control group dropped out before the second scan, leaving 18 control participants. There was a significant difference in reduction of seizure frequency between the therapy and control groups (p<0.001: Mann Whitney U Test). The seizure frequency in the therapy group was significantly reduced (p<0.001: Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test) following GSR biofeedback, with a mean seizure reduction of 43% (SD=± 32.12, median=-37.26, 95% CI -58.02% to -27.96%). No significant seizure reduction was observed in the control group, with a mean increase in seizure frequency of 31% (SD=±88.27, median=0, 95% CI -12.83% to 74.96%). The effect size of group comparison was 1.14 (95% CI 0.44 to 1.82). 45% of patients in the therapy group showed a seizure reduction of >50%. Neuroimaging analysis revealed that post-therapy seizure reduction was linearly correlated with enhanced functional connectivity between right amygdala and both the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and frontal pole (FP).
INTERPRETATION: Our clinical study provides evidence for autonomic biofeedback therapy as an effective and potent behavioral intervention for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. This approach is non-pharmacological, non-invasive and seemingly side-effect free.