Should neurofeedback research use a placebo control?
In 1992, Russell Barkley argued that neurofeedback must be compared to the placebo condition before he would take any claim seriously. He went so far as to suggest using bogus feedback in his report (CHADDer Box). Human protection committees and researchers such as Michael Linden (1996) recognized how the “option” of false feedback was probably unethical; and others have understood how it is also impractical. False feedback “breaks the blind” of the patient. Subjects, particularly children, are quick to detect when information on the monitor is not associated with their own EEG. This fact itself points to darker workings in the mind. Those who would recommend placebo controls as a necessary hurdle to acceptance are probably unaware of the Nuremberg Code which was formulated shortly after World War II in response to Nazi atrocities. This code limits the extent of future human experimentation and was the precursor to the Declaration of Helsinki accepted by the World Health Organization i
