The Free University of Brussels (ULB) is highlighting a new avenue to support people dependent on alcohol, while preparing for the alcohol-free month, scheduled for February. This is what she indicates in a press release published Monday. Clémence Dousset, FNRS researcher at ULB, is exploring neurofeedback, a method aimed at strengthening existing treatments by teaching patients to regulate their brain activity.
Traditional treatments, such as medication and psychotherapy, show variable results: almost 60% of patients relapse within three months of withdrawal in a hospital setting, and more than 80% after a year. These figures underline the importance of complementary approaches. Neurofeedback, already popular in the United States, is a technique that allows patients to interact with their brain activity in real time, using a device of electrodes connected to a screen.
“This method offers patients an opportunity to learn to self-regulate by working on the brain circuits altered by excessive alcohol consumption,” explains Clémence Dousset. She adds that this approach could strengthen inhibition and attention skills, which are often impaired in people suffering from addiction.
The research carried out by the ULB team aims to validate this technique. A four-year pilot study has already shown encouraging results in healthy subjects, notably by improving behavioral and neurophysiological inhibition. From now on, the objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of neurofeedback on dependent patients. Recruitment for this study will continue until the end of 2025.
If the results prove conclusive, this method could become a complementary tool to current treatments, by directly attacking cognitive deficits caused by excessive alcohol consumption. “By targeting brain damage, neurofeedback could transform the therapeutic approach and improve the chances of long-term success,” concludes the researcher.
Alcohol-free month, which aims to raise awareness of the impact of alcohol consumption, could thus become an opportunity to highlight this promising progress.
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