Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Following Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic Brain Injury
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Traumatic Brain Injury
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: At least six months post-injury to account for spontaneous recovery Aged 18-55 years Fluent in English Able to provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: Presence of a pacemaker Previous self-reported heart attack with hospitalization Diagnosed learning disability Other neurological difficulties or diagnoses (i.e., stroke, epilepsy) Participation in current litigation Uncorrected visual impairment.
Sites / Locations
- Brigham Young UniversityRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Sham Comparator
OSC+
OSC-
Twenty-five participants will complete five weeks of heart rate variability biofeedback using emWave software (HeartMath®Institute, 2020). Participants will receive a weekly 30-minute heart rate variability biofeedback session for five weeks at the University Parkway Center, Brigham Young University. The heart rate variability biofeedback protocol will be based on Lehrer et al., 2013 and Yoo et al., 2022. This format will aid participants in implementing and learning breathing and heart rate variability biofeedback skills (Lehrer et al., 2020). All participants will wear an ear sensor to measure their pulse. The heart rate variability biofeedback will focus on autonomic balance through slow breathing at a resonance frequency of approximately 6 breathes per minute. The best approximate breathing pace for resonance frequency will be estimated and participant's resonance frequency will be provided and used for their homework and subsequent training sessions.
Twenty-five participants will complete five weeks of Osc-. Similarly, for the Osc- procedures, the client will be required to complete a five-week intervention. During the weekly session, participants will also be wearing an earlobe monitor with HeartMath. Participants will be administered the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience at the beginning of each session to assess for mood. Participants will also be administered the 3-item Rivermead Post Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire at the beginning of each session. Participants will be instructed that the purpose of this portion of the study is to decrease their breathing oscillations. A program was designed by Yoo and colleagues (2022) that gives feedback regarding a "calmness" score which reflects a better score (i.e., higher) when participants breath in a pattern that elicits less variability (i.e., less oscillations).