Author(s): Ismail Shahin, Ali Bou Nassif, Ashraf Elnagar, Sara Gamal, Said A. Salloum, & Ahmad Aburayya
Language disparities in Arabic-speaking individuals with Speech and Language Impairment (SLI) can increase the limitations faced by SLI specialists. There is a need to improve neurofeedback interventions for patients who belong to this group. In contrast to studies that rely solely on behavioral measures, neurofeedback training can capture cognitive changes in response to learning not seen in time or accuracy measures alone. However, rigorous systematic literature reviews on neurofeedback interventions are limited. This research aims to perform a systematic literature review and analyze neurofeedback studies where Electroencephalography (EEG) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) measurements were utilized with the isolation of the effect of a particular behavioral intervention on SLI cognitive profiles. We conducted a systematic literature review of studies on neurofeedback training published between 1992 and 2020. PRISMA guidelines have been used to achieve the review; we choose many keywords to be used in our search. The use of combinations of these keywords in searching of eight digital libraries (Springer Link, Science Direct, PLOS One, Taylor and Francis Online, Wiley Online Library, ISNR online, SAGE Publishing, and Google scholar) generated 155 publications. Out of these, 60 articles were found to be duplicates, and hence, they were removed. Therefore, the total number of final papers that form the primary data for this systematic literature review is 50. We identified 50 studies relevant to the objective of this research. After a rigorous review, we observed that 36 out of 50 (72%) selected studies used EEG or MRI to analyze the effects of neurofeedback on individuals with SLI, and 38% performed comparative analysis and hence improved the quality of their studies. We recommend the standardization of applications of EEG and MRI using BCI methods. EEG and MRI neurofeedback training methods are less expensive and yet more potent compared with pre-existing behavioral intervention and assessment methods with methods that use SLI Neurofeedback.