BRAINMOD
Science

The science behind BrainMod.

BrainMod combines EEG neurofeedback, transcranial electrical stimulation, and concurrent EEG-fNIRS measurement in one practitioner-guided platform.

EEG neurofeedback

EEG neurofeedback converts selected features of a person's recorded brain activity into real-time visual or auditory feedback. Through repeated practice, the person learns to influence the feedback while completing a task or exercise.

How neurofeedback works

A review describes neurofeedback as a closed-loop learning process in which online measurements of neural activity are returned to the participant to support self-regulation. It covers the neural, behavioral, and learning mechanisms studied across EEG and other neurofeedback methods.

→ Sitaram et al., Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2017

Upper-alpha training and cognitive performance

In a controlled study, training an individually defined upper-alpha EEG band increased upper-alpha activity and produced a larger improvement on a mental-rotation task than the no-feedback control condition.

→ Zoefel et al., NeuroImage, 2011

Research standards

The CRED-nf checklist provides recommendations for neurofeedback research, including protocol registration, justified sample sizes, appropriate controls and blinding, complete reporting of signal processing, and direct measurement of both regulation success and behavioral outcomes.

→ Ros et al., Brain, 2020

Transcranial electrical stimulation

Transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS, applies a low-intensity constant current through scalp electrodes. Transcranial alternating current stimulation, or tACS, applies an alternating current at a selected frequency. Both methods have been studied as non-invasive ways to influence cortical excitability and neural oscillations.

Cortical excitability

A human motor-cortex study showed that weak direct current applied through the scalp could produce polarity-dependent changes in excitability. The magnitude and duration of the effect varied with current intensity and stimulation duration.

→ Nitsche and Paulus, Journal of Physiology, 2000

Current safety guidance

Updated international guidelines published in 2026 review safety data from more than 300,000 low-intensity transcranial electrical stimulation sessions and provide recommendations for protocol design, screening, monitoring, and adverse-event reporting.

→ Antal et al., Clinical Neurophysiology, 2026

tACS and neural oscillations

A review of oscillatory brain research describes how tACS, neurofeedback, rhythmic sensory stimulation, and repetitive magnetic stimulation can test causal relationships between neural oscillations and cognitive processes. It also covers research using tACS at specific frequencies.

→ Herrmann et al., International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2016

Why combine EEG and fNIRS?

EEG records electrical activity with high temporal resolution. fNIRS estimates slower hemodynamic changes in superficial cortical tissue with greater spatial specificity. Because both can be recorded non-invasively from the scalp, they can run concurrently during the same session.

Electrical and hemodynamic signals together

Reviews of simultaneous EEG-fNIRS research describe the two modalities as complementary and identify established approaches for analyzing electrical activity, hemodynamic response, and neurovascular coupling in the same recording. A 2022 systematic review examined 92 concurrent EEG-fNIRS studies and grouped their methods into EEG-informed, fNIRS-informed, and parallel analyses.

→ Chiarelli et al., Neurophotonics, 2017; Li et al., Sensors, 2022

References

1
Sitaram R, Ros T, Stoeckel L, et al.
Closed-loop brain training: The science of neurofeedback.
Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2017;18(2):86–100.
10.1038/nrn.2016.164
2
Zoefel B, Huster RJ, Herrmann CS.
Neurofeedback training of the upper alpha frequency band in EEG improves cognitive performance.
NeuroImage. 2011;54(2):1427–1431.
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.08.078
3
Ros T, Enriquez-Geppert S, Zotev V, et al.
Consensus on the reporting and experimental design of clinical and cognitive-behavioural neurofeedback studies (CRED-nf checklist).
Brain. 2020;143(6):1674–1685.
10.1093/brain/awaa009
4
Nitsche MA, Paulus W.
Excitability changes induced in the human motor cortex by weak transcranial direct current stimulation.
Journal of Physiology. 2000;527(3):633–639.
10.1111/j.1469-7793.2000.t01-1-00633.x
5
Antal A, Bjekić J, Ganho-Ávila A, et al.
Low intensity transcranial electric stimulation: Safety, ethical, legal regulatory and application guidelines (2017–2025: An update)—endorsed by the European Society for Brain Stimulation and the International Federation for Clinical Neurophysiology.
Clinical Neurophysiology. 2026;184:2111436.
10.1016/j.clinph.2025.2111436
6
Herrmann CS, Strüber D, Helfrich RF, Engel AK.
EEG oscillations: From correlation to causality.
International Journal of Psychophysiology. 2016;103:12–21.
10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.02.003
7
Chiarelli AM, Zappasodi F, Di Pompeo F, Merla A.
Simultaneous functional near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography for monitoring of human brain activity and oxygenation: A review.
Neurophotonics. 2017;4(4):041411.
10.1117/1.NPh.4.4.041411
8
Li R, Yang D, Fang F, Hong KS, Reiss AL, Zhang Y.
Concurrent fNIRS and EEG for brain function investigation: A systematic, methodology-focused review.
Sensors. 2022;22(15):5865.
10.3390/s22155865

The publications cited here concern the individual research methods and modalities used by BrainMod. They are not studies or a clinical evaluation of the integrated BrainMod platform and do not establish that BrainMod produces the outcomes reported in those studies.

Scientific approach

Review our scientific approach.

We can walk center directors, practitioners, and technical reviewers through the sources cited here and how BrainMod measures and tracks each program.

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