Randomized controlled trial of neurofeedback mindfulness meditation as a practice for migraine management.
Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia December 1, 2025 Faly Golshan, Gloria Sun, Jenna Francisco et al.
A randomized controlled trial compared eight weeks of daily neurofeedback mindfulness meditation (NM) to an audiobook listening task in 101 adults with migraine. Both groups showed improvements in headache disability, severity, and anxiety, but between-group differences were small and inconclusive. Only headache management self-efficacy improved significantly more in the NM group than in the control group. Within the NM group, greater self-efficacy correlated with lower migraine disability, severity, and anxiety. Biological sex, belief in meditation, and migraine subtypes did not influence outcomes. The authors argue that NM may enhance self-agency, potentially aiding migraine recovery and prevention, but larger trials are needed.