{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T16:41:11Z","timestamp":1787244071493,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001691","name":"JSPS KAKENHI","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["JP25K14260"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP25K14260"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001691","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sci.","Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Cognitive control is the ability to adapt to varying cognitive demands. Alpha neurofeedback (\u03b1-NFB) training is reported to affect neural activity, but little is known about whether neurophysiological responses to auditory \u03b1-NFB differ across cognitive tasks with different cognitive load. This exploratory pilot study examined the neurophysiological effects of a single session of auditory \u03b1-NFB during cognitive tasks with different cognitive loads. Method: Fifteen healthy young adults participated in the study. Participants completed Tasks 1 and 3 of the New Stroop Test I before and after the intervention. Neural oscillations and task-performance measures were assessed before and after the intervention. Pre\u2013post changes were compared between the intervention and control groups. Results: For Task 1, the intervention group exhibited a significantly greater pre\u2013post intervention change in the \u03b1\/\u03b2 ratio than the control group. However, the increase in alpha oscillatory power did not remain statistically significant after Holm correction for multiple comparisons. For Task 3, no significant between-group differences were observed in any neurophysiological or behavioral measure. Conclusions: These exploratory findings suggest that auditory \u03b1NFB may influence neurophysiological responses during Task 1, whereas no significant neurophysiological effects were observed during Task 3. This pattern is consistent with the possibility that neurophysiological responses to auditory \u03b1NFB may differ according to cognitive load; however, this interpretation remains preliminary and requires confirmation in larger studies. However, no corresponding differences in task performance were observed, and the findings should be interpreted as preliminary and hypothesis-generating.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci16080886","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T09:48:31Z","timestamp":1787219311000},"page":"886","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Effect of Alpha Neurofeedback Training with Auditory Feedback on Cognitive Control in Healthy Young Adults: How the Neurological Effects Vary by Stroop Task Difficulty"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Nana","family":"Matsuo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Kyoto Tachibana University, Kyoto 607-8175, Kyoto, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kazuma","family":"Mikata","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Prefectural Rehabilitation Central Hospital, Kobe 651-2181, Hyogo, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nagomi","family":"Okumura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rehabilitation Center, Rinku General Medical Center, Izumisano 598-8577, Osaka, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wataru","family":"Inoue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rehabilitation Unit, University Hospital, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto 602-8566, Kyoto, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kyoka","family":"Matsui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Mibu Oji Hospital, Kyoto 600-882, Kyoto, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8784-6452","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Takayuki","family":"Kodama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Kyoto Tachibana University, Kyoto 607-8175, Kyoto, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101342","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cobeha.2023.101342","article-title":"Insights into control over cognitive flexibility from studies of task-switching","volume":"55","author":"Egner","year":"2024","journal-title":"Curr. 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