Training the social brain: Clinical and neural effects of an 8-week real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback Phase IIa Clinical Trial in Autism.

Facon et al. (2021) asked adults with autism to watch their own brain activity on a screen.

Each time the "social brain" area lit up, they got a reward.

They did five of these real-time fMRI neurofeedback sessions over eight weeks.

The team checked social skills and brain scans before and after.

Social scores went up and the social brain showed stronger activity after the five sessions.

No one dropped out and no side effects were reported.

The authors say the method is both safe and doable for people with autism.

EGranieri et al. (2020) pooled 18 social-skills trials and found apps or robots work as well as face-to-face groups.

Bruno adds a new tech tool—live brain feedback—to that list.

Ellingsen et al. (2014) gave kids nasal oxytocin plus parent training and saw zero social gain.

Bruno’s positive results do not clash with that null finding; oxytocin is a drug, neurofeedback is learning, so different paths.

Ibrahim et al. (2021) also saw social-brain growth after group social-cognitive lessons, showing the change can come from either outside teaching or inside feedback.

You can’t wheel an fMRI scanner into your clinic, but you can borrow the idea.

Show learners a clear signal tied to social attention—heart rate, skin temperature, or EEG—and reward jumps in the desired direction.

Pilot trials like this push the field toward cheaper, portable biofeedback tools you could use in schools or homes.