Figure 1.

Real‐time fMRI neurofeedback experiment summary. (a) Region of interest (ROI, spheres of 7 mm radius) for the rtfMRI neurofeedback (rtfMRI‐nf) training. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC, Talairach coordinate: −2, 35, and −3) was selected as the targeted ROI for experimental group. (b) The experimental protocol for neurofeedback training. The experiment consisted of eight fMRI runs each lasting 6 min 40 s. During Rest runs, the participants were instructed to clear their minds and not to think about anything in particular while fixating at the display screen. During Recall (RE) and Transfer (TR) runs, the participants tried to think about the things that are important for them without any feedback. The Practice (PR) run provided the subjects an opportunity to become comfortable with the rtfMRI‐nf procedure. During neurofeedback (NF) runs 1–3, the participant underwent rtfMRI‐nf training. Each run (except for Rest runs) started with a 40 s rest block, proceeding with a 40 s long block with the Think and Count conditions. The target level (blue bar) was raised from run to run. No neurofeedback was provided (no bars displayed) during the Rest and Count conditions or during the entire RE and TR runs. (c) Graphical user interface (GUI) screen with neurofeedback bars (red) and target bars (blue) during the Think condition. For the Think condition, the subjects were asked to, first, think about thoughts that are important for them that were specific, vivid, and highly arousing in order to activate vmPFC, and then try to increase the level of the red bar to a given blue target level (not necessarily exceeding that target level) [Color figure can be viewed at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com]