Bratty, Alexandra J · Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.) · 2023
This study tested a brain-retraining program called AIR (Amygdala and Insula Retraining) on people with various chronic conditions, including ME/CFS. Participants reported their health and functioning before and after using the program for at least 3 months. The results showed significant improvements in 14 out of 16 conditions studied, suggesting that this brain-focused approach may help people feel better.
This study explores a novel neuroplasticity-based intervention that proposes a common brain-body mechanism underlying ME/CFS and related conditions, offering a potential new treatment avenue. For ME/CFS patients, these preliminary findings suggest that brain-retraining approaches warrant further rigorous investigation as a possible therapeutic option.
This study does not prove that AIR causes improvements in these conditions—it only shows that people self-reported feeling better after using the program. The lack of a control group, blinding, and objective outcome measures means we cannot rule out placebo effects, natural recovery, or other confounding factors. Larger randomized controlled trials are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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Primary citation
Bratty, Alexandra J (2023). Neuroplasticity Intervention, Amygdala and Insula Retraining (AIR), Significantly Improves Overall Health and Functioning Across Various Chronic Conditions.. Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38404605/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bratty-2023-neuroplasticity-intervention,
author = {Bratty, Alexandra J},
title = {Neuroplasticity Intervention, Amygdala and Insula Retraining (AIR), Significantly Improves Overall Health and Functioning Across Various Chronic Conditions.},
journal = {Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.)},
year = {2023},
note = {PubMed: 38404605},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bratty-2023-neuroplasticity-intervention},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bratty-2023-neuroplasticity-intervention
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