Some studies have indicated that neurofeedback may be an effective treatment for ADHD. Read excerpts from the research published in The Lancet Psychiatry and answer the questions that follow. (Source: Schönenberg et al., “Neurofeedback, sham neurofeedback, and cognitive-behavioral group therapy in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A  riple-blind, randomised, controlled trial, “The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 4 [September 2017]: 673–684) Methods: We did a concurrent, triple-blind, randomised, controlled trial using adults with ADHD, aged 18 to 60 years. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: a neurofeedback group which received 30 true neurofeedback sessions over 15 weeks, a sham neurofeedback group which received 15 sham (fake) followed by 15 true neurofeedback sessions over 15 weeks, or a meta-cognitive group therapy group which received 12 sessions over 12 weeks. The primary outcome was symptom score on the Conners’ adult ADHD rating scale, assessed before treatment, at mid treatment (after 8 weeks), after treatment (after 16 weeks), and 6 months later. Results: Self-reported ADHD symptoms decreased substantially for all treatment groups between pretreatment and the end of 6 month follow-up, independent of treatment condition. There were no significant differences in outcomes between any of the groups. 

a. Identify the treatment variable and the response variable. 

b. Was this a controlled experiment or an observational study? 

c. Based on this study, would you agree that neurofeedback may be an effective treatment for ADHD? Why or why not?