Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback training (NFT) is preceded by an objective assessment of brain activity and psychological status. During training, sensors are placed on the scalp and then connected to sensitive electronics and computer software that detect, amplify, and record specific brain activity. Resulting information is fed back to the trainee virtually instantaneously with the conceptual understanding that changes in the feedback signal indicate whether or not the trainee's brain activity is within the designated range. Based on this feedback, various principles of learning, and practitioner guidance, changes in brain patterns occur and are associated with positive changes in physical, emotional, and cognitive states. Often the trainee is not consciously aware of the mechanisms by which such changes are accomplished although people routinely acquire a "felt sense" of these positive changes and often are able to access these states outside the feedback session.
NFT does not involve either surgery or medication and is neither painful nor embarrassing. When provided by a licensed professional with appropriate training, generally trainees do not experience negative side-effects. Typically trainees find NFT to be an interesting experience. Neurofeedback operates at a brain functional level and transcends the need to classify using existing diagnostic categories. It modulates the brain activity at the level of the neuronal dynamics of excitation and inhibition which underly the characteristic effects that are reported.
Research demonstrates that neurofeedback is an effective intervention for Migraine Headache, ADHD and Epilepsy. Ongoing research is investigating the effectiveness of neurofeedback for other disorders such as Autism, headaches (other), insomnia, anxiety, substance abuse, TBI and other pain disorders, and is promising.
Being a self-regulation method, NFT differs from other accepted research-consistent neuro-modulatory approaches such as audio-visual entrainment (AVE) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) that provoke an automatic brain response by presenting a specific signal. Nor is NFT based on deliberate changes in breathing patterns such as respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) that can result in changes in brain waves. At a neuronal level, NFT teaches the brain to modulate excitatory and inhibitory patterns of specific neuronal assemblies and pathways based upon the details of the sensor placement and the feedback algorithms used thereby increasing flexibility and self-regulation of relaxation and activation patterns.
The International Society for Neurofeedback and Research (see www.isnr.org ) is the largest group of licensed professionals involved in the practice, teaching, and research of NFT. Some members of ISNR have sought and received certification by the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America (see www.bcia.org ). Members of ISNR subscribe to a code of ethics providing an added measure of accountability to the standards of their profession. Additionally, ISNR is committed to supporting new developments by publishing a professional journal and newsmagazine, by producing a well-attended annual conference, and by encouraging large studies of NFT through the ISNR Research Foundation
Neurotherapy pirHEG
What does pirHEG stand for?
Passive Infrared Hemoencephelography (as developed by Jeffrey Carmen, PhD)
What kinds of symptoms can be impacted positively by pirHEG?
Migraine headache*, Depression, Anxiety, Traumatic Brain Injury, ADD, ADHD, Autistic Spectrum Disorders, ie: Asperger’s Syndrome, Tourette’s, Autism.
How does pirHEG Neurotherapy work?
An infrared camera-like sensor is positioned on the forehead using an adjustable headband.
The sensor continuously photographs or "reads” the metabolic activity of the frontal lobes of the brain
That information is transmitted through cables via a USB based Bio-interface unit.
Software via computer then "feeds back” this information to the client through a digital video display, DVD.
The movie will pause and a blue bar will appear on the screen when the activity decreases
When the DVD pauses, the client must increase the metabolic activity in the front of the brain to turn it back on. The client accomplishes this by being in the "Zone” for relaxed but intense focus on the blue bar.
Then, the client is instructed to watch the bar rise above the yellow threshold that the computer has selected, to see the movie play again. This occurs several times in each session. This is called operant conditioning.
How long is each session?
Between 15-25 minutes depending on the tolerance of the client.
How many sessions does it take to see behavioral change?
Typically, change occurs in one session; these are neuropsychological and behavioral changes (such as improved mood, clarity in speech, ability to pay attention, headache reduction). The improved brain/behavior stability may last a few days and then fade. The changes tend to last longer with each session and are cumulative over time. Once or twice weekly sessions are recommended for this reason until the client‘s gains are more secure. 10-20 sessions usually define a course of training in this modality.
Does this process "Do” something to the brain?
No. The process is non-invasive; it is passive. It measures but introduces no signals of its own to the brain. Feedback gently guides the brain into the "Zone” where metabolic activity increases. An area of the brain that is more active will give off more heat and have greater blood flow and blood oxygenation than a brain area that is less active.
What is metabolic brain activity?
This describes what occurs bio-chemically, when the brain expends effort in an activity involving the functions governed by the frontal lobes of the brain.
Why do we want frontal lobe metabolic brain activity to increase?
Research *(Carmen, 2009), indicates that when metabolic activity increases in the frontal lobes, Executive Brain Functioning is enhanced.
What is Executive Brain Functioning; why do we want it enhanced?
The frontal lobes of the brain are involved with the following activities: Focused attention, memory, organizational ability, mood, planning, judgment and neurological sensitivity. Enhancing this activity can improve one’s ability to function optimally in life, decrease or eliminate certain kinds of symptoms and uplift mood.
Does pirHEG cure these conditions or symptoms?
The process can assist the brain in creating an increased activation of control systems thereby reducing symptoms that are a result of inadequate control. The symptoms thus become less pronounced or inactive. The brain possesses a quality, called "plasticity” which enables it to change and adapt.
How long can this improved state of being last?
The results of pirHEG training can be permanent. Conditions can be alleviated; some people return to pirHEG training periodically for a review if symptoms return or if conditions are exacerbated.
*See: http://www.stopmymigraine.com for research articles