by James Neubrander, MD, Michael Linden, PHD, Jay Gunkelman, QEEGd, and Cynthia Kerson, PHD
QEEG-guided neurofeedback is based on normalizing dysregulated brain regions that relate to specific clinical presentation. With ASD, this means that the approach is specific to each individual’s QEEG subtype patterns and presentation. The goal of neurofeedback with ASD is to correct amplitude abnormalities and balance brain functioning, while coherence neurofeedback aims to improve the connectivity and plasticity between brain regions. This tailored approach has implications that should not be underestimated. . . . Clinicians, including the authors, have had amazing results with ASD, including significant speech and communication improvements, calmer and less aggressive behavior, increased attention, better eye contact, and improved socialization. Many of our patients have been able to reduce or eliminate their medications after completion of QEEG-guided neurofeedback.
Preface by By James Neubrander, MD
Parents of children with autism know me (JN) as a physician who uses various biomedical treatments to help children move toward recovery. Several years ago, I was introduced to the powerful modality of QEEG-guided neurofeedback. This treatment uses EEG biofeedback, also known as neurofeedback, guided by the QEEG, or quantitative electroencephalogram. Neurofeedback has since become an important addition to my practice because it offers therapeutic options that are not possible through biomedical treatments alone. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the major challenges faced by behaviorally oriented psychologists has been to match reduction of autonomic arousal with stimuli realistic enough for the phobic patient to respond as if it were a truly “dangerous” situation. Historically, patients have been asked to rely on their imaginations to visualize the anxiety producing scenario (Wolpe, 1958), e.g., being in an airplane or crowded elevator. The critical factor has always been the extent to which the patient viscerally responds to the imagined threat, not the amount of visual imagery that is produced. The frequently reported patient complaint of, “I have a lousy imagination,” is not as damning as we once thought. Far more damaging is when physiological measures like heart rate (HR) or galvanic skin resistance (GSR) are unaffected by imagined phobic scenes. Either way, in vitro desensitization has been an awkward treatment to implement. Nonetheless, HR and GSR are considered excellent measures of how people viscerally respond to stressful situations. As everyone knows, rapid heartbeat and excessive sweating are sure signs of nervousness. Read the rest of this entry »
The Vancouver Canucks National Hockey League team just made it into the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in almost 20 years. The Canucks, under the direction of sports psychologist Len Zaichkowski, have been using a new state of the art technology called the Mind Room. The Mind Room (using instruments from Thought Technology) uses biofeedback and neurofeedback instruments to assess and train athletes to control their stress and attention in competitive situations. The Canucks have several older players who are performing at their highest levels more consistently. Professional and Olympic athletes have been using biofeedback and neurofeedback for years to achieve successful performance outcomes. Athletes from the National Football League, World Cup Soccer, Major League Baseball and numerous Olympic Teams (Indian Shooting, Canadian Skiing) have utilized biofeedback and neurofeedback to gain championships in their sports. Read the rest of this entry »
Biofeedback training has been widely recognized as an excellent way to promote a relaxed state for many sports applications. Many studies have been done on using biofeedback as a method of relaxation and to increase performance.
Athletes should ask themselves “Can I perform better in a relaxed state?” If it is the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded, the athlete needs to be able to clear their mind and focus on the performance. Anxiety and high stress can cause many athletes to “choke” in clutch situations. By learning to alter their mental and physiological state with a few simple relaxation techniques they tend to perform better. Biofeedback devices are great tools in achieving these results.
There have been several Olympic athletes, NHL hockey teams, professional football teams, golfers and more, that have credited biofeedback training as a factor in their success.
In a recent chat with Thought Technology Vice President Lawrence Klein, he could not resist the opportunity to discuss the many uses of his company’s biofeedback and neurofeedback equipment. Mr. Klein said, “We have a strong presence in professional and elite sports.” Thought Technology’s equipment has been used by a number of leading Olympic Sport Coaches and several professional sports teams.
Some teams have even set up mental training centers where trainers monitor the brainwaves and other physical functions such as surface EMG, temperature, GSR, heart rate, and respiration. This helps the players learn to reduce performance anxiety and improve their ability to focus under stress – giving them the “mental edge” they need to win.
There are devices like the Resperate, that promote meditative breathing patterns and very simple to use items such as the GSR2, that measures minute changes in skin conductance or resistance and conveys the stress level by an audio tone. These devices are easy to use and very effective. Organizations and teams have also used more sophisticated systems that measure multiple physiological measurements at once for a picture of the body’s stress level.
More recently there are products being introduced to help speed up reaction time. Reaction time can be crucial in many sporting events and in the Olympics millisecond can be the difference between gold and bronze.
Below are a couple of videos about biofeedback and athletic performance.
A growing number of parents see neurofeedback as an appealing alternative to medication to treat their child’s ADHD. The treatment is relatively simple and painless. First, a practitioner attaches three to 10 electrodes to the child’s head. Each electrode sprouts a lead, or wire, connecting it to a computer. The child sits in front of a screen displaying images that respond to the child’s brain activity. When the child has the right kind of brain activity — the images are rewarding or positive, for example — puzzle pieces might fall into place. Proponents say this helps encourage better behavior over time. Follow this link and listen to “The Story” from the NPR website today November 1st, 2010.
Clinical psychologist Thomas Brown (right) attaches sensors to an autistic 10 year old named Andrew of Holly. Brown is an expert in autism and uses a brain wave feedback method to help children with the disorder.
On this episode of the Doctors Dr Michael Linden helps “Noah” with his ADD. Part 1 of this story give a bit of information about what Noahs parents have been dealing with and the struggle they face with deciding whether or not to medicate their young child.
Purchasing a new Biofeedback or Neurofeedback system can be quite a confusing and difficult task. There are several manufacturers of equipment that offer a variety of features. Each system may have its own requirements and accessories and putting together a package can be quite a daunting challenge.
Most new users are not sure of what type of equipment they need and unfortunately are oversold on their first equipment purchase. Each system has pros and cons, and to get an objective answer from the manufacturer is often difficult. New users are often not sure of exactly what they may need and feel they may lose out on some sort of deal by not acting fast.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is the measurement of electrical patterns at the surface of the scalp which reflect cortical activity, and are commonly referred to as “brainwaves”. Quantitative EEG (qEEG) is the analysis of the digitized EEG, and in lay terms this sometimes is also called “Brain Mapping”. The qEEG is an extension of the analysis of the visual EEG interpretation which may assist and even augment our understanding of the EEG and brain function.
QEEG is a procedure that processes the recorded EEG activity from a multi-electrode recording using a computer. This multi-channel EEG data is processed with various algorithms, such as the “Fourier” classically, or in more modern applications “Wavelet” analysis). The digital data is statistically analyzed, sometimes comparing values with “normative” database reference values. The processed EEG is commonly converted into color maps of brain functioning called “Brain maps”. Read the rest of this entry »
