NeuroConnections Information

Neurofeedback is brainwave training, a personal tool for learning mental control and increasing stability. Electrical brainwave patterns, also called EEG or electroencephalograph, are recorded from electrodes pasted on your scalp. Different types of brain waves are associated with different mental states. This electrical brain activity is shown to you using specialized computer programs. This process is also called EEG biofeedback. The trainer adjusts reinforcement to optimize self-regulation, increase focus, and develop a more balanced emotional state. What are the potential benefits of Neurofeedback training? What happens if Neurofeedback clients are taking medications? With successful neurofeedback training, medications targeting brain function may no longer be needed or they may be needed at lower dosages as the brain takes over the role of regulating itself. Neurofeedback takes longer to produce change but appears to give long-term benefits in all key areas of attention span, impulse control, academic achievement and social adjustment without the side effects of medication. Those on medication should be closely monitored by their physician as dosage changes may be indicated. What are the research results? 80% of adults who received neurofeedback as children for ADD showed continued positive focus results in a three, five and ten year follow-up study. Decreases in impulsivity, distractibility and hyperactivity and increase in IQ have been documented in over 50 studies. As neurofeedback dramatically shifts the brain's arousal level modifying the usual response to fear, many intractable, brain-based emotional problems decrease. Computer graphic of "raw and filtered" brain waves. Frank Duffy, MD , neurologist at Boston Children's Hospital, concluded after an independent review in 2000 of the research, "The literature, which lacks any negative study of substance, suggests that EEG biofeedback therapy should play a major therapeutic role in many difficult areas. In my opinion, if any medication had ...