What is EEG Biofeedback or Neurotherapy?
EEG Biofeedback is a learning strategy that enables a person to normalize dysregulated brain waves and create desired change in behavior and mental functioning. The physical body can heal itself and so can a range of behavioral disorders be improved by enhancing certain brain functions.
What is it used for?
EEG Biofeedback is used for many conditions and disabilities in which the brain is not working as well as it might. A biofeedback program is appropriate for individuals with the following conditions:
- anxiety and other stress related disorders
- certain types of depression and mood disturbances
- drug, alcohol, and food addictions
- menopausal symptoms
- panic disorders
- peak performance and mental fitness for business, arts, athletics
- PMS
- the emotional consequences of major life events and losses (or post-traumatic stress disorder)
- certain closed-head injuries
What does the treatment involve?
An initial interview is obtained to understand health and family history. Once a complete evaluation of the problem is obtained, the patient may attend sessions a minimum of twice weekly to achieve brainwave patterns associated with balance.
The EEG biofeedback training is a painless, non-invasive procedure. One or more sensors are placed on the scalp, and one to each ear. The brain waves are monitored by means of an amplifier and a computer-based instrument that processes the signal and provides the proper feedback. This is displayed to the patient by means of a video game operated by focussing attention. As activity in a desirable frequency band increases, the video game moves faster. As activity in an adverse band increases, the video game is inhibited. Gradually, the brain responds to the cues that are being given, and a "learning" of new brain wave patterns takes place. The new pattern is one, which is closer to what is normally observed in individuals without such disabilities.
What results do we obtain?
In the case of ADHD, impulsivity, distractibility, and hyperactivity may all respond to the training. This may lead to much more successful school performance. Cognitive function may improve as well. In several controlled studies, increases of 10 points in IQ score were found for a representative group of ADHD children. And in two clinical studies an average increase of 19 and 23 points was demonstrated.
Behavior may improve in other ways as well: If the patient has a lot of temper tantrums, is belligerent, and even violent or cruel, these aspects of behavior may come under the patient’s control.
In the case of depression, there can be a gradual recovery of "affect", or emotional responsiveness, and a reduction of effort fatigue. In the case of anxiety and panic attacks, there is a gradual improvement in "regulation", with a drop off in frequency and severity of anxiety episodes and panic attacks until the condition normalizes.
In the case of epilepsy, we observe a reduction in severity and incidence (frequency of occurrence) of seizures. In many cases, the dosage of anticonvulsant medication may ultimately be reduced (if ordered by the referring neurologist), and side effects of such medication may diminish.
Why does this training procedure work?
The brain is amazingly adaptable, and capable of learning. It can also learn to improve its own performance, if only it is given cues about what to change. By making information available to the brain about how it is functioning, and asking it to make adjustments, it can do so. When the mature brain does a good job of regulating itself, and the person is alert and attentive, the brainwaves (EEG) show a particular pattern. We challenge the person to maintain this "high-performance", alert and attentive state. Gradually, the brain learns, just like it learns anything else. And like with other learning, the brain tends to retain the new skill.
We observe that if the EEG is not well behaved under these circumstances, there may be adverse impacts on learning ability, on moods, on sleep, and on behavior. With training, these may gradually be brought under control, along with normalization of the EEG.
How long does the training normally take?
EEG training is a learning process, and therefore results are seen gradually over time. For most conditions, initial progress can be seen within about ten sessions. Initial training goals may be met by twenty sessions, at which time the initial retests are usually performed. In the case of hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder, training is expected to take about forty sessions, or even more in severe cases. Teeth grinding usually responds in twenty sessions. Some symptoms of head injury often respond in less than twenty sessions (quality of sleep; fatigue; chronic pain), whereas others may require longer training before they show an initial response (memory function, for example).
Is EEG biofeedback covered by insurance?
Many medical and psychological insurance plans now cover biofeedback for various conditions. Some require co-payments. Other plans have annual caps. A prescription for the training, along with a diagnosis, may be required from a physician under the medical part of the plan, or from a licensed psychologist under the mental health services part of the plan. Medicare pays for EEG biofeedback for some conditions.
My doctor takes a dim view of biofeedback. How do I handle this? First of all, your doctor may not know of this specific type of biofeedback. He or she will maintain a healthy skepticism about any new therapy claiming numerous benefits. If your doctor is familiar with EEG biofeedback in general, he may still be thinking in terms of the more common early experiments with alpha training, rather than with the training we are discussing here. We have a data package for doctors and other health practitioners, which covers the research basis of the method. We invite you to take this to your doctor, if he is ambivalent about recommending the training for lack of familiarity. We would be happy to discuss the research with your doctor.
Can a successful outcome be predicted?
It is not possible to predict with certainty that training will be successful for a particular condition. But for the more common conditions we see, a reasonable prediction of outcome is usually possible. More important, however, the effectiveness of the training can usually be assessed early in the course of training. For most conditions, there are no known adverse side effects of the training, provided that it is conducted under professional guidance.
Is personality changed by the EEG training?
No. The training does not change the underlying personality. However, once the adverse behavior patterns in hyperactivity and other problems are remediated, the intrinsic personality will be more in evidence. At the outset, for example, it may be difficult to disassociate irritability, hotheadedness, or cruelty from a person’s personality. After the behavior disappears, however, it was never really part of the person’s intrinsic personality.
Is biofeedback useful for healthy people?
Yes. Businessmen, athletes, musicians, artists and individuals from all walks of life are also using biofeedback to optimize performance and enhance creativity. The potential benefits include:
- increased productivity
- increased self-esteem
- more joy in day to day living
- reduction of stress and anxiety
What makes this treatment so revolutionary?
The program combines state-of-the-art technology with a unique treatment protocol to produce results rarely achieved with other forms of therapy. It goes beyond traditional stress management programs to produce beneficial changes in personality characteristics and seems to produce changes in brain chemistry. Additionally, many patients who go through the program are able to reduce their usage of psychotropic medications. |
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