NEUROFEEDBACK
Neurofeedback, improves attention and concentration in children with autism and ADHD syndrome.
10 facts about neurofeedback
– Neurofeedback is used to treat various conditions, such as: ADHD, insomnia, anxiety, depression, PTSD, addictions, chronic migraines, autism, epilepsy, etc.
– This therapeutic method is safe and painless.
– Addictive diseases affect the change in patterns of brain activity. With the help of neurofeedback, we return the patterns to their original state.
– Neurofeedback is an integral part of astronaut training.
– Neurofeedback increases focus and working memory.
– Neurofeedback increases short-term and long-term memory.
– Recent research shows significant improvements in patients with depression.
– Neurofeedback helps faster recovery in brain trauma.
– Neurofeedback improves focus and concentration in children with autism and ADHD syndrome.
– Neurofeedback is the training of the synapses of the brain, like training the muscles of the body by lifting weights.
NEUROFEEDBACK ACCORDINGTO DR. OTHMER
The beginnings of neurofeedback clinical application:
American scientist Barry Sterman was doing research related to sleep cycles in cats and for that purpose he recorded their EEG. He found that cats in his lab could be trained to increase their brain waves at a certain frequency when rewarded with food.
He came up with the idea of reversing the process, or rather whenever he noticed a specific rhythm of brain waves on the EEG, he would reward them with food.
After that, he noticed that the cats began to produce this rhythm more and more often, making it stronger.
A few years later, Dr. Sterman was doing an experiment for NASA on whether rocket fuel caused seizures and he used the same cats as experiment subjects. During this study he found (to his surprise) that the cats who had undergone SMR training were significantly less likely to experience seizures than other cats. Soon after, his close associate was to lose her driver’s license due to grand mal-type epileptic seizures that occurred while driving. They came up with the idea of training the aforementioned specific rhythm with the idea: “If cats can do it, why can’t humans?” The seizures decreased. A scientific paper was written about it. Sterman called the rhythm SMR, the acronym for sensorimotor rhythm. He still continued his scientific work in the field of epilepsy, while other researchers got involved in investigating other possibilities of the neurofeedback method. Joel Lubar and Vincent Monastra set out to investigate the effects of neurofeedback in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Neurofeedback is an excellent tool that can help with the above-mentioned conditions. It should be kept in mind that this is not a “magic machine” that will solve your/your child’s problem by itself. Getting optimal results requires consistency. Neurofeedback can be compared to physical treatment. In order to recover a muscle or a joint, it is necessary to undergo physical treatment, which lasts for a certain period of time.
Frequently asked questions
What is neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback training allows a person to change their brain waves. In other words….
Every thought, feeling, pattern of behavior has its own brain wave frequency. The irregularity of these brain waves is the basis of emotional, cognitive and behavioral disorders.
The choice of neurofeedback treatment depends on the clinical picture of the client as well as expert assessment.
Can the successful outcome of neurofeedback treatment be predicted?
It is not possible to predict with certainty if training will be successful for a specific individual.
However, training success can usually be assessed early on. Side effects are rare, and when they do occur, they can be reduced/removed during the next treatment.
Why does neurofeedback work?
The main role of the brain is learning. It has the ability to improve its own performance when given feedback on what it needs to change.
When the brain does the job of self-regulation well, a person feels calm, alert, focused. Each neurofeedback treatment session aims to maintain a “high performance” state.
Gradually, the brain learns and with enough training, it usually retains the pattern it has been taught.
How long does this therapy last?
EEG training is a learning process, and the results are gradually seen over time. Indications of progress can usually be seen within 10-20 treatments.
The developmental trauma may require more than 100 treatments, but the trainee will feel the changes much earlier, before all the symptoms disappear completely.
How often should sessions be held, how long do they last and what is the minimum interval between them?
In the initial stages, sessions should be more frequent – 3 to 5 times a week.
One training session lasts for 30 to 45 minutes a day.
Over time, as the learned pattern is practiced (like learning to play a new song on the metallophone), the number of training sessions is reduced to 2 times a week.
The gap between two training sessions should not last longer than 3 days.
The recommendation for the minimum number of treatments is 20, but recent research indicates as many as 40 to 60 treatments.Certainly, the total number of sessions depends on the severity of the client’s clinical picture.
My doctor is skeptical about neurofeedback. What should I do?
Your doctor may not know about this specific type of treatment. He or she should maintain a healthy skepticism about any new approach, and that’s perfectly fine.
You can ask him to explore the area a bit.
Things are changing for the better. In neighboring Croatia, there are health centers where a child can be taken for neurofeedback treatment with a referral. Many of their doctors are familiar with this method and its results. I sincerely believe that this trend will spread to other countries in the region.
What is neurofeedback treatment like?
The treatment is absolutely painless and safe.
We emphasize that neurofeedback treatment does not involve emitting an electrical impulse through the electrodes TOWARDS the brain.. Just the opposite!
What is a neurofeedback session like?
The session consists of placing the electrodes on the scalp surface.
The practitioner determines the exact position of the electrodes on the head in accordance with the patient’s symptoms.
During neurofeedback treatment, the child/client watches certain content on the television: a cartoon, a game or some kind of animation. The TV is connected to a computer that simultaneously registers the patient’s above-mentioned EEG waves.
Electrodes placed on the client’s scalp read and display brainwave activity. The computer analyzes and registers brain waves with the aid of computer software.
Based on the analysis of the software, feedback is generated in the form of a reward.
When the software recognizes a high-quality brain wave a reward follows.
That reward is in the form of a better picture of the cartoon on TV, which had previously been blurred.
Or if the child has been playing a game, they have more success (for example, a car speeds up during a race in the game).
The teddy bear in the child’s lap begins to vibrate and gives a tactile stimulus in the form of a reward. For children with low vision, neurofeedback compensates for this deficiency through “the tactile teddy bear”.
Also, when the software recognizes high-quality brain waves, you receive stronger and higher quality auditory stimulations.