BRAIN & BODY WELLNESS
OF NORWALK
NEUROFEEDBACK
"Neurofeedback should play a major therapeutic role in many difficult areas. In my opinion, if any medication had demonstrated such a wide spectrum of efficacy it would be universally accepted and widely used"
-Dr. Frank H. Duffy
Professor and Pediatric Neurologist
at Harvard Medical School
WHAT IS BRAINWAVE DYSREGULATION?
Depending upon your mental state, your brain produces 4 distinct brainwaves. Beta waves are produced when you are alert and externally focused, Alpha waves are produced when you close your eyes and relax, Theta is produced briefly when you start to fall asleep, and Delta waves occur when you are sleeping.
Scientific research has demonstrated that, for any given circumstance, there is an accepted normal pattern of brainwave activity. A healthy, balanced and properly regulated nervous system will produce the appropriate brain waves at the appropriate levels and at the appropriate times for any given situation. However, when the nervous system becomes tense and unbalanced as a result of subluxation, poor nutrition, stress, food sensitivities, drugs or trauma, the brain wave patterns become deregulated resulting in many different neurological symptoms and conditions.
For example, if the brain produces high magnitudes of delta or theta, the person will likely experience attention and focus issues such as those associated with ADHD, cognitive decline, learning disorders, or symptoms related to concussions. If the brain produces higher that normal magnitudes of alpha, the person will likely experience symptoms associated with fibromyalgia such as pain, irritability or depression. If the brain produces higher than normal magnitudes of beta waves, the person will likely experience symptoms associated with generalized anxiety, panic attacks, migraine/tension headaches, chronic pain, or insomnia. These are just some of the many examples of brain wave dysregulation that can be addressed with BrainCore Neurofeedback
WHAT IS NEUROFEEDBACK
Neurofeedback Therapy is also known as EEG Biofeedback. Neurofeedback exercise for the brain. It is actually a learning modality designed to retain dysregulated brainwave patterns. The goal of all neurofeedback is to transform an unhealthy, dysregulated brainwave imbalance into normal, healthy organized pattern. By doing this, the brain becomes more stable and is able to operate optimally and efficiently. It is a completely noninvasive and is considered by the Food and Drug Administration to be safe. In fact the Food and Drug Administration recognizes that neurofeedback has NEVER produced a serious side effect since it was first discovered over 40 years ago. Published scientific research has demonstrated neurofeedback's efficacy in managing many neurological conditions such as ADHD, Migraine and Tension Headache, Insomnia, Chronic Pain, Post Stroke Syndrome, Anxiety and Panic Attacks as well as many others.
THE qEEG EVALUATION - The Gateway to Brainwave Training
All neurofeedback begins with a Quantitative Electroencephalogram (QEEG) evaluation. The QEEG is an assessment tool designed to objectively and scientifically evaluate a person's brainwave patterns. The procedure consists of placing a snug cap on the head.
Embedded within the cap are 12 small sensors that are designed to measure and record electrical activity (or brainwaves) comin from the brain. It is important to note that these sensors do not put any electrical current into the brain-they simply record signals coming from the brain.
THE QEEG REPORT
The brainwave data recorded with the QEEG is statistically compared to a sophisticated and large normative database and a report is generated. this assessment procedure allows the doctor to determine, in a scientifically objective manner, whether a client's brainwave patterns are different from normal. The QEEG assessment provides the doctor with neurofeedback training protocols that will be used during the training sessions. These protocols are designed to retrain the brainwave patterns toward normal. As the brainwave patterns normalize, the brain is able to operate more optimally and efficiently.
NEUROFEEDBACK TRAINING SESSIONS
Individuals are hooked up to a computer using wires and sensors, and the computer records their brainwave activity. These sensors are non-invasive, as no electrical current is put into the brain. Information about these brainwaves is displayed on the doctor's monitor.
The software automatically detects when the brainwaves are properly ordered and it feeds that information back to the patient. This feedback appears in the form of a game, movie or sound which signals the patient that the brainwaves are becoming more ordered. For example, in the image above, the patient is watching a puzzle of a picture that is being filled in piece by piece. As long as the patients brain waves are moving in an orderly direction, the puzzle pieces are filled in and the patient hears a tone. If the brainwave patterns move away from an orderly configuration, then the puzzle does not get filled in and no tone is produced. The patient is actually controlling the completion of the puzzle with their brain and by doing so; the brain is learning how to regulate itself.
In another design, the patient performs the training while watching a movie. In this case the patient may watch a DVD movie that is being controlled by their ability to regulate their brainwaves. The movie will get brighter as the brain waves normalize and become darker when they become deregulated. The brain's natural desire to watch the movie clearly, will drive those neurological circuits that normalize the brainwaves and allow the picture to be visualized. The more those circuits are driven and used-the neuroplastic changes take hold. The patient learns how to use those new circuits during the demands of everyday life.
