Neuro-Feedback, What?!

Neuro-Feedback

Once the QEEG, the brain map has been completed, treatment goals can be established which guide the Neuro-Feedback treatments.

There are several different types of Neuro-Feedback. 

In the traditional Neuro-Feedback treatment, two electrodes are placed on the scalp and one or more on the earlobes during the neurothrerapy training sessions.  The “trainee” in this case my child then watches a display on the computer screen and listens to audio tones, sometimes while completing a simple task like reading.  With continued feedback, coaching and practice it is possible to learn to reproduce the desired brainwaves. 

So simply put, Neuro-Feedback is a workout for the brain targeting those “weak” areas.  Just as we work out to strengthen certain muscles, through Neuro Feedback we can build weak muscles in the brain.

One of the things they will have my child do is to watch a computer screen while  electrodes on her head are connected to a computer showing two bar graphs.  The task is to keep the bar graphs even/balanced just by controlling the focus of your brain, which influences the type of brainwave activity.

Another excersise they do is to watch a dvd movie which will get fuzzy as certain brainwaves enter.  The patient must learn to focus in such a way that the brainwaves will create a clear picture on the tv screen.

The Low Energy Neuro-Feedback System or LENS approach differs from other forms of neurofeedback in that it introduces a very, very tiny electromagnetic signal which is only about the intensity of the output coming from a watch battery.  The feedback stimulus is so small that if you hold a regular cell phone to your ear for 1 second, it is 400 times stronger.  This very low intensity feedback stimulus is introduced down the electrode wires for a few seconds.  LENS is unique in that it does not require the patient to “work” during neurofeedback, but to simply remain relatively still for less than a minute at a time.  This will open up the way for very young or severely disabled patients to receive treatment.

I don’t know how it all works, but the mind, which is anxious, fearful, depressed, irritable, angry or otherwise out of balance is somehow trained to become balanced without the assistance of medication.   Research shows that with Neuro-Feedback medications for such disorders can be reduced if not eliminated completely. 

One of the most agonizing decisions for me as a parent has been to put my child on medications.  To have options which have been proven through research gives  great hope.

What completely amazes me is the fact that since the late 70’s Neuro-Feedback has been researched, refined and tested as it relates to ADD/ADHD.  I went to years of school to study such things….and never have I heard of such treatments.  It’s exciting yet perplexing to me.

As one of my child’s other doctor said to me today, the brain is the “last frontier in the medical field, because it is so complex and we can’t take it out of the skull while someone is living to study and watch, yet this research will change the way we approach the practice of medicine.  (Yes, we went to another, actually two additional appointments today for the same child with two different doctors!  I’ve added up that within 6 days, two of those being Saturday & Sunday, I will have spent 17 hours traveling to and from and in doctor’s appointments.  Such an investment with the hopes and prayers for gigantic rewards of healthy, happy, stable children.)

The appointments thus far have been purely educational as we have decided whether we should move forward with such treatment.  We have decided that we must move forward.  The brain mapping will take place on Tuesday morning with the results coming later in the week.  Treatments will begin the last day of January.  The treatments will be twice a week for 15 weeks.  I will share more about our journey on Tuesday.