Biofeedback History and How It Works

The methods in the first steps toward biofeedback have really existed for nearly 150 years. In those days, it was initially recognized that systems - especially individuals of humans - often regulate themselves to be able to maintain stability. This idea is known as homeostasis. Building with that theory, the medical science behind biofeedback once we presently realize it has advanced in a remarkably rapid pace. Starting in the second part of the twentieth century, scientists and researchers launched into a mission to have the ability to eventually make use of the precepts of homeostasis to enhance the lives and health of individuals all around the globe. Within the last two decades we've finally become there, and we're all lucky to become alive at any given time such as this.

Generally, the biofeedback looks something similar to this: instruments are utilized to measure specific physiological activity inside our physiques, whether it's brainwaves, breathing, the center, or any other individual function. Measurement gives us feedback (thus the title biofeedback) that enables us to create choice about how exactly effectively things are carrying out. After we determine if a particular body process needs some training or retraining to obtain look out onto speed, professionals can guide patients through treatment with the aim of fixing health issues without surgery, drugs, or long term therapy. Essentially, biofeedback can help you feel free.

The Astonishing Mind

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to discover which kind of biofeedback can take advantage drastic changes. In the end, our brain can serve as the mind in our nervous system and also the director for essentially every vital bodily function. Biofeedback coping with the mind is known to as neurofeedback, which therapy has created some truly astounding results during the last decade approximately. Studies have proven that neurofeedback could be especially effective being an intervention for a number of nerve conditions, including headaches, insomnia, anxiety, autism, and many more.

As pointed out before, fundamentally of biofeedback treatments may be the proven notion the body really wants to operate like a highly-functioning whole. The mind, particularly, adheres for this principle. It's amazing how little of the start working at the receiving end it requires to obtain our minds normal again, and neurofeedback can serve as the very best type of catalyst. Although it appears just like a process as potentially existence-altering as neurofeedback could be absurdly strenuous, it is extremely the alternative.

Neurofeedback is completely noninvasive, and targeted at supplying lengthy-term tools for coping with nerve issues so patients do not have to help keep returning. Correction from the problem typically takes the type of a led brain exercise, and patients won't have to see any discomfort or discomfort to reap invaluable benefits. If you've been battling with the aforementioned nerve issues, medication, and therapy with simply limited success, it might be time for you to start thinking about new approaches.

Stick to the linked text o find out more about biofeedback and BrainCore’s dynamic neurofeedback therapy.

BIOFEEDBACK IN NEW YORK

Mapping Madness: What qEEG Analysis Reveals About the Schizophrenic Brain

Schizophrenia is a well-known disorder, and it affects around 1% of the population nationwide; however, it is not yet fully understood from a scientific perspective. First documented in the 19^th century as dementia praecox, it was later renamed schizophrenia, from the Greek words for “split mind.” Historically, schizophrenia has often had a poor prognosis, but findings in the neuroscience of schizophrenia have illuminated potential new treatments that could be more effective than the antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics that have traditionally been used to manage the disorder. qEEG studies have revealed that brainwave dysregulation is a major factor in schizophrenia, leading to the intriguing possibility that neurofeedback therapy could be used to treat this debilitating condition. Luckily for residents in the New York area there are several BrainCore clinics that specialize in neurofeedback for schizophrenia. 

The Problems with Pharmaceutical Schizophrenia Treatment 

Schizophrenia is usually treated with prescription medications. Currently, a class of drugs called atypical antipsychotics is used most often; examples are Seroquel and Risperdal. These are considered to have a lesser side effect profile than earlier antipsychotics, such as Thorazine and Halperidol, which could cause extrapyramidal side effects similar to the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Drugs for schizophrenia work by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain. Although drugs that work on these receptors were known to be effective before evidence was produced to support the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia, more recent research has verified that excess dopamine availability is a factor in schizophrenia.

Antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics are usually effective for some symptoms and types of schizophrenia, but not always. In schizophrenia, there are two classes of symptoms:

·         positive symptoms

·         negative symptoms

Positive symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, and other traits that are absent in normal individuals but present in those with schizophrenia. Negative symptoms include poverty of speech, apathy, lack of motivation, anhedonia (the inability to experience pleasure), and other normal features that are absent in schizophrenic individuals. Antipsychotics tend to be successful for treating positive symptoms; however, the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, the onset of which is often insidious, often prove more intractable despite medication. Neurofeedback therapy guided by qEEG mind mapping could be a promising modality for managing negative symptoms of schizophrenia and related disorders.

  

qEEG Mind Mapping of Schizophrenia 

Research into the neurophysiology of schizophrenia using qEEG (quantitative encephalography), an imaging technique that uses software to perform calculations to compare EEG readings of an individual to databases in order to look for abnormalities, has produced new findings about brainwave dysregulation in schizophrenia. Mind mapping of schizophrenia brains has revealed poor self-regulation of brainwave frequencies, as well as hemisphere asymmetry, a type of brainwave dysregulation found in different forms in many brain-based disorders in New York. Specifically, researchers have found that schizophrenic individuals show decreased alpha activity, but increased beta, theta, and delta activity. Research has also elucidated differences in brainwave regulation that distinguish schizophrenia from depression, making qEEG mind mapping a potentially useful biomarker and diagnostic tool for determining that a person has schizophrenia rather than another psychotic condition, such as depression with psychotic features.

Although researchers have yet to carry out enough large-scale, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials to confidently declare the efficacy of qEEG-guided neurofeedback therapy for schizophrenia, case studies that have been published thus far have produced very promising results. Furthermore, analysis of qEEG mind mapping data of schizophrenic patients on their antipsychotic medications reveals that medications result in the normalization of the neural dysregulation. This could mean that using qEEG mind mapping to plan neurofeedback therapy for schizophrenia could present an effective alternative to antipsychotics, minus the many negative side effects of the drugs. For more information or to schedule a consultation with your local BrainCore clinic visit our website or call: 516-587-7810

Brain Training with Binaural Beats: Using Sound to Train Your Brain

Many people in the broader New York area are interested in using methods of brain training to reduce anxiety, increase creativity, and otherwise augment their mental capabilities. There are several methods of brain training, including neurofeedback therapy and computer games such as those found on Lumosity.com. However, one of the most accessible brain training methods is the use of isochronal tones and binaural beats. In fact, you can try this right now by searching “binaural beats” on YouTube, or checking out the links at the end of this post. Isochronal tones and binaural beats are proven brain training methods to change your mood and thought patterns using brainwave entrainment. 

What Are Binaural Beats? 

Binaural beats were discovered in the 19^th century, although it was in the 20^th century that their applications for brainwave entrainment were fully recognized. Binaural beats can be used to induce relaxation, creativity, and other positive mental states. They use two tones at different frequencies that combine together and are best experienced when using headphones. When two tones of slightly different frequencies are played, one into each ear, the brain will actually perceive them together as a beating tone. This effect results from the way the brain processes interaural time differences between each ear in order to localize sounds.

Binaural beats are known to have a relaxing effect, and different frequencies may facilitate different effects through an effect called brainwave entrainment. When a stimulus, such as a binaural beat, is a frequency in the range of brain waves, the predominant brainwave frequency is thought to move toward the frequency of the stimulus. Although auditory stimuli, such as binaural beats, are used most often, this effect can also apply to visual stimuli. Binaural beats with frequencies corresponding to alpha, beta, delta, gamma, or theta brainwave frequencies can facilitate a person’s brain to move into those brainwave states. Different brainwave frequencies correlate with different mental states. For example, beta brainwaves are associated with active thinking and willful concentration, while alpha brainwaves are associated with rest, mental tranquility, and peaceful Zen-like meditative states.

By using binaural beats, you can help move your brain into an alpha state to relax yourself, into a beta state to enhance alertness and concentration, and otherwise help facilitate certain mental states. Delta-frequency binaurals can be used to help you sleep, and theta and gamma binaurals have been associated with inducing out-of-body experiences and lucid dreaming.

Where Can I Find Binaural Beats Online? 

Finding binaural beats online is quick and easy. For best results, you will want to use a pair of high quality headphones. Since many people find the tones by themselves to be somewhat unpleasant, they are often superimposed onto a white noise background of soft music or nature sounds.

You can find a range of different binaural beats by simply searching “binaural beats” on YouTube. One good YouTube channel for finding binaurals for brain training is MindAmend, a channel run by Jason Lewis that contains a wide range of audio for brainwave entrainment including binaural beats, isochronal tones, whale songs, and more.

You can get to MindAmend by clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrpFW99zAUaJT8cKmqeagkg

Different binaural beats have different frequencies and different effects. You may want to try several to find the ones that work best for you. The effectiveness of a given binaural beat can vary from person to person, and you may find that some have little effect, whereas others prove to be quite powerful. Try experimenting with several to find which ones work best for you. You can listen to binaurals while working or doing other activities; however, one of the best ways to use them is to put your headphones on, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and begin to enter a meditative state.

For Broader New York Area residents interested in brain training, binaural beats are an easy, accessible, and effective way to experiment with altering your brainwave frequencies and with them, your state of consciousness. Using binaural beats is relaxing, therapeutic, and can have beneficial effects. Depending on the state you want to achieve and which beats you use, you may find it easier to enter meditative states, to enhance your concentration, or even to enter out-of-body experiences (OBE), although OBEs can be jarring if you have never had one before, rest assured that yes, you do come back from them!

BRAIN TRAINING WITH NEUROFEEDBACK

What is Neurofeedback Therapy Used to Treat?

Neurofeedback therapy is a biofeedback procedure in which brain waves are measured via EEG , and a signal is “fed back” to the brain to regulate brainwaves. It has potential applications for treating a number of disorders that are rooted in the dysregulation of brain processes. Neurofeedback works on brainwave patterns to facilitate self-regulation of this mental activity, which can help alleviate symptoms of certain neurological conditions.

Neurofeedback has been used to treat individuals with disorders including:

·         ADHD and ADD

·         Anxiety and other affective disorders

·         Autism

·         Epilepsy

·         Headaches

·         Insomnia

·         Brain damage from injury, stroke, or other causes

What is Neurofeedback for ADHD?

The most comprehensively researched and tested application of neurofeedback therapy is for the treatment of ADHD symptoms.

The electroencephalographic (EEG) models of ADHD brains have found significant differences in brainwave activity when comparing ADHD individuals to “normal” individuals. This model indicates that people with ADHD many have too much slow “theta” brainwave activity, which is associated with states of relaxation, and not enough “beta” brainwave activity, which is associated with mental focus and concentration. The goal of neurofeedback for ADHD is to increase beta activity. This is achieved by showing the individual their own brainwave activity, and then training them to alter it through some sort of active process – often taking the form of a simple “video game.”

What is Neurofeedback for Anxiety Disorders and Other Affective Disorders?

Unlike ADHD, anxiety and related disorders are distinguished by both an excess of beta activity, and asymmetries in the activity between the left and right frontal lobes. Neurofeedback therapy for anxiety disorders is geared toward increasing relaxed alpha wave and theta wave activity. In studies that have been performed, neurofeedback therapy has successfully treated anxiety symptoms, and has even lead to permanent changes in brainwave activity, thereby reducing the likelihood that future instances of this condition will occur.

Additionally, neurofeedback therapy has also been used for symptoms of other affective disorders such as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). More research is needed to effectively demonstrate the benefits of neurofeedback therapy in these contexts, but so far the results have been very positive.

What Else can Neurofeedback Be Used For?

Although there has been less research into other applications of neurofeedback therapy, there are a number of case studies in which it has proven effective in reducing the symptoms of autism. Other case studies have also showed it to be effective in helping to treat migraines, which are highly variable in their response to medications.

NEUROFEEDBACK THERAPY IN NEW YORK