What is Neurofeedback?
The human brain is made up of brain cells called neurons, which communicate with each other through electrical brain waves. Brain activity is generally characterized by a combination of brain waves. When one’s brainwaves are not balanced properly, that individual may experience both emotional and neuro-physical health concerns. The brain is responsible for our moods, thoughts, and cognitive abilities .The brain's electrical activity measurement is known as EEG (electroencephalogram). Neurofeedback therapy takes abnormal brainwave patterns and makes them normal. When we have normal brainwave patterns, the brain is better to self-regulate itself. Neurofeedback is the direct training of brain function, by which the brain learns to function more efficiently. We reward the brain for changing its own activity to more appropriate patterns.
How Does it Work?
We apply electrodes to the scalp to listen in on brainwave activity. We process the signal by computer, and we extract information about certain key brainwave frequencies. (All brainwave frequencies are equal, but some are more equal than others.) We show the ebb and flow of this activity back to the person, who attempts to change the activity level. Some frequencies we wish to promote. Others we wish to diminish. We present this information to the person in the form of a video game or through other media. The person is effectively controlling the video game or media piece with his or her brain. Eventually the brainwave activity is "shaped" toward more desirable, more regulated performance. The frequencies we target, and the specific locations on the scalp where we listen in on the brain, are specific to the conditions we are trying to address, and specific to the individual.
Who benefits from Neurofeedback ? Children, adolescents, and adults with attention deficits (ADHD), autism, anxiety, depression, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, stress-related problems, and insomnia, as well as those with age-related cognitive loss, may find neurofeedback helpful.