Neurofeedback Training, what is it, why, and when it is used.
WHAT IS IT AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
It is a system used to train the brain without the use of medical or non-medical drugs, in a reward-based type of training system. also known as a BIOFEEDBACK SYSTEM.
It works on the brains electrical activity by changing it as well as being a non-invasive type of treatment by that improves the brain’s ability to work out and find the source of any unwanted symptoms
By using an EEG ( electroencephalography ), medical professionals can find solutions and aid in the treatment and analysis of the following:
- – Brain wave electrical activity can be trained and assessed
- – People can be made aware and learn of unconscious
- – Brain performances can be enhanced
- – The EEG visualization process will allow the patient to learn, train, and regulate the state of the brain according to ” PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING “
- – Can and will effectively treat a multitude of cognitive, physical, and emotional symptoms, once they combine the EEG results with behavioral therapies as a combination treatment system.
Below find a list of the most common areas in medicine where this feedback is used:
- 1 – Coaching
- 2 – Occupational Therapy
- 3 – Physical Therapy
- 4 – Psychiatry
- 5 – Psychology
- 6- Sports & Performance
HOW DOES THIS PROCESS GET MEASURED?
A multitude of frequency bands are used in the training process with most being predefined Neurofeedback Training Protocols:
SMR
Based on the up-training activity as it’s protocol and within the frequencies ranging from 12 to 15 Hz.
It shows up on the EEG as a rhythm that is known as the spindle-like waveform which will originate from the part of the brain called the thalamus which then gets projected to the brain’s sensorimotor cortex which controls the motor and sensory pathways, and this is done to check for any reduction in this activity.
THETA/BETA
This part of the protocol process is simply a computed ration that is achieved by the division of the absolute beta power (13-21 Hz) by the absolute theta power (4-8 Hz).
ALPHA/THETA
By using the EEG’s slow-wave feedback activity to get the patient to go into a state of (but without falling asleep) a hypnagogic state, maybe even an early sleep stage, and or a really deep state of relaxation.
GAMMA
Simply by observing the entire brain, this gamma process or rhythm is just a set of patterns of neural oscillations
