Brain Injury

“With the development of relatively low-cost devices for brainwave biofeedback, clients occasionally inquire about the possibility of treating themselves or their children at home. When considering self-treatment, you should keep in mind that neurofeedback is not a stand-alone therapy. A widely held notion is that all a therapist needs to do to treat depression, for example, is to place EEG sensors over the left frontal lobe and tell the client to “increase the amplitude of beta.” It is true that beta enhancement generally helps in treating depression, but it is never adequate as a sole treatment. Some form of additional cognitive therapy or behavioral therapy or both is always required. The combination makes for remarkably rapid, efficient, and lasting treatment. Indeed, the treatment of any disorder rarely, if ever, involves only one method. Treatment requires work at various sites on the brain to modify brain activity that may be exacerbating the condition. Learning to correct brain functioning is, in some ways, similar to using a personal coach in physical training. One of the major functions of the neurotherapist is to help the client learn to modify brain activity by a process called behavioral shaping. Shaping refers to gradually increasing the level of difficulty as the client becomes better at producing the response. Thus, I advise people not to engage in unsupervised neurofeedback at home unless they are training merely for relaxation or focus. However, using home-based treatments under the supervision of a well-trained neurotherapist can be helpful. The newer equipment systems have been designed so that specific treatment protocols can be loaded into the unit for home use. The results of each treatment session are retained in the unit. The therapist can the analyze and modify the method as treatment progresses. Some systems now available are linked to a central computer in the therapist’s office; the therapist can directly monitor each session the client is receiving at home, making changes as needed. ” pp. 123-124 Biofeedback for the Brain by Paul G. Swingle Ph.D. Questions? Treatment begins with a brain map qEEG. Call Fort Wayne Neurofeedback to set an appointment and ask questions. Ph. 260 432-8777

“The frontal lobes are the executive portions of the brain. Consider them to be your mental managers. Traditionally, the left lobe is thought to control the rational, objective, quantified, and linear activities of the brain. The right lobe controls the emotional, subjective, creative, parallel, and associative brain functions. Frontal-lobe dysfunctions can have severe behavioral and emotional effects. An example of excessive slow-frequency alpha is associated with many problematical conditions, including dementia, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and brain injury. Better intellectual performance is directly associated with faster alpha frequencies. Here’s a clinical example of Ken, a large 17 year old boy who arrived in office with the diagnosis of “high functioning autism.” He appeared sullen and noncommunicative but quite willing to let me do a brain assessment. I started with positive features and I reviewed the results of the assessment with him and his mother. In this case I found a low ratio of slow to fast alpha. The ratio was only 0.74, and told his mother that this superb ratio was one of the important factors contributing to a high IQ and good cognitive efficiency. Ken flew through his treatment; the HF amplitude was reduced over the frontal midline, and the frontal lobes were normalized. Ken’s attention and interpersonal skills improved markedly. His grades became excellent, and he prepared himself to apply to university. Ken started to develop a sense of humor, which is alway a strong indicator of improvement in children with autism. He frequently commented to me that he always “felt smart”, but people “treated me dumb.” This case is an excellent example of the power of revealing positive attribues when a child expects more of the same old criticism of his behavior.” pp. 77-81 Biofeedback For The Brain by Paul G. swingle Ph.D. Questions? Treatment begins with a brain map qEEG. Call Fort Wayne Neurofeedback to set an appointment and ask questions. Ph. 260 432-8777

“The sensory motor cortex is a central location for sensory and motor functioning. Specific parts of the brain control different parts of our bodies and thought processes. The sensory motor cortex plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of learning, attention, and memory problems. This site is frequently used in treatment for both historical and pragmatic reasons. The assessment at the top of the brain requires recording approximately 150 seconds of good data. Assessments are made during both eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions and during a cognitive challenge such as reading or doing mental arithmetic. At the occiput the therapist wants the theta/beta ratio to be high, over two or so, whereas at the top the ratio should be low, below two. Young children show higher theta/beta ratios than adults, a fact that reflects the developmental stages of the child. Children have higher amplitudes than adults, so an average theta/beta ratio of, say, 2.5 with a child does not raise the same concerns as it does with a forty-rear-old adult.

When the eyes are open and the theta/beta ratio is much above two, we suspect attention problems. If the theta/beta ratio remains high under both at-rest and challenge conditions, then attention difficulties are probable. Further, when the theta/beta ratio is high under challenge, comprehension may also be compromised. For the child, the brain simply is not active enough to retain the material being read. A far more serious problem occurs with large increases in the theta/beta ratio during a cognitive challenge. For example, if a ten year-old boy has a theta/beta ratio of 2.0 with eyes open at rest, but that ratio jumps to 2.6 when he does mental arithmetic, the child usually has an attention problem. The theta/beta ratio looks fine when the brain is at rest. However, when challenged, the brain “goes the wrong way.” Even though the child is trying to concentrate, the brain produces a wave form associated with daydreaming. This is an extremely frustrating condition for the child. The harder he tries, the worse the attention problem becomes. When the theta/beta ratio goes up after reading or remains at a high level after the task is completed, we then suspect a problem with retention.” pp. 69-71 Biofeedback For the Brain by Paul G. Swingle Ph.D. Questions? Treatment begins with a brain map qEEG. Call Fort Wayne Neurofeedback to set an appointment and ask questions. Ph. 260 432-8777

“The other important brainwave band to consider at the occiput is alpha. When the client goes from eyes open to eyes closed to eyes open again, the neurotherapist should observe a large increase in the alpha amplitude during the eyes-closed phase. In the back of the brain, the jump up should be at least 50 percent from eyes open to eyes closed. Further, the alpha amplitude should return to the first eyes-open level within a few seconds of reopening the eyes.

Often parents are initially unaware of the importance of a traumatic event involving their children. In one case, a child who showed an alpha deficiency had experienced an injury of the upper mouth. The injury had occurred a few weeks before the assessment, and the parents did not associate this episode with the traumatic stress I described to them. After speaking with the child, though, I realized how traumatic the event was for her. The injury had required emergency hospital treatment. In addition, she had watched a TV program shortly before her injury that portrayed, in her mind, a similar situation, only in that case the child had died. She thought she was experiencing a life-threatening situation when she was injured and later rushed to the emergency room. The event registered weeks later in the brainwave signature characterized by the low-level alpha response. In sum, we can gain an enormous amount of useful data from the back of the brain. The information not only validates the client’s complaints but also specifies exact conditions for treatment. All this valuable information is obtained in a mere sixty seconds of brainwave recording.” pp 65-69 Biofeedback for the Brain by Paul G. Swingle Ph.D. Questions? Treatment begins with a brain map qEEG. Call Fort Wayne Neurofeedback to get an appointment and ask questions. Ph. 260 432-8777

“The occiput, located at the back of the brain, is one of the most critical brain areas. In this area of the brain, neurothrapists look for several indicators of healthy brain functioning. If you are relaxed and your eyes are open, the theta/beta ratio should be around two to one—that is, the amplitude of the theta (3-7 Hz) brainwaves should be twice that of the beta (16-25 Hz) waves. This ratio is typically a bit higher in young children and a bit lower in adults, but a value of two is a good guideline. Theta activity in the back of the brain indicates the brain’s ability to quiet itself. When the ratio of the amplitude of the theta to beta waves falls much below two, agitation in the central nervous system is common. In other words, clients find it difficult to shut off the brain. They often experience nonspecific anxiety and have a low tolerance for stress. In extreme cases, this level of agitation leads to a predisposition to addictive behavior. The addiction can be to almost anything: alcohol, nonmedical drugs, prescription medications, food, sex, gambling, exercise, television, a person, or other calming or distracting situations.” pp. 62 Biofeedback for the Brain by Paul G. Swingle Ph.D. Questions? Treatment begins with a brain map qEEG. Call Fort Wayne Neurofeedback to set an appointment and ask questions. Ph. 260 432-8777

How does a neurotherapist interpret brainwave activity? The task for the neurotherapist is to learn how to decipher and find meaning in the patterns of the brain activity that are measured. Today the clinical portrait that I obtain on a client is brief, consisting essentially of the history of any medications, neurological symptoms, seizures, or head injuries. If clients proceed to elaborate on their problems, I usually ask them to wait until after I do the brain map for, more often than not, I can give them a precise description of their problems based on the brain map alone. After interpreting the brain map, I then ask the client to provide additional relevant data, which might include social and emotional events that could have a bearing on how the therapy should proceed.

Assessing five specific sites identifies the neurological bases for most of the problems reported by clients. My descriptions of these five brain regions in this chapter provide general guidelines for identifying problem areas. Many psychological conditions are revealed in brain signatures, which are patterns in brain activity that can be readily identified. A brain map must include the following five locations: the occiput, or back of the brain; the area over the sensory motor cortex, or top of the head; and three locations over the frontal cortex, or front of the brain. Once we have a firm understanding of the information these sites provide, we can look at brainwave data recorded from both child and adult clients that cover a wide range of clinical problems.” pp 60-62. Biofeedback for the Brain by Paul G. Swingle Ph.D. Questions? Treatment begins with a brain map qEEG. Call Fort Wayne Neurofeedback to set an appointment and ask questions. Ph. 260 432-8777

“The significance of your delta activity depends on how alert you are when the EEG measurements are obtained. If you are drowsy, with eyes closed, high-amplitude delta waves present in the EEG indicate the early stages of sleep or drowsiness. However, if you are alert and attentive, delta activity over the frontal area of the brain is often associated with chronic pain disorders such as fibromyalgia. Excessive delta activity directly on top of the head is associated with attention deficiencies and learning problems. Too much delta activity in one area of the brain has effects quite different from those associated with excessive delta in a different area. One patient, Jim, complained of mental “fogginess” and fatigue. The brain assessment revealed several areas of inefficiency, one of which was a marked excess of delta intensity in the frontal part of the brian. Jim had Lyme disease, which, like other viral infections, can produce significant neurological symptoms caused by high frontal delta amplitude. Even after successful medical treatment of this disease, clients often express some cognitive difficulties of the kind Jim suffered from. I treated these problems by suppressing delta amplitude in the right frontal area of Jim’s brain. With a visual picture of the delta activity in his brain, I helped Jim learn how to reduce the delta amplitude. Using biofeedback of the delta amplitude (a tone would signal when the amplitude was decreasing), Jim learned how to engage the mental states associated with reduced delta. After twelve sessions, Jim recovered his previous intellectual capabilities and level of vigor.” pp. 44 Biofeedback for the Brain by Paul G Swingle Ph.D. Questions? Treatment begins with a brain map qEEG. Call Fort Wayne Neurofeedback to set an appointment and ask questions. Ph. 260 432-8777

“Theta is probably the most important brainwave band used in a neurotherapist’s diagnosis and treatment. The significance of theta activity, between 3 and 7 Hz, is closely related to the area of the brain where the activity is measured. In most areas, theta is associated with hypoactivity (reduced activity), daydreaming, inattention, absence of directed thought, and drowsiness. High theta amplitude is found at times of inner focus and contemplation. Theta waves are also enhanced during a hypnotic trance, and the vivid images experienced during twilight sleep are also associated with theta activity. Hypnotic states, twilight sleep, meditation, daydreaming—all are associated with reduced activity in the brain and the dominance of theta waves. High theta activity reflects the overall quiescence of the central nervous system. Theta activity in the back of the brain (occipital area, or occiput) is associated with the mind’s ability to quiet itself. Deficient theta activity in the occiput is often associated with sleep disturbance, low stress tolerance, and predisposition to addiction. People with poor theta production in this area often cannot “shut the brain off” and suffer from anxiety-related disorders. Elevated theta amplitude is also found around the site of injuries to the brain because the injured area is not functioning at the same rate as surrounding uninjured areas.” pp. 44-45 Biofeedback For The Brain by Paul G. Swingle PhD. Questions? Treatment begins with a brain map qEEG. Call Fort Wayne Neurofeedback to set an appointment and ask questions. Ph. 260 432-8777

“Alpha activity (8-12Hz) is related to relaxed attentiveness. Alpha, in general, is the parking or idling frequency in the brain. Your brain is an enormously energy-hungry organ. It weights only about three pounds in an adult but consumes more than 20 percent of body energy when it is working efficiently. Hence, your brain’s efficiency in getting in and out of park is extremely important. The speed with which the brain’s alpha waves change, an indicator of brain efficiency, can become diminsihed with age and with reduced mental activity. Testing alpha waves also tells us about visualization skills, visual memory, emotional trauma, and artistic skill or interest. For instance, peak performance training for athletes or for those in demanding decision-making situations is focused on amplifying the fast-frequency components of alpha waves. Recall that the alpha brainwave band is between 8 and 12 Hz. Researchers have shown that the greater the amplitude of the faster alpha (over 10 Hz) relative to the slower alpha (below 10 Hz) the better one’s intellectual performance. Simon Hanslmayr, at the University of Salzburg, found that the ratio of fast to slow alpha amplitude can be increased with neurotherapy. He and his colleagues reported that such increases are directly related to improved intellectual performance. Several characteristics of alpha brainwaves are associated with cognitive efficiency. A tune-up treatment often used for elderly people who feel that they are becoming mentally sluggish or forgetful is to increase alpha parking/unparking efficiency. One of the great joys of my practice is seeing fearful and discouraged elderly clients gain a redefined view of themselves and their lives when I “brighten” their brains and discard their drugs. Brain brightening is a simple neurotherapy procedure in which the client learns how to reduce the amount of inappropriate slow-brainwave activity, increase the frequency of the dominant alpha, and increase the rapidity of changes in alpha amplitude from eyes open to eyes closed.” pp. 46-48 Biofeedback For The Brain by Paul G. Swingle Ph.D. Questions? Treatment gegins with a brain map qEEG. Call Fort Wayne Neurofeedback to set an appointment and ask questions. Ph. 260 432-8777.