Neurofeedback is a non-invasive procedure which helps your mind learn healthy habits and behaviours. Treatment focuses in part on modulating your brain activity in order to improve your overall well-being.
Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback, a technique aiming to strengthen self-regulation and help individuals gain voluntary control over body functions that are typically involuntary, such as heart rate, muscle contraction, and brainwaves. In neurofeedback therapy, individuals learn to recognise when their brain is in specific states and learn how to recreate desired states, such as relaxation, or avoid undesired states, such as anxiety.
Neurofeedback, sometimes called EEG biofeedback, uses electronic instruments to help demonstrate certain involuntary physiological processes happening in the body. Electroencephalogram (EEG), is a test used to measure electrical activity in the brain. EEG biofeedback, tracks and records brain wave patterns, helping individuals better understand and control them themselves.
Neurofeedback therapy monitors brainwave patterns and provides feedback, often in the form of visual or auditory cues. Often, the therapy involves watching something on a screen while measuring a specific kind of brain wave. When you increase that brainwave's activity, the screen will brighten, and contrarily, when you decrease those brainwaves, the screen will dim. With enough feedback (brightening and dimming of the screen), your brain eventually learns what it needs to do to achieve healthier patterns of brain activity.
We communicate using electric impulses, called brain waves. Each brain wave consists of two characteristics; speed, which determines how quickly brain waves travel, and amplitude, referring to the amount of neurons that are synchronously active. Faster brain waves are generally associated with attention and thinking, while slower brain waves are associated with relaxation and sleep.
In neurodevelopmental disorders, brain waves may be interrupted and result in unhealthy biological activities and behaviours. For example, those experiencing anxiety have high-frequency brain waves and often feel irritable or anxious.
Brainwaves are classified by how fast or slow they move. The different types include:
Changes in the brain occur slowly. As such, it can require several sessions to change brain function. Neurofeedback training can sound intimidating if you've never experienced it, but it is a painless procedure with low risk.
At the beginning of a session, you will be connected to electrodes which measure your brainwave activity. During the training, you will be exposed to visual or auditory stimuli. The electrodes will send information about your brainwave activity to a computer, and if the computer detects that you are in a specific, desired state (i.e., calm and relaxed), you will be rewarded with more audio/visual feedback. The feedback will fluctuate in sound and brightness throughout the training session as your brain has to work to maintain its focus. By working to stay in this calm state, the sound and brightness will stay at optimal levels for easy viewing of the stimulus.
Throughout the session, your brain learns which brainwave patterns lead to the best result (i.e., good visual/audio quality). The goal of these training sessions is to train the brain through visual feedback on how to regulate itself to produce a desired state in everyday life.
Neurofeedback therapies are used for treating various diseases which originate from brain abnormalities. Whether people suffer from depression, anxiety, panic disorder or traumatic stress disorder, neurofeedback can help people feel more relaxed, happy, and confident. Depending on the specific situation, treatment may include modulation of alpha or beta waves. Conditions that neurofeedback therapy can help treat include:
Developmental delays may result from abnormal or dysregulated brain processes. If a child's brain does not grow properly, they can develop learning or behavioural problems. Neurofeedback helps children develop their neural plasticity by supporting positive neural conditioning. Because the younger brain is very flexible, neurofeedback can provide the ideal treatment to achieve long-term success with children if treatment is required.
When people experience brain damage, brainwaves are affected, leading to alterations of mood, personality, and mental state as well as poor concentration, impulsivity, and other cognitive difficulties. When brain damage occurs, slower brain waves (delta waves and theta waves) promote healing in the injured brain area. These waves are responsible for neuroplasticity and neurogenesis in an attempt to regenerate damaged tissue. However, in most cases of brain injury, these slow brainwaves become habitual, preventing growth beyond the injured state. Neurofeedback helps individuals' brains learn to suppress the slower brain waves that are preventing the brain from working like normal.
Epilepsy, a seizure disorder, was among the first disorders to be treated with neurofeedback. Seizure disorders are characterised by abnormal electrical discharge from neurons. Neurofeedback can help raise seizure thresholds, meaning that the brain would be more resistant to seizures. Neurofeedback therapy also leads to a reduction in intensity, frequency, and recovery time of seizures. The treatment has also been shown to be beneficial for intractable seizures, which are resistant to medication.
Learning disabilities are neurological disorders that stem from a problem with brain function. Neurofeedback helps retrain the brain to function at optimal levels without medication. Individuals who have completed neurofeedback therapy have benefited from improvements in attention and working memory and in symptoms related to the learning disability.
Individuals with ADHD show slower brain wave activity in frontal brain areas, with an excess of theta waves and a deficit of beta waves. In neurofeedback treatment for ADHD, beta waves are targeted to improve attention and focus. Individuals often report ADHD symptoms of insensibility, distraction, hyperactivity, and extreme dispassion. ADHD treatment commonly involves medication, most notably Ritalin. Individuals often develop a tolerance to stimulant medications, requiring higher dosages over time. Neurofeedback can help train the brain to work efficiently on its own, acting as an adjunctive therapy with medication and behavioural therapy.
Neurofeedback can be beneficial for the treatment of drug addiction, alcohol addiction, and addictive gaming. Neurofeedback works to reward the brain and nervous system for altering its activity. Training to modulate brain activity can help mimic mental states (i.e., calmness, motivation). By training the brain to self-regulate, individuals can achieve positive feelings similar to what they have gotten from substances in the past, without needing any substances.
Neurofeedback can help individuals to strengthen the connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala when exposed to anxiety-causing stimuli. Stronger connectivity leads to a stronger reduction in anxiety symptoms. Often, individuals with anxiety experience overstimulation. Neurofeedback therapy can help normalise these brainwaves, reducing feelings of anxiety. As alpha waves are associated with peacefulness, they are typically targeted in neurofeedback therapy for anxiety disorders. By increasing the production of alpha waves, individuals can benefit from an increased state of calmness and relaxation.
Other conditions that neurofeedback therapy can help treat include:
Neurofeedback is a broad term also referred to as EEG biofeedback. The different types vary depending upon the frequency of brain waves trained, therapeutic objectives, and the number of targeted sites within brain tissue. Amplitude training is the most popular method for neurofeedback. Typically, this increases or reduces brain waves. Slow brain training approaches (ILF, ISF and SCP) on the other hand train slow brain waves and can help to regulate and stabilise emotions.
Neurofeedback is a noninvasive method of exercise, is generally considered safe, and does not cause serious problems. If adverse reactions do occur, they are usually short-lived and most will resolve in 1-2 days. Among other side effects, sleep disturbances and low-focus headaches are the most common. Patients must report any adverse effects to their doctor to modify their therapy plan accordingly.
Many neurological conditions are currently being treated with medication. Generally, drug treatment provides a limited temporary solution and once the individual stops taking the drug, the problem usually returns to its previous form. Medications can also be addictive and often have unwanted side effects. Neurofeedback is a safe way of treating many diseases as it directly affects the brain, focusing on modulating brainwave activity without medication. Neurofeedback is also very effective in providing long-term results for treating different conditions.
The Kusnacht Practice provides neurofeedback therapy for a wide range of mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as sleep disorders, chronic pain, and brain injuries. Our psychiatric and medical teams are dedicated to your well-being, providing personalised treatments tailored to your individual needs and goals.
Consider reaching out for your mental health concerns or if you think neurofeedback therapy could be of benefit to you.
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