What is Neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is exercise for the brain.

Neurofeedback, also called EEG Biofeedback is a state-of-the-art, non-invasive, drugless method for teaching the brain to function in a more balanced and healthful way. A simple and pleasant learning modality that can help shift the way the brain produces and distributes its electrical energy. Four divisions of electrical impulses made by our brain, Delta, Theta, Alpha and Beta are called “Frequency Bands”. These Frequency Bands tell us which parts of your brain are active and which frequency bands the brain should be using to complete a given task, activity or should be most active during different states of mind.

 

How Does Neurofeedback Work?

It’s based on a very simple concept: Once we gather information on how our brain waves are performing, we can take that information and use our brains to change how they work to optimize performance. The goal of neurofeedback therapy is to transform an unhealthy, dysregulated brainwave pattern into a normal, healthy, organized pattern. By doing this, the brain becomes more stable and is able to operate optimally and efficiently.

How do you know if BrainCore Neurofeedback is right for you? Start with step one: A Brain Map assessment, or qEEG, will provide a detailed analysis of your specific brainwave activity throughout your brain. Your provider will gather this information by placing a number of sensors on your head to record the strength of the key frequency bands. The equipment then analyzes this information, and your provider can generate a picture of the electrical activity of your entire brain. The Brain Map tells which areas of the brain are too active, underactive, or which frequency band is not being well-regulated by the brain. It can also tell us if everything looks normal!

What happens after the initial assessment? The initial assessment provides the neurofeedback training protocols that will be used during the subsequent training sessions. These protocols are designed to retrain the brainwave patterns toward normal. As the brainwave patterns normalize, the brain is able to operate more optimally and efficiently.

To get a better idea of how neurofeedback therapy works, take this example: Once the protocols are determined the individual is hooked up to a computer using wires and sensors and the computer records their brainwave activity. These sensors are noninvasive, as no electrical current is put into the brain. The sensors simply record the brainwaves coming from the brain. Information about these brainwaves is displayed on the provider’s monitor.

The software automatically detects when the brainwaves are properly ordered and it feeds that information back to the patient. This feedback appears in the form of a game, movie, or sound which signals the patient that the brainwaves are becoming more ordered. For example, if the patient is watching a puzzle come together piece by piece, as long as the patient’s brain waves are moving in an orderly direction, the puzzle pieces are filled in and the patient hears a tone. If the brain wave patterns move away from an orderly pattern, then the puzzle does not get filled in and no tone is produced. The patient is actually controlling the completion of the puzzle with the brain and by doing so the brain is learning how to regulate itself.