Neurofeedback (EEG Biofeedback)

The EEG biofeedback training is a painless, non-invasive procedure. One or more sensors are placed on the scalp, and one to each ear. The brain waves are monitored by means of an amplifier and a computer-based instrument that processes the signal and provides the proper feedback. This is displayed to the trainee by means of a video game or other video display, along with audio signals. The trainee is asked to make the video game go with his brain. As activity in a desirable frequency band increases, the video game moves faster, or some other reward is given. As activity in an adverse band increases, the video game is inhibited. Gradually, the brain responds to the cues that it is being given, and a "learning" of new brain wave patterns takes place. The new pattern is one which is closer to what is normally observed in individuals without such disabilities.

What is neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is direct training of brain function, by which the brain learns to function more efficiently. We observe the brain in action from moment to moment. We show that information back to the person. And we reward the brain for changing its own activity to more appropriate patterns. This is a gradual learning process. It applies to any aspect of brain function that we can measure. Neurofeedback is also called EEG biofeedback, because it is based on electrical brain activity, the electroencephalogram, or EEG. Neurofeedback is training in self-regulation. It is simply biofeedback applied to the brain directly. Self-regulation is a necessary part of good brain function. Self-regulation training allows the system (the central nervous system) to function better.

Refer to our Neurofeedback FAQ sheet , or for more information on EEG go to the EEG Spectrum International Website

Doctor's Testimonials

Frank Duffy, MD Associate Editor Neurology and Clinical EEG
"The literature, which lacks any negative study of substance, suggests that EBT (EEG Biofeedback Therapy) should play a major therapeutic role in many difficult areas. In my opinion, if any medication had demonstrated such a wide spectrum of efficacy it would be universally accepted and widely used".

Daniel Amen M.D. Change Your Brain Change Your Life
"I've discussed ADD as primarily a problem in the prefrontal cortex. Medication is the cornerstone of the "biological" treatments for ADD, but it is not the only biological treatment. Over the past fifteen years, researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of a powerful adjunctive tool in the treatment of ADD and other prefrontal cortex problems: brain-wave or EEG biofeedback... In my experience with EEG biofeedback and ADD, many people are able to improve their reading skills and decrease their need for medication. Also, EEG biofeedback has helped to decrease impulsivity and aggressiveness. It is a powerful tool, in part because the patient becomes part of the treatment process by taking more control over his own physiological process." pgs. 143-144.

William Sears, M.D. The A.D.D. Book
“Among the newer approaches to managing ADD, the most exciting is a learning process called neurofeedback. It empowers a person to shift the way he pays attention. After more than twenty-five years of research in university labs, neurofeedback has become more widely available. This is a pleasing development, because neurofeedback has no negative side effects.” P 205

David F. Velkoff, M.D. Medical Director, Drake Institute of Behavioral Medicine, Los Angeles
“In my own practice, I’ve used neurofeedback in a comprehensive medical treatment program to help more than 1,000 patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. When combined with supportive therapies such as family counseling and educational therapy, EEG neurofeedback is the most effective treatment available. Critics of EEG neurofeedback hold this treatment to more rigid standards than drug treatments. Yet unlike drugs, neurofeedback is benign.”
Physician's Weekly, POINT/COUNTERPOINT July 13, 1998 Vol. XV, No 26

Jack Woodward, MD, Board-Certified Psychiatrist Clayton, GA
“In my 38 years of practice, I have never seen any treatment that comes close to producing the results that Neurofeedback offers…I have seen results achieved in days and weeks that previously took months and years to achieve, using the best methods available to us.”

J. Deckoff-Jones, MD, Mass.
“I have a patient with depression and ADD who also has occasional migraines. She came for a session two days into an established migraine, arriving crying, holding her head and having just vomited. Her headache completely dissolved during her 3rd period of C3/beta (EEG training). For someone who has treated hundreds or perhaps thousands of migraines intramuscularly with Demerol, this is pretty exciting stuff… once the aura and the headache is established, the usual treatment is to knock the person out so they can sleep. Even then they often wake up with their headache still there.”