BIOFEEDBACK IN THE NEWS

Article links follow these "clippings".

CURRENT PRESS ON NEUROFEEDBACK/EEG BIOFEEDBACK  

Neurofeedback … helps regulate brain function by controlling the brainwaves that disrupt his ability to focus.  It is a skill that they learn just the same as riding a bicycle or playing a sport.   CBS Evening News  

            Researchers at NASA spun off a technology that uses biofeedback to help train their brain to focus better… originally developed to help pilots stay alert during long flights this new technology uses… games to help children train their brains.          

  We came up with this idea for a way to teach ADHD in children with our work in flight simulators where we were interested in pilots attentativeness and how to improve that.                                                    NASA

            Neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback that teaches patients to change faulty brain wave patterns at the root of behavior, learning or mood problems…

           The patient becomes familiar with how the desired level of consciousness “feels” and through practice, learns to change and maintain that level of brain activity voluntarily,

… Biofeedback uses instruments to measure physiological responses, such as heart rate or blood pressure, and then feeds this information back to the patient who can learn to consciously control the problem.  In Neurofeedback, it’s the brain wave patterns that are monitored.

Our brains produce electrical impulses…we all have brain wave frequencies that range from slow to fast… These correlate to specific states of awareness … when these frequencies are out of balance they produce the kind of psychological disorders that bring people in for help Pioneer Press  

…it’s hard science, its pure science; it’s just using something that the brain does naturally with some very high tech equipment to make the link possible, the human brain to machine link…                             Scientific American Frontier

 On the track with Neurofeedback, a new treatment may help with problems from ADD to depression, sleep disorders and epilepsy

Neurofeedback, a form of biofeedback that involves displaying a person’s brain waves on a computer screen and helping him control them.

Understanding Neurofeedback, and maximizing its benefits, will require years of research, but the future looks bright.  “I feel like someone has given us a piano and we’ve learned to play a couple of keys,” say Sue Othmer, executive director of EEG Spectrum.                                                                  Newsweek

 “What I like about it is that there are no side effects, unlike medication, which can have bad effects.  Neurofeedback is an exciting physical, biological intervention that has great promise… When effective, the patient senses a different kind of personal potential.”                                                                  Chicago Tribune

What follows are a selection on recent news stories in the popular press on Biofeedback and Neurofeedback.   Each article will have a brief introduction and hyperlink to the story.

Sports Psychology is an application of biofeedback and neurofeedback, being at one's best psychologically and physically in competition.  The recent World Cup Soccer Champions, Italy, had a sports science training program utilizing biofeedback. World Cup Soccer Biofeedback   

Recently off the presses is this professional review of neurofeedback by a major psychiatric journal.  They find neurofeedback "as effective as medication in reversing the symptoms of ADHD".  The article is excellent but a tough reading so be forewarned. PsyCenter

The Pioneer Press, a local newspaper chain, recently ran an article on EEG Biofeedback for youngsters with attention and anger problems. PioneerPress

The Chicago Tribune recently profiled my colleague Dr. Elsa Baehr's work with biofeedback on depression.  Her research suggests that depression is marked by an imbalance of brain wave activity that can be modified by EEG Biofeedback. ElsaTrib

The  Chicago Tribune Science Reporter describes the exciting developments in the area of neuroimaging, observing in real-time the activity of the human brain. Chicago Tribune

The BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation, reported on EEG treatment for memory.  Brainwave patterns as one ages becomes marked by more and more slow wave activity, somewhat similar to the profile of youngsters with attention disorders.  Studies in England and here in the states are suggesting that one can increase fast wave activity and improve memory. BBC on Memory

US News and Reports describes QEEG, quantitative electroencephlograph, the measurement of brainwave active from 19 sites on the head compared to standardized norms.  This analysis will indicate over and  under activity and "map" the necessary changes to modify the brainwave profile and reduce behavioral symptoms. US News on QEEG

New York Times reporter Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, writes on the research of Richard Davidson at University of Wisconsin.  Davidson discovered that the brainwaves of depressed individuals are marked by increased slow wave activity on the left side of the brain.  Goleman on Davidson

The New York Times reviews Jim Robbins book on EEG or Neurofeedback, Symphony in the Brain,  US News on QEEG  and the Atlantic Monthly has Robbins write an article based upon his investigation. Atlantic on Symphony

Chicago Parent introduces a parent friendly article on Neurofeedback. Chicago Parent on NFB