The Science behind Neurofeedback

Posted by adortalukdar on January 12th, 2015

The brain is one of the few organs that is capable of self-regulation. This means that the brain is capable of sensing what areas are the most active and where increases of blood flow might be beneficial. The brain can then increase the blood flow to some areas and decrease the flow to other areas. This blood flow control allows the brain to send needed oxygen to areas and to encourage growth and development in the portions of the brain that receive the extra oxygen.

Perfusion is the concept of taking measurements of the blood flowing through the brain. In order to determine the amount of perfusion a person has in a certain portion of their brain doctors perform PET scans and use SPECT, and recently it has been discovered that EEG patterns can show where perfusion is greatest and least in the brain.

Neurofeedback mimics the brain by supplying one section with more stimuli to promote healthy growth and rejuvenation. Neurofeedback is used to help a person to relax when certain stress inducers are present. This relaxation response helps to eliminate the problems caused by chronic stress. You cannot always avoid the things that cause you stress, but you can try and learn different ways to respond to those stresses and thus reduce the negative effects of stress on your body.

Neurofeedback can help you recognize and improve:

• Chronic headaches such as migraines
• Attention deficit disorders in children and adults
• Trauma issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder
• Depression
• Autism
• Anxiety issues

Proper assessment of your problem by trained professionals is necessary for you to discover the extent of Neurofeedback you will need to implement the changes you need to make. It will take several sessions before your brain starts to naturally take over and develop in the areas it needs to develop on its own. Neurofeedback will use the brains own self-regulation to increase blood flow to the areas of your brain that need to grow and develop in order to initiate the changes you wish to make.

The scientists behind Neurofeedback include:

Ivan Pavlov who did thousands of different studies on conditioning responses in animals and humans.

Hans Berger who invented the EEG.

B.F.Skinner took Pavlov's studies and realized that these were examples of operant conditioning and he researched the theory that learning can be strengthened with positive reinforcement.

Neal E. Miller made the profound discovery that different types of readers could be applied to the brain to gather information.

Barry Sternman and his studies on sensory motor rhythm control and seizure disorders.

Joel Lubar and his studies on whether the sensory motor rhythm control could also be effective on ADHD.

Advanced Health and Performance Institute uses Neurofeedback to help people live happier, healthier lives.