NeuroConnections

NeuroConnections Brain and Body

Neurofeedback Treats PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Sleep Issues, ADHD, Memory, Autism, and Pain

Neurofeedback is a sophisticated form of biofeedback that actually trains the brain to normalize

the brainwaves and make them flexible and adaptable to situational needs. It can do on a more

permanent basis what most medications can only do for a few hours and there are no side effects

as there are with medications. Neurofeedback is a quick, noninvasive, cost-effective treatment

for a wide variety of disorders that affect not only children but also adults.

My Neurofeedback clients learned to control and optimize their brain function with diminished meds and symptoms. EEG Biofeedback requires paying attention to a video or graphics as normal brainwaves are operantly trained.

Forty years of research has shown amelioration of mental health and neurological conditions with this powerful, effective, established, and proven intervention

Neurofeedback monitors moment-to-moment information on the state of an individual's physiological functioning. Neurofeedback has its foundations in applied neuroscience and rewards normal brain activity. Symptoms and meds diminish.

Trauma is stored in deeper parts of the brain and nervous system as whole-body experiences, not just linear narratives. This means that clients don’t remember what happened as a coherent story – they remember how they felt and how their bodies reacted, how scared they were, as well as their racing heart and difficulty breathing.

Does trauma impact the brain, body, and mind?

Trauma takes away a person’s sense of safety and stability at a deep, core level and activates the amygdala. The Amygdala is part of the limbic system, a deeper, more primitive part of the brain that primarily responds to basic signals about fear and safety. Here, memory is stored as a lived experience with feelings and physical sensations that may not be connected in a logical story.

Talk therapy works at the prefrontal cortex where we plan, learn, and organize, but it does not communicate well with the limbic system. Talk therapy can appeal to our sense of reasoning and language, but it doesn’t speak to the deeper parts of the brain that experience and store painful memories.

During a traumatic event, the Amygdala alerts the Hypothalamus, a part of the brain that coordinates the body’s stress response by producing hormones like cortisol. In addition, the autonomic nervous system – which controls our involuntary body functions – goes into fight-or-flight mode. This means having a faster heart rate, breathing more shallowly, sweating, and not being able to think clearly.

In this way, trauma can change the body’s biology. Even after the trigger is gone, the Amygdala can hold onto the physical memory of trauma, and our bodies can get stuck in this fight-or-flight mode, leaving us with higher levels of cortisol and symptoms of hyperarousal.

Calming The Brain & Body After Trauma

While we can ask someone to calm down and think more rationally, that may not change their whole-body response to trauma. We need trauma treatments that can heal the brain and body’s biology.

“Traditionally we’ve tried to heal PTSD through talking and making meaning of the event, but treatment methods that help calm arousal systems in the deeper regions of the brain have been helpful in calming PTSD more than those that try to do so through talking and reasoning.” Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of “The Body Keeps Score”

Professional Testimonials

Along the newer approaches to managing ADHD, the most exciting is a learning
process called Neurofeedback. It empowers a person to shift the way he pays attention.
After more than 25 years of research in university labs, neurofeedback has become
more widely available. This is a pleasing development, because neurofeedback has no
negative side effects. William Sears, MD, The ADD Book

Neurofeedback 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. It is a field to be taken seriously by all. Frank
Duffy, MD, professor and pediatric neurologist, Harvard Medical School

Children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may benefit from
EEG Biofeedback (Neurofeedback) by Learning to Increase Beta brainwaves
associated with alertness and decrease Theta waves associated with a dreamy state of
mind. This form of biofeedback has shown promise for mental health problems such as
addictions, anxiety disorders (including PTSD) and depression. Dr. Andrew Weil, MD

A recent issue of child and adolescent psychiatric clinics reviewed emerging
interventions that affect brain function. The editors noted: EEG biofeedback meets the
American Academy of Child and adolescent psychiatry clinical guidelines for treating of
ADHD, seizure disorders, anxiety, OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), GAD
(generalized anxiety disorder), PTSD, phobias, depression, reading disabilities and
addictive disorders. This suggests that EEG biofeedback should always be considered
as an intervention for these disorders by the clinician.
Dr. Hirschberg treats many ASD (neuro- divergent) clients and 67.5% show major
improvement in their symptoms. 5% show a huge improvement. After training, clients
show improved flexibility, concentration, better emotional control, organization skills and
executive function. Dr. Coben showed 89% success rate with ASD (neuro-divergent)
clients. Statistical analysis revealed significant improvement and a 40% reduction in
ATEC (Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist) symptoms. Improvement was confirmed
by neuropsychological and neurophysiological assessment.
Double-blind NIMH 2009 funded research on innovative ADHD treatment focused on
neurofeedback and confirmed effectiveness. In their summary they wrote, With the huge
public backlash against increasingly expensive medications with side effects, uncertain
outcomes and potential dangers, there is no doubt that interest in less invasive, more
thoughtful and interactive therapies will continue

NeuroConnections Brain and Body