Neurofeedback training, also called neurotherapy, neurobiofeedback or EEG biofeedback, is a therapy technique that presents the user with real-time feedback on the electrical activity “brainwaves” within their brains. This is measured by placing electrodes on the scalp. The feedback is typically in the form of a video display and sound or a multimedia display involving bars, graphs, video games and movies.
The aim of neurofeedback training is to enable conscious control of brainwave activity. If brain activity changes in the direction desired by the therapist, a positive “reward” feedback is given to the individual, and if it regresses, either a negative feedback or no feedback is given (depending on the protocol). Rewards can be as simple as a change in pitch of a tone or as complex as a certain type of movement of a character in a video game.
More than 25 years of research has shown that neurofeedback training can alter the electrical activity in the brain and hence change the problematic presenting symptoms. Not only can it alter the brainwaves, it has been found through follow-up studies that the improvements gained with neurofeedback maintain at eighteen years after the initial treatments and it is believed to be permanent.
Example: With Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), neurofeedback can decrease the excessive slow wave frontal activity characteristic of ADD, thereby raising test scores, as much if not more than medication does. Rating scales and grades also improve, hyperactivity and impulsivity decrease, and IQ has been found to increase by 10 to 20 points.
At the Scottsdale Neourofeedback Institute our neurofeedback training is always based on QEEG topographic brain mapping. We use six different databases which include eyes open and eyes closed data, as well as the new three dimensional LORETA. The Scottsdale Neurofeedback Institute is a leader in clinical practice, training, and research.
For more information on Neurofeedback Training have a read of our article on What is Neurofeedback?
Below is a list of other services offered at the Scottsdale Neurofeedback Institute, click on any of them for more details.