Neurofeedback Equipment Applications
What is neurofeedback equipment used for? It is used for assessment, clinical therapy, and performance enhancement/peak performance. There is also medical EEG equipment that is used diagnostically without the purpose of using the EEG measurement therapeutically. I will not be addressing medical EEG equipment in this article. Neurofeedback means that the EEG is being measured and the data fed back to the subject in a way that they can learn to regulate the activity.
There are a variety of devices from ones that measure from one location on the head to ones that measure up to 32 or more locations on the brain. The ones with 19 or more channels are designed for doing brain mapping. During this process, EEG data is recorded from 19 or more sites. The accompanying software compares the data to that from a normative database to determine which locations have “normal” activity and which have an activity that is 1, 2, 3, or more standard deviations lower or higher than normal. This information, along with information from a client intake, is used to determine if dysregulated EEG activity is associated with presenting symptoms. A protocol is recommended or developed to then train the brain using the neurofeedback equipment to a more regulated state with the hopes of decreasing symptoms.
The follow-up neurofeedback training sessions may be done with the same 19 or more channel systems or equipment with fewer channels. Even 1 channel can be used to train EEG activity to change in a single area. Some other protocols require 2-4 channels so that the left and right and or front and back of the brain can be trained at the same time. 19 or more channels may be trained so that the entire brain is trained including certain networks, or different areas that work together can be trained together.
Examples of the clinical applications of neurofeedback equipment include ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder), Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and Substance Abuse.
Examples of non-clinical peak performance/performance enhancement applications include improving cognitive function for academic performance, reducing test anxiety for academic performance, reducing anxiety and improving focus for sports or other types of performance, and using neurofeedback equipment as an aid for helping people to get into a meditative state by monitoring brain wave activity and giving feedback when the brain is in a meditative state and when it is not.
Harry L. Campbell
914-762-4646 – Harry@biofeedbackinternational.com
Author of What Stress Can Do, Available on Amazon.com
Biofeedback Resources International Corp.
www.biofeedbackinternational.com
