In Neurofeedback, small, metal discs or “electrodes” are placed on your scalp to monitor your brain activity during the session. Electrodes measure your brain activity underneath the skull. Once we obtain your brain activity measures, it is imputed into the computer software, which compares it to a normative database. In short, we know where normal is and we know where you are.
Often games or videos are used in session to assist with targeting optimal brain patterns. When irregular brain patterns are detected, a response is triggered from the software that pauses or dims the video or music for instance. This response automatically enhances your focus in the moment, which will help you shift your brain activity back into normal ranges. Once you teach the brain a new pathway, it is important to solidify that pathway. With repetition of this process over multiple sessions (typically around 30), your brain can permanently learn to stay within healthy ranges on its own without Neurofeedback.
The location variations are displayed in this picture from an aerial point of view. There are 10-20 different locations that we typically target and use throughout training and each treatment protocol is client specific. For clients that practice, brainwave activity is “shaped” to more desirable and regulated performance. Through this process, clients train their brain to find a new, more effective, brainwave pattern.
Similar to exercising a muscle that one is not typically exercised, the more practice the client has, the more easily the body can utilize the muscle and the more effective/useful the muscle can become for daily functioning. Some of the benefits of participating in Neurofeedback are increased cognitive ability, attention span, and motor skills; enhanced performance, diminished hyperactivity, normalized sleep, decreased anxiety and depression, reduced irritability and mood swings, enhanced mental clarity; regulated emotion, thinking, and behavior for increased balance and daily function; reduction in tic-like behaviors; alternative treatments to medication, and decreased side- effects in comparison to medication options.
Written by:
Alexus Cordova
Neurofeedback Technician @ InMindOut, LLC
