Archive for the ‘Application of Neurofeedback’ Category

Veteran’s Day – 2009

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

I have the impression that my newspaper, The Los Angeles Times, printed more articles on veterans' issues today than they printed articles about Labor on Labor Day. Veterans' issues are ok to write about; we can show that at least our hearts are in the right place. Labor issues have become more inconvenient. But veterans' issues include the matter of returning to the labor force once they have been returned to health.I have the impression that my newspaper, The Los Angeles Times, printed more articles on veterans’ issues today than they printed articles about Labor on Labor Day. Veterans’ issues are ok to write about; we can show that at least our hearts are in the right place. Labor issues have become more inconvenient. But veterans’ issues include the matter of returning to the labor force once they have been returned to health.

We now know how to recover veterans from all kinds of mental health issues through neurofeedback comprehensively, cost-effectively and quickly—regardless of whether we are talking about traumatic brain injury, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, or other less devastating mental dysfunctions. The barriers to the diffusion of our innovation into actual practice are clearly institutional. Meanwhile, lip service continues to be given to the issues.

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Our Declining State of Health

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Last May, Science Magazine featured a review of a recent study of human health going back some 10,000 years. Surprisingly, perhaps, our state of health has been declining generally over the last 3,000 years, coinciding essentially with the broad adoption of agriculture.Last May, Science Magazine featured a review of a recent study of human health going back some 10,000 years. Surprisingly, perhaps, our state of health has been declining generally over the last 3,000 years, coinciding essentially with the broad adoption of agriculture. The trends are not subtle, apparently. Statures have shrunk, and there was an increase in skeletal lesions, tuberculosis, and leprosy. People started living closer together, and in more intimate contact with livestock—the formula for increases in contagion in general, and of animal-to-human viral transfer in particular.

The switch to grain-based diets had further consequences for dental health, with cavities and tooth loss becoming more of a problem. Vitamin deficiency diseases such as rickets and scurvy became more prevalent during the Dark Ages. This trend only began to be broken in the middle of nineteenth century, presumably due to increased trade, better sanitation, improvements in medicine, and better weather after the Little Ice Age. Since the 1950’s, however, the overall trend has once again been downward, and this is showing up even in trends in stature, which can be taken as a kind of integrative index to health status.

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Neurofeedback at Infra-low Frequencies of the EEG

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

It is time for an update on our collective experience with infra-low frequency neurofeedback training. One impetus is the continuing confusion in the rest of the field about the implications of this kind of training, both theoretically and practically.It is time for an update on our collective experience with infra-low frequency neurofeedback training. One impetus is the continuing confusion in the rest of the field about the implications of this kind of training, both theoretically and practically. Some are still skeptical of the whole enterprise. Others are coming to terms with it, but would prefer to regard it as filling certain niches within the panoply of neurofeedback approaches. Such pigeon-holing would nicely leave unperturbed whatever has come before in terms of neurofeedback approaches and understandings. While it is probably true that no single neurofeedback technique will cover all the bases, the infra-low training gives every sign of being broadly applicable to the concerns that surface in neurofeedback offices. It’s not just for PTSD and for the autism spectrum. It follows, then, that it must be folded into our thinking generally about neurofeedback and cannot be compartmentalized.

The most striking clinical reports do relate to PTSD and to the autism spectrum, but that is simply because expectations are so modest with regard to both of those conditions. A reporting bias has crept in because we tend to emphasize those cases that defy the unbelief among the unbelievers. It continues to surprise that results in such “intractable” cases are so quickly achieved. One report found “huge improvements” in only sixteen sessions with respect to startle response, hypervigilance, troubling memories, disturbed sleep, and paranoia. A middle-age woman with an abuse history “benefited greatly” in only five sessions, by which time she reported that her PTSD symptoms were gone (although some sleep issues remained to be dealt with).

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The Medical Mismanagement of Autism

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Neurofeedback addresses itself to the underlying issue in the classic autistic symptoms, which is brain disregulation.We should be grateful, I suppose, that autism is now finally getting attention from the medical community. As late as the 1990’s, parents were still being blamed for the condition by their pediatricians. And until recently the attempts by DAN doctors (Defeat Autism Now) to get at the medical roots of the condition were mocked by their medical colleagues. But the developing mainline approach to autism exhibits the tendencies typical for modern medicine, which is to target the symptoms rather than the condition that gives rise to them.

What follows is an actual case description of the treatment of sleep disorder and self-injurious behavior in the Child and Adolescent Psychopathology Department of Sainte-Anne’ s Hospital. One of the children presenting with severe autistic behavior exhibited persistent sleep disorder and motor instability even with the standard multidisciplinary program at the hospital. This led to successive prescriptions of several different psychotropic drugs:

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The Medical Treatment of Epilepsy

Friday, August 28th, 2009

An informal survey taken on a public website dealing with epilepsy has found a notable trend in the prescribing of anti-convulsant medication. Most people being treated for epilepsy have been tried on a significant number of different medications.An informal survey taken on a public website dealing with epilepsy has found a notable trend in the prescribing of anti-convulsant medication. Most people being treated for epilepsy have been tried on a significant number of different medications. The survey results are shown in Figure 1. Shown is the percentage of respondents who have taken the indicated number of medications over their treatment history. The bin labeled ’10’ includes everyone who has been prescribed at least ten different anti-epileptic drugs. The modal value is ’10,’ so those diagnosed with epilepsy are more likely to have been prescribed ten or more medications than any lesser value. The total number of participants in the survey was 177.

No doubt each of these medications required several visits to the neurologist, plus some blood work and perhaps an EEG every now and then. Also we may assume that most of the ten or more medications will have been abandoned along the way because it is unusual for someone to be on more than three AEDs at a time. So one may judge that at least 70% of the ten or more medications were not worth keeping in the mix. That indicates a fairly low hit rate on the medications.

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Michael Vick

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Two events coalesced recently in my mind; the rehabilitation of Michael Vick and the riot at Chino prison in California.Two events coalesced recently in my mind—the rehabilitation of Michael Vick and the riot at Chino prison in California. The second of these is tied to a third, namely the directive under which the State of California finds itself to reduce its prison population by 43,000 inmates in short order. Michael Vick hails from my alma mater, Virginia Tech, which for some reason makes his criminal behavior more my issue than it would be otherwise. He has attempted to express contrition about his past behavior, but the statements might well have been prepared by his lawyer. He said everything that he might be expected to say, and he’ll no doubt go forth with his cue cards and speak on behalf of the Humane Society as he promised.

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