Over the years, we have gone to great lengths to argue that neurofeedback is merely biofeedback by other means, and if anything, ILF (Infra-Low Frequency) neurofeedback is even more analogous to traditional biofeedback than standard EEG training. It works with slowly varying physiological signals, and is oriented toward the most basic regulatory functions, including autonomic regulation and arousal regulation. ILF training has clinical priorities in common with somatic biofeedback. The EEG plays only a secondary role in the actual training, and none in the ILF component. Further, the slowly varying signal also involves significant non-neuronal components. A further commonality is that it does not involve operant conditioning.

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By Glen Martin (Part II of III)

When I started EEG Biofeedback in the early nineties the focus was on ADHD. In comparison to today there was little understanding of what other disorders could be impacted by neurotherapy. Nevertheless, no matter who the person is or what their condition, EEG biofeedback is simply peak performance training. The Othmers were and still are two of the major pioneers in utilizing EEG biofeedback for an increasing number of conditions. Whenever skeptics question the efficiency of EEG biofeedback I think of my son. My son was one of the first bipolar individuals to be trained. Here is the story of how that came about.

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By Glen Martin (Part I of III)

I started college in 1968 as a biology/geology major intending to teach in some local high school after graduation. Little did I know the twists and turns that my life would take and the changes I would see. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had just made segregation illegal four years earlier. It took awhile, however, before the law was fully implemented. The number of ‘sundown towns’ where ‘coloured people’ within the city limits would be arrested after sundown didn’t peak until the early seventies.

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By Siegfried Othmer, PhD

An underlying theme at both conferences, whether implicitly or explicitly, was the relationship of traditional biofeedback and neurofeedback, which is still being sorted out. This issue was put on the table right after Sue’s opening Keynote address by Eric Peper. His shotgun had three barrels, and he discharged all of them at once. “Why do you restrict your attentions to a single measure, the EEG?” he asked—perhaps not in those words.
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The Western Association for Biofeedback and Neuroscience Conference, and the Northeast Regional Biofeedback Society Conference

By Siegfried Othmer, PhD

Early November is the traditional time for the regional conference, and this year I got to attend two of them. Both the Western Regional and Northeast Regional conferences reflect new vitality within the field, with the growing interest in Infra-Low Frequency neurofeedback as well as low-level magnetic stimulation on the neurofeedback side, and in Heart Rate Variability on the biofeedback side. On the East Coast there was additional interest in near infrared thermal training of brain function and in virtual reality for help with fear of flying.
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