Fifty ways to leave your love… of the Placebo Model of Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback has now existed for more than half a century, and it is flourishing in the clinical arena. Many academic researchers, meanwhile, are still stuck at first base worrying about the placebo as a complete explanation of neurofeedback efficacy–the proposition that neurofeedback is nothing but an expensive placebo. Looking at this collectively, it appears that […]
Disposing of the Placebo Model of Neurofeedback
It is quite remarkable that after a fifty-year history in research and practice the question is still open in some minds as to whether the effects of the neurofeedback exercise might be attributable to the placebo, that nebulous entity that mediates somehow between mind and body. It is even more remarkable that this is occurring […]
They Denied NF
First they denied neurofeedback because they did not believe in brain plasticity. But they were wrong. Then they denied neurofeedback for seizures, as they are neurochemically mediated. But they were wrong. Then they denied neurofeedback for ADHD because that’s what stimulants are for. But they were wrong. Then they denied neurofeedback for migraines because it […]
On “The Psychology of Neurofeedback,” by Thibault and Raz
The subtitle of Thibault and Raz’s latest diatribe against EEG neurofeedback sounds vaguely promising: “Clinical Intervention even if Placebo.” But the ambivalence implicit in the title runs through the entire article. The tone of the paper is argumentative throughout, shoring up an essential posture of skepticism with respect to EEG-NF while also allowing for the […]
Neurofeedback in the Biofeedback Perspective
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 […]
Remembrances of Chuck Davis
We have lost Chuck Davis. And what a loss it is. Even among all the mavericks in this field, Chuck was an outlier. Like several other developers, he came to the field from prior work in aerospace. He was in excellent company. First there was Edward Dillingham, developer of the NeuroCybernetics; then there was Howard […]
On my Professional Partnership with Chuck Davis
Charles Jefferson Davis, affectionately known as Chuck, was born an engineer. At an early age, he spent his time taking things apart to see how they worked. As a boy, he rigged the household phone to talk to people around the world without the help of the phone company. He worked for companies such as […]
States of Diminished Consciousness
A newly published book titled “Into the Gray Zone”, by neuroscientist Adrian Owen, delves into the mental lives of people in ‘vegetative states’ using the latest brain imaging tools. He was able to demonstrate decision-making capability on the part of patients thought to be incapable of that level of mental activity. That presupposes the existence […]