Neurofeedback for Concussions II
By Siegfried Othmer, PhD Basketball phenom Charles Barkley urged parents years ago not to let their children play football. The hazard of injury was too great. Now Dr. Bennet Omalu has issued the same caution. He delivers an even stronger message: Children should not be allowed to play high-impact contact sports until they are old […]
Neurofeedback for Concussions
By Siegfried Othmer, PhD On the occasion of the release of the film ‘Concussion‘ it is only appropriate that we add our voice to those that have already been raised on this issue. The reason is that neurofeedback is really the only remedy currently available for concussions. The plain truth of the matter is that […]
Somatic Biofeedback and the Quest for the Therapeutically Meaningful Signal
The discovery of the hierarchical organization of networks has helped us to understand better just how the brain prioritizes functions. One network in particular, the Default Mode Network (DMN), changes how we now look at self-regulation techniques, including neurofeedback. NFB has been shown to alter the DMN. Somatic biofeedback has been shown to alter the brain in a similar fashion. For example, Critchley et al. found profound changes on frontal and cingulate sites with biofeedback training to lower skin conductance.
On the Integration of Somatic Biofeedback with Neurofeedback in Healthcare
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 […]
A Report on Regional Biofeedback Conferences
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 […]
Violence: The Inoculation Remedy
By Siegfried Othmer, PhD Once again the nation goes into reflexive agonizing over yet another mass shooting, in the face of which we feel so helpless. The obvious remedies are not available as a practical matter. The attachment to our firearms has deep roots in our nation’s history, going back to the British attempt to […]
The High Cost of Ignorance
By Siegfried Othmer, PhD The National Academies Press has just published a volume on the topic of the huge unmet burden of neurological disorders. The report covers a recent workshop dedicated to this topic. Appraising the state of affairs is the relatively easy part of the task: ”…malfunctions in the central nervous system (CNS) instigate […]
The New Protocol Guide: 2015 Edition
By Siegfried Othmer, PhD It has been two years since the latest edition of The Protocol Guide, and much has happened in the interim. In fact, the pace of progress in instrument development and in protocol decision-making is such that we are likely to be issuing an update on an annual basis in coming years. […]