Neurofeedback Research

The Research

“The era of what has come to be called EEG biofeedback or Neurofeedback began, in large measure, with the research breakthrough of Dr. Joe Kamiya at the University of Chicago about 1962, with his work on alpha being featured in Psychology Today, ”  as reported by Dr Thomas Budzynski, of the University of Washington.

Dr Budzynski further stated that the early researchers in the field were Joe Kamiya, Joe Hart, Barbara Brown, Thomas Mulholland, Erik Peper, Elmer and Alyce Green, Dale Walters, Ken Gaarder, Johann Stoyva, and himself, and from this group the official first meetings were held in 1969, which developed into the International Society of Neurofeedback and Research (ISNR) of today.

The ISNR organization has created a list of research projects, and you will find a list of some of these on the next page to review regarding cognitive improvements.

This next section describes some of the work of Dr Budzynski, of research he did with the elderly in Florida.

THE PONCE DE LEON PROJECT

Brain Brightening

Dr. Thomas Budzynski, then at the University of West Florida, in the “Decade of the Brain” in the 1990s, did an extensive program of brain training for the elderly.

This program was known as “The Ponce De Leon Project”.  It included neurofeedback, light/sound stimulation, and other programs to improve the brain.

The Neurofeedback part of the program was called the “Brain Brightener”.

The results presented here, as an example, are for one of the participants, an elderly lady of 80 years of age.  Below is a chart showing the decrease in her 2-8 Hz delta-theta EEG levels as she progressed through the program.

The object is to lower the high amounts of delta/theta, as this improves the ability of the brain to function better in being able to remember short and long term memory items.  The chart below verifies the lowering of the delta/theta EEG Levels, thus improving her brain function.

Chart # 1 – Delta-theta (2-8 Hz) across sessions

The next chart shows her Pre-Post and Follow-up testing on the Wechsler Memory Scale.  Her scores show improvement even though her pre-scores were average for her age at 80 years, and her education.  Her comments included that she was remembering small things again, like the names of friends and where she left items, and she was multitasking again.

Chart # 2 – Wechsler memory scale.  Note: Lady at age 80 years.

Drs. Elsa and Rufus Baehr reported to Dr Budzynski that they also are following the Brain Brightening procedure with their elderly patients, and their clients often report a resurgence in abilities relative to their lives, such as recovering writing skills, playing cards, short and long term memory, and sound restful sleep.

Summary

Dr Budzynski states that, “There are individual concerns that demand treatments beyond the aforementioned treatment foci.  Individuals are impacted by traumatic and emotionally damaging experiences, which cause chemical, electromagnetic, immunological, and hormonal imbalances in their bodies and brains.  During those periods, when brain wave patterns go awry, neurotherapists can do much to restore the balance by first pinpointing the problem areas and then remediating these with neurofeedback and augmenting techniques.”

The next page lists a number of research projects to review on cognitive processing.

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