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"The Neurofeedback paradigm: by seeing and listening to real-time multimedia representations of its own electrical activity, the brain can improve its functionality and even its structure"
Neurofeedback is a painless, non-invasive and non-pharmacological technique, which aims to promote a modulation in the brain activation pattern of a user towards what would be ideal for their developmental stage.
As one of several Biofeedback modalities, Neurofeedback is based on the premise that some level of voluntary control over a physiological function can be gained by tracking its changes over time and exploring strategies to control them. In this context, the physiological function in question is the pattern of brain activation, which is measured and analyzed using electroencephalography (EEG).
The intervention using Neurofeedback begins with an assessment, called “quantitative electroencephalogram”, or qEEG. It is an exam in which a record of the electrical activity produced by the brain is made, and in which we can conclude whether or not there are changes in the user’s brain activation pattern that may be related to complaints, difficulties or any diagnosis that he/she has in the area of mental health. For example, it is common to see that there is a slowdown in the frontal region of the brain of people with Attention Deficit.
If in the assessment using qEEG there are changes related to the user’s problem, we can design an intervention protocol using Neurofeedback.
In Neurofeedback appointments, sensors are placed on the patient’s scalp, over the brain regions where the main changes in qEEG were recorded. These sensors measure the electrical activity produced by the brain at these locations and provide the user, in real time, with a multimedia representation of their own brain functioning. This multimedia representation can take several forms: it can be a graphic, a video, or a video game, for example. Regardless of the form it takes, the principle is the same: this multimedia representation (the feedback) will vary in real time depending on who is being the user’s activation stop at that moment. Thus, the user is instructed to gain a certain level of voluntary control over their own brain functioning. Over the course of the sessions, this control is trained, and a new pattern of brain activation begins to become predominant in the user’s EEG. A new standard that will be better able to overcome the difficulties, complaints or diagnosis that led to the treatment.
When we talk about Neurofeedback we are talking about a type of intervention that can be applied in various situations within mental health, such as anxiety disorders, depression, insomnia, among others. But the effectiveness of Neurofeedback is particularly evident in Attention Deficit conditions, with or without Hyperactivity. There are few cases of children or adults with this diagnosis who, with the help of Neurofeedback, can significantly improve their school or work performance. In some cases, Neurofeedback is even the alternative that allows reducing, or possibly interrupting the medication prescribed for the condition.
“Neurofeedback must play a central role in many difficult areas. In my opinion, if any medication had demonstrated such a broad spectrum of efficacy, it would be universally accepted and widely used. It's an area to be seriously considered by everyone.”