Are There Neurofeedback Side Effects?

Let’s Talk Side Effects

If the concern about neurofeedback side effects has dissuaded you from contemplating this groundbreaking method of managing disorders such as ADD, consider otherwise. Beyond the fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared neurofeedback safe and no known side effects have ever been formally established; let’s examine your alternatives. Historically, in managing a neurological disorder, there have been few established options:

 • Medication
 • Psychotherapy or cognitive training
• Surgical procedures

There are potential side effects to these three options; however, neurofeedback has no side effects. In regards to medication, besides the potential for forming a reliance or habit, pharmaceutical side effects can range anywhere from minor inconveniences (i.e. dry mouth, irritability) to major issues (i.e. seizures, internal bleeding, death). While the major side effects are extremely rare, the minor ones are rather commonplace and should be viewed as a trade-off patients agree to in return for subduing other symptoms. While therapy and cognitive training come with no physical side effects, there is no guarantee of success, and the process can try your patience and your emotional fortitude. Lastly, when it comes to surgery, it is invasive, requires significant recovery time in most cases, and always comes with a certain degree of risk.

Alleviating Fears About Neurofeedback

Hearing what we just discussed may sound quite frightening, but fortunately you have other options. In addition to there being no established neurofeedback side effects, the process itself is painless, noninvasive, and aimed to provide you with a future free from other forms of managing ADD. Neurofeedback therapy is all conducted with nothing more than EEG sensors and high-tech reading devices. You are never poked, prodded, or pumped full of anything. In addition, the process is designed to teach your brain to self-regulate, meaning after a certain point, you should optimally require no more sessions at all. That’s right; your brain will learn to correct its own problems naturally by redirecting and retraining brainwave patterns that have gone awry. With an FDA-declared safe procedure and no know neurofeedback side effects; the time is now to manage your neurological disorder with BrainCore’s cutting edge therapy.

NEUROFEEDBACK THERAPY AND HOW IT WORKS

Neurofeedback Therapy Side Effects

What are the Side Effects of Neurofeedback Therapy?

If you have a condition that you believe could improve through the use of neurofeedback therapy, you are probably doing research before consulting your doctor. How effective is it? How safe is it? What are the side effects?

 According to a study jointly published by the U.S. National Institute of Health, the National Library of Medicine, and the National Center for Biotechnology Information, there are no side effects associated with neurofeedback therapy. You can read the results for yourself here. Though the study was focused on treatment for just one disorder – attention deficit disorder (ADD) – the results clearly state that there are no neurofeedback therapy side effects.

 In fact, the primary technology used in neurofeedback therapy has been used safely for over a century. It's called electroencephalography (EEG) and essentially consists of affixing electrodes to an individual’s scalp in order to read electrical information in their brain. The only "side effects" of EEG are really "after effects," and they consist of a little bit of redness – never any pain – from where the electrodes attach to the skin. The redness wears off after a very short time, after which no one would ever know the electrodes were there.

 Compare this to the side effects of stimulants, which increase the heart rate, exacerbate anxiety and causes drastic appetite loss. Or the side effects of some antidepressants, which cause sexual problems, loss of enthusiasm and motivation, and in some cases, worsen the very conditions they are trying to improve. There are many side effects that accompany the powerful psychotropic drugs used to treat the same disorders as neurofeedback. When you compare those side effects to twelve weeks of behavioral therapy with harmless, painless electrodes attached to your scalp, it becomes pretty clear as to which is the more desirable.

 In neurofeedback, the EEG is used to monitor brain waves that are disrupted by disorders like anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), and other maladies of the brain's executive function. This information is then transmitted to a screen, where the patient can see visual representations of their neurological activity and through this therapy can then learn to perform actions that restore brain waves to healthy, functional patterns. It is a form of training, rather than a medication or an invasive procedure, and for some people it is just as effective as a pharmacological treatment. 

Neurofeedback is so safe that it has been overwhelmingly approved for use in children. So there you have it – there are no neurofeedback therapy side effects. If you think neurofeedback would be an effective treatment for your condition, talk to your doctor today – you have nothing to worry about!

MORE ABOUT NEUROFEEDBACK THERAPY