The Basics of HEG Neurofeedback

HEG neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback training based on the study of blood flow to areas of the brain. This translates into heat in corresponding sections of the brain, picked up by infrared sensors during the training.

HEG, or hemoencephalography, allows the person undergoing the neurofeedback training to see exactly when overstimulation of certain areas of the brain is occurring and allows them to increase the blood flow to other areas of the brain.

The prefrontal cortex, also known as the PFC, is home to the executive functions such as the ability to organize, to make decisions, to focus, and to feel empathy for others. It is also the part of the brain that can temper overstimulation in other sections. This is important because disorders such as anxiety, attention deficit disorder, and out of control anger are connected to exaggerated responses to stimuli. By learning to optimize the activity of the prefrontal cortex through HEG neurofeedback training, that overreaction to external stimulus can be tempered.

Here’s how that training might look: the patient is allowed to view an emotional movie or images meant to evoke a strong emotional reaction in the limbic system; when the heat sensors detect activity in that portion of the brain, the image disappears. In order to bring the image back, the patient is taught to move blood flow into the prefrontal cortex through visualization of energy or warmth flooding that area of the brain. When the PFC is engaged, it tempers the over stimulated limbic system.

With a fully activated prefrontal cortex, the patient is more likely to remain in an alert state with top mental functioning. This also means he may be less susceptible to an over stimulated limbic system and the disorders that can result.

By harnessing the science of hemoencephalography through HEG neurofeedback training, it is possible to bring relief from the symptoms of many troubling emotional disorders.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: BrainCore's revolutionary NEUROFEEDBACK therapy

What are Biofeedback Machines?

Biofeedback is a revolutionary therapy tool that assists people suffering from a variety of afflictions, including anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, and stress.  Here is how it works:  by measuring physiological signals in your body, such as your sweat glands, skin temperature, or brain waves, biofeedback machines then give you a custom-tailored report on what is out of balance in your body, and the actions you can take to fix it.

Biofeedback is widely used and medically accepted – in fact, one biofeedback machine, the Stress Eraser, has even received approval and regulation from the Food and Drug Administration.  In essence, it helps patients gain voluntary control over subtle psychological and physiological processes that are exacerbating, or even causing, life-affecting conditions.  Biofeedback has even been shown to help drug addicts get clean and victims of seizures lead healthier, more normal lives.

Biofeedback machines are available in many shapes and sizes, but there are three general categories that they fall into:

1.       Professional-grade biofeedback machines - These machines are typically found in hospitals and clinical environments, and tend to be larger and more sophisticated than machines found in households.  They are used to treat a variety of afflictions, and usually have more advanced (and much more expensive) technology to create higher quality, more complex games and training regimens.  They also come in specialized varieties to treat advanced conditions that patients should not try to treat themselves.

2.       Handheld biofeedback machines - You may find these in a professional therapeutic setting as well, but these are also available for patients to use at home.  The machine mentioned earlier – the Stress Eraser – falls into this category.  There are hundreds of different devices from a slew of manufacturers in this segment, all with different targeted conditions and functionality; however, all conditions that respond to biofeedback machines may not be addressed by handheld equipment. For instance, EEG neurofeedback to treat anxiety and attention deficit disorder (ADD) does not come in a home-use, handheld device.  Handheld biofeedback machines tend to focus on stress reduction, though they can be helpful with other afflictions, as well.

3.       Smartphone apps - The last category of biofeedback machines doesn't actually contain a machine, unless you are counting your iPhone or Android smartphone.  These apps use smartphone functionality, such as the camera, to collect information about your physiological processes. These tend to be far less accurate than medical-grade biofeedback machines, but they are also substantially less expensive and convenient, because you do not have to purchase and account for yet another electronic device.

TRY BIOFEEDBACK NEUROFEEDBACK!

What is an Electroencephalogram (EEG)?

An Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a way that doctors, scientists, and researchers can record brain activity while someone performs a task. They do this by fitting a network of electrodes on someone's scalp, which then measures electrical activity in the brain. The electrodes are painless and harmless; in fact, patients outfitted with them don't even feel a sensation other than the electrodes resting on their scalp. EEG is completely non-invasive, meaning there are no injections, and it doesn't use X-rays or radiation. It is considered safe by the scientific and medical communities, except in very rare cases where a patient with a pre-existing seizure disorder may respond to the flashing lights or breathing patterns involved in recording brain activity. A patient would be tested for any potential problems before undergoing EEG.

Traditionally, EEG has been used to diagnose epilepsy, but it has also proved a useful tool in collecting information about sleep disorders and other brain disorders, which are known as encephalopathies – hence the name of the device. The technology is actually more than 100 years old, but over time technicians and scientists have improved the effectiveness and increased the applications with more disorders.

More recently, EEG has shown great promise in the science of neurofeedback, in which people suffering from various brain disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), drug or alcohol addiction, autism, depression, or migraine headaches are able to learn to manage their disorders naturally. They do this at a special clinic, under the supervision of a doctor or technician, by being placed on an EEG and performing activities (usually a game) while monitoring their own brainwaves. This device then collects neurological and physiological information about the patient and displays it in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand format that the patient can monitor.

In this way, many patients are able to "retrain" their brain by recognizing the way their thoughts affect their brainwave activity, and learning to think, breathe or act in new ways to restore their neurological activity to a healthy, normal configuration, rather than taking potentially harmful stimulants, personality-altering antidepressants or other powerful psychotropic drugs.

Because EEG is safe and free of side effects, it is rapidly gaining popularity with adults and also with children as a way to treat neurological disorders, such as ADHD, without using stimulants or other chemicals.

Degenerative Neurological Diseases as Memory Loss Causes: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s

There are numerous diseases, disorders, and injuries that are known to be memory loss causes. Memory loss can be related to aging, can be an effect of disease processes, or can result from injuries to certain areas of the brain.

Three diseases that involve the deterioration of the brain and can cause memory loss include:

·         Alzheimer’s disease

·         Parkinson’s disease

·         Huntington’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease and Memory Loss

Alzheimer’s disease is unfortunately common among older people. It is a progressive, degenerative disease best known for causing dementia. It also causes pronounced short-term and long-term memory loss. As the disease progresses, afflicted persons often lose more and more of their memory.

One of the most common early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is short-term memory loss. People with incipient Alzheimer’s may begin to show difficulty learning new facts and remembering recently learned information. There is also sometimes impairment of semantic memory, which is subtler; a person with early Alzheimer’s may lose memories involving meanings and relationships between concepts.

In the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s, short-term memory is most strongly affected. Episodic memory, the memory of events in the person’s life, is less strongly affected, as is procedural memory, their memory of how to perform learned tasks.

As Alzheimer’s progresses to the moderate level of the disease, deficits in long-term memory may begin to manifest. The person may even fail to recognize close family members. Individuals over a certain age who are beginning to experience problems with short-term memory may want to be evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease and Memory Loss

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system; it involves the death of cells that generate dopamine, an important neurotransmitter, in a region of the midbrain called the substantia nigra. The most obvious and well-known symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are its motor symptoms, including shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty walking; however, it is also among the diseases that cause memory loss.

Cognitive disturbances, such as difficulties with memory and executive function, can occur in the initial stages of Parkinson’s disease, and become more severe as the disease progresses. In terms of memory loss, Parkinson’s is most likely to impair the ability to recall learned information. There may also be difficulties with working memory; for example, people with Parkinson’s disease may find themselves having increased difficulty holding multiple items in their short-term memory simultaneously.

Huntington’s disease and Memory Loss

Huntington’s disease is a degenerative neurological disorder with a genetic basis. It is more likely to occur in women, and often manifests itself in the 30s or 40s. During the progression of Huntington’s disease, deficits in memory and cognition begin to appear. Memory loss in Huntington’s disease can vary in nature and intensity and can include:

·         Short-term memory loss

·         Difficulties with long-term memory, including loss of episodic memory

·         Loss of procedural memory

·         Deficits in working memory

Causes of memory loss include a number of progressive, degenerative disease processes, which affect regions of the brain responsible for different types of memory. These diseases include Alzheimer’s disease, which is a tragically common cause of progressive memory deterioration in older adults, and Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease, which are two other neurodegenerative diseases that can cause memory loss.

Foods that Improve Memory: Micronutrients for Better Brain Function

Although eating certain foods won’t necessarily cure memory loss from Alzheimer’s, injury, stroke, or other causes, there may be some foods that improve memory. The reason for this is that these foods contain vital nutrients that are essential to brain function. As a result, a well-balanced diet rich in these vitamins and minerals may help keep memory working at its optimum capacity.

Some of the key nutrients in brain function, which can easily be obtained by eating certain foods, include:

·         Choline

·         Glutamate

·         Thiamine (Vitamin B1)

·         Folate (Vitamin B9)

·         Vitamin A

·         Omega-3 fatty acids

The following is a more in-depth breakdown of each of these nutrients…

Choline 

Choline plays a number of important roles in the human body. In the brain, it is a precursor molecule for acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter. An adequate dietary supply of choline increases the synthesis and release of acetylcholine from neurons, which aids in the formation of memories.

Foods rich in choline include:

·         Eggs

·         Beef

·         Pork

·         Fish

·         Soybean oil

An adequate dietary supply of choline can help ensure that memory processes function correctly.

Glutamate 

Glutamate is an amino acid, a type of molecule that is a “building block” for larger proteins. In the brain, glutamate plays a role in long-term potentiatio, which can increase the strength of synapses over time as those synapses fire repeatedly. This is part of long-term learning and memory formation.

Glutamate can be found in almost any food rich in protein. Foods that are good sources of glutamate include:

·         Red meats, such as beef and venison

·         Fish

·         Dairy products

·         Tomatoes

·         Shiitake mushrooms

Thiamine (Vitamin B1) 

Thiamine deficiency can negatively impact short-term memory. In fact, even a moderate deficiency may contribute to depression, dementia, and memory loss in old age.

Foods rich in thiamine include:

·         Whole grains

·         Pork

·         Dairy products

·         Peanuts

·         Legumes

·         Eggs

Folate (Vitamin B9) 

Low levels of folate have been connected to deficiencies in learning and memory, especially among the elderly. Adequate levels of folate may help prevent memory deterioration.

Foods high in folate include:

-          Beans

-          Lentils

-          Spinach

-          Asparagus

-          Lettuce

-          Broccoli

-          Spinach

-          Kale

-          Avocados

-          Mangos

-          Oranges

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is important in the growth, function, and chemical balance of the brain and nervous system. Vitamin A plays a role in long-term potentiation in the hippocampus and is implicated in memory, especially in spatial memory.

Foods rich in Vitamin A include:

·         Lettuce

·         Spinach

·         Carrots

·         Kale

·         Sweet potatoes

·         Squash

·         Apricots

·         Cantaloupe

·         Tuna

·         Red pepper

Omega-3 Fatty Acids 

Omega-3 fatty acids are important components of brain cells, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is a key component of the cell membranes of neurons. This class of fats plays many important roles in the brain.

Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as DHA, include:

·         Flax seeds

·         Walnuts

·         Sardines

·         Salmon

·         Soybeans

·         Tofu

·         Shrimp

·         Cauliflower

·         Winter squash

Although no evidence has yet been produced that memory loss can be cured or reversed with certain nutrients, there are micronutrients that are essential to healthy brain function. A diet that provides adequate levels of folate, thiamine, choline, glutamate, and omega-3 fatty acids, can help ensure optimal performance of memory and cognition.

NEUROFEEDBACK ENHANCES MEMORY PERFORMANCE

Can Websites Like Lumosity.com Act as a Brain Trainer?

The Flash Game as a Brain Trainer: Online Games that Build Cognitive Skills 

Whether you’re looking to improve your cognitive skills just for fun, or in the interest of staving off the effects of aging on memory and cognitive processes, you can find many games online that are specially designed to serve as a kind of “mental workout”. Much as you might exercise your legs, abs, or arms at the gym, you can exercise your memory, attention, and other capacities using online games from websites like Lumosity. These websites can act as a “brain trainer”, helping you enhance and build on your intelligence and cognitive skills.

What Websites Offer Brain Training Games? 

There are a number of websites online that offer “brain trainer” games. Lumosity is the most well-known, but there are also several others.

Websites that offer cognitive training games include:

-          Lumosity

-          MindGames

-          BrainMetrix

-          FitBrains

-          AARP (brain.aarp.org)

-          CogniFit

-          NeuroNation

These are only a few of the many websites offering fun, engaging online games that also train your brain.

What Kinds of Cognitive Skills Do These Games Exercise? 

These kinds of websites offer games that serve as “workouts” for a number of areas of mental ability, including:

·         Memory; including object recall, keeping track of multiple ideas at once, and remembering names.

·         Attention; concentrating and ignoring distractions when taking in new information

·         Speed; including decision-making in time-sensitive situations, reacting quickly, and adapting quickly to changing environments and parameters

·         Flexibility; including multi-tasking, avoiding errors, and “thinking outside the box”

·         Problem Solving; including doing mental math, making quick and accurate numerical estimations, and figuring out patterns

What Are Some Benefits of Brain Training Games? 

Studies using brain training games have indicated that, especially in people trying to counteract age-related memory deficits, the games can in fact help with cognitive tasks.

Selecting and playing some brain trainer games can help you:

·         Improve your memory

·         Improve your math skills

·         Improve pattern-recognition skills

·         Build your vocabulary

·         Strengthen your ability to concentrate

·         Speed up your reading comprehension

·         Improve your word recall

·         Listen more sharply

·         Feel more confident

A number of websites act as a “brain trainer”, offering computer games that are designed to build certain cognitive skills. These games can help you build up mental abilities and stave off the detriments of age. There are also other natural alternatives that are available that show similar results. A recent breakthrough, known as Neurofeedback Therapy, acts as a brain trainer by incorporating games into brain training exercises. It is a non-invasive process that is safe, painless and proven effective in enhancing brain function as well as treating a range of neurological disorders.

Five Alternative and Natural Remedies for ADD

Beyond Prescriptions and Therapy

Alternative and natural remedies for ADD have never been more important. Pharmaceuticals have gotten more and more complicated over the years, and now we hardly even know what is going into our bodies or those of our children. Taking a doctor’s word for it is usually fine, but in this case, even they probably don’t know the intricacies of each pill and what the long-term effects could be. Here are five alternative and natural remedies for ADD that, when administered properly, should subdue symptoms in just the same manner but without the inherent risks:

·         Massage: This may sound hokey or altogether unrealistic, but massage is one of the most effective natural remedies for ADD. The long and short of it is this: children and adults with ADD or ADHD tend to be extremely over-stimulated, and this is reflected throughout their bodies, especially in their nervous system and muscles. Massage has an obvious soothing effect on these systems, as well as helping divert pent up energy elsewhere within the body. This has been shown to directly correlate to more productive behavior. Nighttime massage immediately prior to bed has proven particularly effective, especially in children.

·         Vitamins/Supplements: Fish oil, zinc, melatonin, magnesium, B and C vitamins, and probiotics have all shown measured success as natural remedies for ADD. When it comes to finding the right vitamins for you and suppressing ADD symptoms, find what works best for you by trying a few. Do not despair, however, as all of these can be healthy parts of your diet even outside of treating the disorder.

·         Yoga/Meditation/Relaxation Exercises: Finding your center, learning how to calm yourself, and taking active control of your body are incredibly useful tools in combating inattentiveness and other symptoms of ADD – each of these exercises focuses on instilling these concepts.

·         Diet and Exercise Modifications: This is not so much among the natural remedies for ADD, but is more of an alternative approach. Keeping diet simple, free of complex additives, caffeine, and unnecessary sugar is of absolute utmost importance. We do not truly know how some of these ingredients affect mood, behavior, and long-term health, so the best approach is to steer clear. In terms of exercise, as noted above, people with ADD often have very over-charged systems. Expend that energy, and do it in a healthy way through daily exercise.

·         Neurofeedback: This is a really exciting alternative approach to ADD treatment. The greatest part about neurofeedback is that it is designed to set up patients for long-term symptom suppression – a life without the frustration of ADD. Doctors first will identify what brainwave patterns have gone awry, causing the loss of focus and concentration characterized by ADD. After this, they will develop a treatment plan unique for each patient. All done noninvasively and without poking or prodding, neurofeedback is the ultimately serves to your brain to self-regulate through guided brain exercises.

To find out more about alternative and natural remedies for ADD such as BrainCore’s awe-inspiring neurofeedback therapy; read on and click here today.

Retraining Your Brain with Biofeedback

What Exactly Is Neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is a specific type of biofeedback that deals exclusively with the brain. Brain functions are observed and brain waves are measured in order to provide feedback that can be used to retrain dysfunctional brainwave patterns. Not sure what type of damage these patterns are doing? Believe it or not, they are the root of problems causing neurological issues both large and small.

Also known as EEG Biofeedback, neurofeedback is designed to give patients long-term coping mechanisms for managing neurological disorders. This is accomplished by teaching the brain to self-regulate, as opposed to having it be regulated by medications which can have harmful side effects or even create dependency.

What Can Be Treated?

In the past, neurofeedback has been proven effective in fighting a great number of neurological conditions both common and rare. Here are just some of the problems an disorders in which the worth of the treatment has already been proven by anecdotal research:

·         Addiction

·         Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

·         Autism

·         Chronic Pain

·         Depression

·         Epilepsy

·         Headaches

·         Insomnia

·         Panic Attacks

How it Works

Neurofeedback is a guided exercise for the brain that aims to get brainwave patterns that have gone awry and subsequently become problematic back to normal. Doctors are able to recognize brainwave patterns in need of retraining during a pre-treatment assessment that all patients must undergo and then formulate a course of action. The treatment itself generally consists of patients being presented various stimuli while simultaneous hooked up to a monitor. Brainwave patterns are measured, and if they are regular the stimuli will continue being presented. If the brainwaves begin to deviate from normal, the stimuli will become less available to the patient, prompting the brain to return to a normal pattern subconsciously and thus training the brain to self-regulate. Ultimately, in doing so, the entire brain becomes much healthier and operates much more efficiently – ridding patients of some of the more troubling symptoms of neurological disorders.

Neurofeedback therapy is entirely noninvasive and has been declared safe by the Food and Drug Administration. In fact, not once in the 40-year history of the procedure has one serious side effect been recognized. Everything is pain-free and monitored by trained doctors. Best of all, where a drug wears off or therapy is no longer available, the positive effects of neurofeedback are still felt for a lifetime because your brain has learned to right the ship independently.

To further understand how BrainCore’s extraordinary neurofeedback therapy could change your life, click here today.

Can BrainCore Therapy Treat Post Stroke Syndrome?

What is Post Stroke Syndrome?

Central Post Stroke Pain Syndrome, also called CPSP or simply Post Stroke Syndrome, is an excruciating and debilitating condition, one BrainCore Therapy is determined to defeat. Post Stroke Syndrome is extremely difficult to treat because it can take many forms and we are still in the process of learning about it. Generally, there are four kinds of pain common to post-stroke recovery:

·         Peripheral neuropathic pain: nerve sensitivity that causes muscle pain, numbness, tingling, burning sensations, and weakness throughout the nervous system

·         Spasticity: tightness or stiffness in muscles causing discomfort and limiting movement

·         Musculoskeletal pain: pain centralized in the bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons

·         Headaches

BrainCore Therapy recognizes that surviving a stroke is unfortunately only the first hurdle patients must overcome in getting their life back to some semblance of normalcy. In addition to these typical post-stroke symptoms we just discussed, Post Stroke Syndrome is characterized by thalamic pain syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes the brain and spinal cord to register various stimuli incorrectly and cause chronic and agonizing pain throughout the body. It is precisely this condition that BrainCore Therapy wishes to treat with neurofeedback. 

How Neurofeedback Works

The concept behind BrainCore Therapy’s groundbreaking treatment is simple: your body knows how to function properly, and if it has lost its way, we must simply retrain it. That sounds well and good in theory, but never before have we been able to accomplish this through such technologically sophisticated means. Neurofeedback therapy allows doctors to monitor cues and feedback from the body real-time while patients are taken through a series of guided brain exercises aimed at correcting brainwave patterns that are causing problems such as Post Stroke Syndrome.

The best part is this: neurofeedback by BrainCore Therapy is all completely painless, noninvasive, and doesn’t involve any sort of medication. All that is used are small EEG sensors that hook you up to monitoring devices, all supervised by a doctor. BrainCore Therapy understands that you have been through enough surviving and recovering from a stroke, and the ultimate goal of neurofeedback is to give you lasting tools to make each and every day more comfortable and enjoyable for you as you put your best foot forward.

To learn more about BrainCore Therapy and their incredible neurofeedback treatment technique for Post Stroke Syndrome, click here today.