Neurofeedback is a high tech variant of the classical biofeedback. Neurofeedback is less tested and more controversial than biofeedback. Also known as brain-wave training or EEG biofeedback, the technique may be useful as a safe, drug-free alternative for the treatment of migraines.
People undergoing neurofeedback appear to be playing an ordinary computer game-except you won't see them using their hands. Instead, the user is rewarded for producing desirable brain-wave patterns. Painless electronic sensors are placed on the earlobes and scalp. As the mind relaxes and focuses, the computer responds by sending Pac-Manlike characters racing across the screen or a bar graph shooting upward. When the mind drifts, nothing happens.
Scientists have long recognized that certain illnesses produce distinctive brain-wave patterns. Neurofeedback is thought to reset these patterns, so that the brain performs at optimal levels. It may take 20 to 40 sessions, lasting up to an hour to effect benefits, which proponents say are permanent. With practice, one learns to reproduce the effects at home, without the doctor or biofeedback device.
See Also: Biofeedback for migraines
Holisticonline.com is developed and maintained
by ICBS, Inc.