3                                                                                                Brainwave Connections                                                                    Year’s End 2006
Text Box: Relaxation Training Text Box: pathways and conjoint functioning. Thus, whereas conventional EEG amplitude training addresses synchrony at a local level, connectivity training addresses synchrony at a global level, and in a manner specifically targeted at neuronal assemblies and their interaction. When we examine the thalamocortical relay circuits and their role in generating EEG brain rhythms, it is evident that measurable brain signals are produced when existing circuits are disinhibited (relaxed), allowing the cortical cells to participate in a volley of activity. There are inhibitory connections at both the thalamic and at the cortical levels, that hold these rhythmic circuits at bay, so that the brain can process information, perform cortico-cortical interactions, and generally be involved with higher-frequency, beta-like activity. In other words, relaxation at the level of individual neurons and neuronal connections, is one primary mechanism that is addressed when the brain is challenged to modify its EEG activity through training. Whereas amplitude training addresses neuronal synchrony at the local level, connectivity training addresses neuronal synchrony at a nonlocal level. And one mechanism that the brain uses to alter nonlocal synchrony is to dynamically reconfigure connections, and this is accomplished largely by Text Box: modulating inhibitory influences on participating cortical pathways. This can all be related back to the core issues of stress, relaxation, flexibility, and appropriateness of brain state. A considerable degree of ills can be ascribed to disregulation in the central nervous system, predominantly the form of disturbances of normal rhythms and patterns of excitation (concentration) and relaxation. In the same way that a chronic stone in a shoe can cause one to throw a hip out of joint, chronic misadjustments in neuronal circuits can lead to long-term patterns of dysfunction with myriads of clinical manifestations. Healthy brain function depends upon the continual operation and maintenance of dozens of major pathways that connect functional areas together to accomplish complex tasks. Researchers at Brown University, for example, have shown that Alzheimer’s patients exhibit an inability to bind information from dorsal and ventral visual streams, as revealed in a global motion coherence task. This neocortical disconnectivity is manifest in deficits in sensory integration and attention. Through EEG connectivity training, we address these types of issues in a form that appeals to relaxation, normalization, and restoration of normal levels of communication and control. Text Box: If, for example, we use 4 brain sites, for example F3, F4, P3, and P4, we are able to train amplitudes at 4 locations, but also to train connections along all 6 paths. This provides a level of information that is not accessible with methods based solely on amplitudes, or on simple coherence or synchrony targets. The monitoring and feedback of complex information relating to brain connectivity is made tractable by methods such as live Z-score feedback. This makes it possible to address the complex interplay of brain activity with an eye toward appropriateness of brain connectivity, in addition to working with the basic elements of local excitation and relaxation. Through a cohesive approach to path-specific relaxation training, we open the door to teaching the brain complex interactions that are much more akin to real-world tasks. To use a physical analogy, we can move from simply lifting weights to doing the mental equivalents of walking, riding a bicycle, or even doing yoga. This will allow us to work more directly with neural coherence and assess its importance whenever learning, memory, attention, language, or other complex mechanisms are disregulated. Sherrington, Sir Charles (1933), Brain and its Mechanisms; Cambridge University Press. Calvin, W.H. (1995), “Cortical Columns, modules, and Hebbian cell assemblies”, Handbook of Brain Theory and

Three Pyramidal Neurons

 

(Image by Stanford University Neuropharmacology Laboratory)

Connections

By Ann Pugh