NeuroConnections Winter 2012 Articles

To cite the article by editor Merlyn Hurd:

There has been a large increase in the number of techniques for working with autistic and ADHD children and adults. Most recently, the ability to see the brain of the client in 3-D, as the client is training, has entered the field of neurofeedback. BrainAvatar is the name of this new technique, and it allows the client to turn the colors of the Region of Interest (RO ) into the desired color. I say to the client, “make all the colors disappear” if the aim is to reduce the amplitude of the Region of Interest or, “turn everything red” if I want them to increase the amplitude, and they do it. The changes in the total cerebral cortex are very clear and happen in a short time. That is what surprised me the most. Recently, I had a client come in with depression and anxiety. I conducted a qEEG and examined the ROI. Then I conducted ROI Loreta and then BrainAvatar training. Two sessions later, she noted her depression had disappeared and she said it with a look of puzzlement. Her third session yielded a qEEG analysis that was essentially normal. Frankly, we are examining with talk therapy what needs to be done to help her adjust to the new functioning and feelings.

Dick Genardi, PhD, has provided an almost step-by-step article on implementing the BrainAvatar protocols. These are advanced techniques and definitely call for you to have a good knowledge of the operation and functioning of the brain and the syncing with the client’s symptoms. Read and then try the protocols. He also gives us studies to illustrate these techniques. Ronald J. Bonnstetter, PhD, Tom Collura, PhD, Dustin Hebets, and Bill Bonnstetter provide us with a technique for seeing what is actually happening in the brain —no matter what the client says. This is exciting and could lead to more enhanced ways to provide psychotherapy, with the ability to reduce the number of sessions to get to the core of problems. J. Lucas Koberda, MD, PhD, reviews the issues of autistic spectrum disorder as a potential target of Z-score training. The study and the procedures will give you more food for thought in your work with autistic children. Mark Llewellyn Smith, LCSW, has written up his work of using sLORETA and the Anterior Cingulate Gyrus with reducing pain. As always, Mark reports on well-thought-out procedures, and his thinking is worth reviewing. Penijean Rutter-Gracefire, LMHC, and Gail S. Durgin, PhD, have written a report on using sLORETA and 19-channel Live Z-score training. The study is a review of targeting HiBeta in Brodmann areas to reduce symptoms of anxiety. The resolution of the symptoms, as well as other symptoms, in a short time, and the reduction of anxiety are worth your time to review. Christen Stahl, PhD, and Tom Collura, PhD, write on the effects of sub-threshold magnetic stimulation on brain activation using sLORETA. The use of magnetic stimulation has become more prevalent in the Neurofeedback world with the use of lasers, EMF, low level of stimulation, tDCs, rTMS and Alpha Stim. This article shines some light on what activation is taking place, via examination of the brain operation with sLORETA. Finally, Jeffrey Reich has written an article about the training of a child who had reading comprehension difficulties, and noted that dysfunction in finite Regions of Interest relating more specifically to the client’s symptoms and complaints can be singled out and specifically trained, revealing there may be much more to “inattention” than simple attention. Read and be challenged to try the same.

To say this edition has really hit the ball out of the park is spot on.