What's New in Neurofeedback
A Monthly Summary of News and Events

Vol. 10 No. 5 - May 2007

This newsletter is sponsored by EEG Spectrum Intl Inc,
a leader in providing clinical service and training
professionals. Past issues available at
http://start.eegspectrum.com/Newsletter/
To subscribe or cancel, see newsletter's end.
Opinions related in this newsletter reflect
author's only. Copyright (C) 2007 by EEG Spectrum
Intl, Inc. or David Kaiser. All rights reserved.
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Announcements - News
In the Spotlight - Mating Disorders
News & Reviews - Books & journal papers
Events & Locations - Conferences, Courses
Last Word - 25 Online Tools+
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Announcements

* Many Brain Cells Seek, to Help You Find
* Poor Memory Tied to Sleep Woes in Aging Women
* Remember your home phone number? Forget it
* Fantasy Gaming Gives Insight Into Learning
* You can forget the unhappy past: study

All links at: news.yahoo.com/fc/Science/Brain_Research
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In the Spotlight

Mating Disorders

"So far as love or affection is concerned,
psychologists have failed..." Harry Harlow, 1958.

Sadie Hawkins Day, February 29, 1972, a day when
women propose and men accept their proposals or pay
the consequences; a day when women approach men,
girls chase boys. Our 2nd grade teacher Mrs
Katherine explained the strange day, leap day, then
walked over to Peter's desk, knelt beside the shy
boy, and asked him to marry her. Recess came and we
ran outside to play. I found myself being chased by
Tammy over and around the piles of snow a plow had
pushed against the school. And as she was about to
catch me, and kiss me, I called time-out. What a
coward! And although I realized my mistake
instantly, and called time-in, preparing to let her
catch me, I didn't count on Olivia crossing our
path. She appeared out of nowhere and I was not
going to let Olivia kiss me so I dashed across the
parking lot and she followed and fell on a spot of
ice and cut her head and that was the end of our
game -- forever, and the start of a mating disorder
on my part, alas.

A Google search of the term "mating disorder"
reveals nothing, or nearly so (two pornographic
sites). Neither the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual (DSM) nor the International Classification of
Diseases (ICD) list Mating Disorders on any axis.
How can we exclude such important behavior from our
roll of dysfunctions? What, do we believe everyone
is successful at mating and all attempts are
performed effortlessly and without conflict? Given
its importance I suspect it is done properly and
trauma-free by only a select few. Maybe so, but some
of us must be doing it worse than others, clinically
so, and need help, need assistance, need therapy
along these lines. The first step in treatment is
knowing what we are treating, so delineation and
diagnoses of mating disorders are necessary.

Sexual selection is why we survive. Life requires
consumption but continuance requires selection. To
paraphrase Darwin in two of his later works, sexual
selection is about a billion times more powerful
than natural selection. Nature only acts as a grim
reaper in those cases where sexual selection has
created a near-species-wide mating disorder, where
there are too many resources spent on the chase and
fending off rivals and too little thought and
response given to predators and the ever-changing
environment.

DSM-IV and ICD-10 list the end points of rare mating
disorders -- sexual dysfunction and paraphilias --
but both manuals fail to incorporate the range of
behaviors and cognitions involved in mating or
dismating, to make up a term for it. The most
important decision a child makes in his or her short
life is to what degree to invest in him- or herself.
The most important decision an adult makes in the
years after being a child is who will be his or her
partner and to what degree will they invest in him
or her. Mating underlies both significant decisions.

Popular culture and mating disorders are nearly
synonymous. From celebrities to politicians, we
witness full circle the cacophony of disorders: from
short-term mating, serial monogamy, partner
swapping, polygamy, extravagent lifestyles,
bountiful waste, jealousy crimes, martyrdom and
related forms of homicide, as well as a dozen
different forms of histrionics.

Childhood mating disorders include early maturation,
early exposure, late maturation, late exposure, as
well as insufficient interactions with opposite and
same sex members to ensure competent approaches to
intersexual and intrasexual competition and adaptive
responses to failures on both fronts. It is well
known that late maturing boys and early maturing
girls often undergo social isolation and most mating
disorder emerge from some form of social or familial
deprivation. To give an example, consider a woman
who was always the prettiest around in both junior
and senior high school, but without the confidence
to respond to the girls who successfully isolated
her. This lack of acceptance by the same sex
compelled her to seek acceptance from the opposite
sex, unwavering acceptance. You may guess how her
life progressed from there.

Did she have a personality disorder? No. A sexual
dysfunction, no. An emotional disturbance, not
exactly. She developed a mating disorder, stemming
from low confidence and gender isolation, which led
directly to behaviors inappropriate to her level of
maturity. In high school she was abused by a series
of boyfriends because she bonded out of the family
group too early and trusted adolescent boys without
familial investment in her when the boys were still
bonded to their families and unprepared for
couplehood. Again and again.

David Buss, professor of Psychology at UT Austin, is
well known for his research of human mating
behaviors. There were considerable adaptations
during human evolution for our complex system of
mating to arise, and for every adaptation, there is
an opportunity for malfunction and disorder. Here is
his list of obstacles which must be overcome (by all
creatures) for successful mating (Buss, 2002):

-Selecting a fertile mate
-Outcompeting intrasexual rivals for attracting a mate
-Fending off mate poachers
-Preventing mate defection
-Engaging in appropriate sexual/social behaviors to ensure conception

For each of these goals, think of an approach and
think of it going wrong. Used too often, too
severely, too rarely, too resourcefully. Based on
his work and others, I would characterize the
following general categories of mating disorders:

* Selection disorder: Unable to find appropriate
potential mates in terms of age, interests,
commitment, relationship status, etc.; with a
subcategory for hyper- and hypo-responsiveness to
rejection.

* Intrasexual competition disorder: Too little time
spent developing one's desirability, or too much
time to the exclusion of our domains of function.

* Intersexual competition disorder, or gender
disorder: extreme involvement in gender-cultural
stereotypic behaviors to exclusion of intersexual
abilities, or too little.

* Pathological mating disorders which include
behaviors such as harrassment, stalking, preference
on mate substitutes (often inanimate)

* Bonding disorder: Maladaptation at any of stage of
relationship development, with a focus on blending
and nesting (McWhirter & Mattison, 1984). Primary
bonding disorder would be premature or postponed or
ineffectual blending or nesting. Blending is when
two individuals become a couple, a single unit,
spending much of their free time together; and
nesting is when homemaking occurs, when couples
strengthen their commitment through acceptance and a
realistic understanding of relationship (McWhirter &
Mattison, 1984).

Instability disorder: Trying to revisit and resolve
the primary relationship conflict from childhood in
a person less invested in you than the person you
had the conflict with.

Finally, there are five types of mates: parent,
sibling, self, child, stranger. You can marry
someone who re-creates the parent- child bond with
you (on either end), the sibling bond, the
auto-erotic bond, or go out and create your own
disorder by rejecting all you've ever known.

-DK
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News & Reviews

NEW BOOKS

Awakening the Mind PA: Harnessing the Power of Your Brainwaves
by Anna Wise
Describes brain-wave patternsin hopes of elucidating processes of creativity
and enlightenment.
--www.amazon.com/exec/ obidos/ASIN/1585421456/eegspectrum

Awareness of Deficit after Brain Injury: Clinical and Theoretical Issues
by GP Prigatano, DL Schacter (Eds)
Multidisciplinary approach on awareness deficits following brain injury.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195059417/eegspectrum

The Challenge of Epilepsy
by Sally Fletcher
Educates and provides resources, contacts. Includes biofeedback.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961551364/ eegspectrum

Speaking of Sadness: Depression, Disconnection, and the Meanings of Illness
by David A. Karp
Psychological, chemical, and cultural perspectives on depression.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195113861/eegspectrum

Brain Allergies: The Psychonutrient and Magnetic Connections
by WH. Philpott et al
Overviews psychopharmacology and related topics.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0658003984/eegspectrum

The Highly Sensitive Person
by Elaine Aron
Case studies, self-tests, and exercises to assist the HSP.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553062182/eegspectrum

Communities That Care: Action for Drug Abuse Prevention
by JD Hawkins, RF Catalano Jr
Community and educational strategies for drug abuse.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1555424716/eegspectrum

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JOURNAL PAPERS

Working memory and EEG to academic performance: high school students. : Low
academic attainment students show EEG evidence of a diminished WM capacity.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17454248

ADHD and substance use disorders: developmental aspects and stimulant
treatment. : Deficits in self-regulation may underlie the developmental
progression of substance abuse.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17453602

Intrahemispheric reorganization of language in children with intractable
epilepsy : Anterior displacement of Broca's area was seen in some children with
epilepsy.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17445300

Genetic influences on bipolar EEG power spectra. : Variability in bipolar EEG
recordings are derived to a great degree by genetic factors.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17383039

Auditory brain-computer interface (BCI). : Auditory BCI take longer to learn,
but are necessary for visually impaired patients.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17399797

Changes in brain function during acute cannabis intoxication : Cannabis mimics
lateral prefrontal cortex lesions in slow potentials.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17393553

Quantitative EEG in aging and in the evolution of dementia. : EEG may be used
to predict future declines associated with mild cognitive impairment and
Alzheimer's disease.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17413018

Classification algorithms for EEG-based brain-computer interfaces. : Review of
EEG-based brain-computer interface algorithms.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17409472

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Events & Locations

Upcoming Courses

A Pathway to Brain Regulation - Neurofeedback helps improve
neuroregulation. It's used by health care professionals for ADHD,
depression, anxiety disorders, LD, mood disorders, and behavioral
problems. This 4-day course, Neurofeedback in a Clinical Practice,
provides the basis for using Neurofeedback clinically. - *28 CEs

4-Day Comprehensive Course Dates (subject to change)

* Atlanta GA Jul 26-29
* Denver CO Aug 9-12
* Glensdale CA Aug 23-26
* Alexandria VA Sep 6-9

Our course is a hands-on experience right from the start. Attendees
consistently say this format is a very good way to learn
Neurofeedback.

"Neurofeedback should be viewed as one of the three essential or
primary forms of intervention - psychotherapy, psychopharmacology,
and Neurofeedback. In my experience, neurofeedback is every bit as
important and powerful as the other two forms of treatment." - Dr.
Laurence Hirshberg of Brown University Medical School, a
psychologist specializing in Developmental Disorders and Autism.

Contact Karie Kramer, our training coordinator, for more information
818-789-3456 ext 847 or see www.eegspectrum.com/ Training

*EEG Spectrum International, Inc. is approved by the APA to offer
continuing education to psychologists. ESII maintains responsibility
for the program.


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Conferences for Neurofeedback Clinicians & Researchers

CONFERENCE LOCATION DATES

ISNR - www.isnr.org San Diego, CA Sep 6-9, 2007
AAPB - www.aapb.org Daytona Beach, FL May 13-18, 2008

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Last Word

25 Online Tools

There are now 76 yahoo groups associated with
neurofeedback. What a change from when I started
this newsletter 10 years ago. Here are some of
the best online resources available for
neurotherapists and other professionals.

Neurofeedback groups:
http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=neurofeedback

Medline citations.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Neuroscience Intro:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html

Brain Research:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/Science/Brain_Research/

EEG News:
http://news.google.com/news?q=eeg

Knowledge Network:
http://www.nytimes.com/college/

Scientific articles:
http://scholar.google.com

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org

Free Net-Phone: http://www.skype.net

WebUnyte: http://www.unyte.net

Great music: http://www.mydrivefm.com

Email: http://mail.yahoo.com,
http://www.hotmail.com, http://www.gmail.com

Quotes: http://www.quotationspage.com

Software: http://www.tucows.com

News coverage: http://news.google.com

Online Newspapers: http://www.metagrid.com,
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/

Discussion groupshttp://groups.yahoo.com

Images: http://images.google.com

Time: http://www.arachnoid.com/abouttime

Statistics online:
http://faculty.vassar.edu/lowry/VassarStats.html

Dictionary: http://www.m-w.com

Thesaurus: http://www.m-w.com

Synonyms: http://vancouver-webpages.com/synonyms.html

Translation Tools: http://babelfish.altavista.com,
http://www.google.com/language_tools

Psycholinguistic Tools:
http://www.psy.uwa.edu.au/mrcdatabase/uwa_mrc.htm
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