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

Vol. 6 No. 12 - December 2003

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 the author's only. Copyright (C) 2004
by EEG Spectrum Intl, Inc. or David Kaiser. All rights reserved.
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Announcements - News
In the Spotlight - Mine the Mind, Filtered or Unfiltered
News & Reviews - Books & journal papers
Events & Locations - Conferences, Courses
Last Word - Knowledge is Power -- or so we quote

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Announcements

Sleep boosts lateral thinking
Panic attack patients lack key brain receptors
Brain size matters for sex
Subconsciously, Athletes May Play Like Statisticians
Proteins 'may help memories form'
Freud was right: mind can block bad memories

All links at:
http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=science&cat=brain_research

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In the Spotlight

Mining the Mind, Filtered or Unfiltered

In the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, Matt Damon's title character
steps between a boorish Harvard upstart and Will's working-class
friend, who the college kid is trying to embarrass in front of some
girls at a bar. Will claims that the ponytailed savant "wasted
$150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late
charges at the public library." But is that true? Can we learn on
our own? If so, why is education so expensive, one of the largest
entry in our federal budget, for instance? (Though far behind
defense)

Well, for Will and people like him, the answer is yes, you can learn
everything on your own. If you're a fictional character based a .01% of the
population, yes. If not, and you're like the rest of us, we
may need a little help, a little filtering here and there. Sometimes
we go it alone, but a guiding hand always gets us there quicker and
with more certainty. As Yogi Berra put it, "You've got to be very
careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not
get there."

Last month I tossed off a bunch of self-service items (280
neurofeedback citations), and this month I step back even further
into the mist and toss off a bunch of self-service resources. Here
are a bunch of doors, all relevant to neurofeedback to varying
degrees, through which anyone can make his or her way. Choose a few
when you get a chance, or are in need.

Google News - http://news.google.com -- This handy resource lets me
track the mediasphere (including two neurofeedback articles from
last week's newspapers). Building Brainpower: Neurobiofeedback helps
tame the storm for brain injury patients (Flint Journal, Michigan);
and a blurb in Valley briefs, New Haven Register, CT

Google also has email News Alerts. It is absent of human filtering, of course --
a firehose here, a trickle of unrelated debris there, but overall an effective
way to follow the world (4,500 news sources) on your topic of interest. One of
our topics of interest,
Neurotherapy/QEEG Newsalert

The advantage of machine filtering (and finding) is the firehose --
everything and anything all at once. Nothing missed -- perhaps-- if
you keyword-it right. But human filtering brings us selection,
order, and summarization, so that the article "Brain Waves: Brett
Favre A Hollywood Story" doesn't waste space in your inbox.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) now posts all its
course materials online for all the world to use. How can they do
this and still justify $150K in tuition, as Will claimed. MIT would
argue that people pay for people, not words. We learn through
interaction, not reception. Learning is a dynamic process, not a
static one. In other words, you are NOT paying for materials, but
the faculty members explaining the materials they selected.
OpenCourseWare it is called - check out the Brain and Cognitive
Sciences, http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Brain-and-Cognitive-Sciences/

Intro Psych Fall 2001
Intro Psych Fall 2002
Neuroscience and Behavior
Brain and Cognitive Sciences I
Brain and Cognitive Sciences II
Neural Plasticity in Learning and Development
Affect: Biological...
Topics in Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Special Topics in Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Cognitive Neuroscience of Remembering
Language and Mind

My answer to MIT is a paltry, underfunded site on RIT's webservers.
The site used to brim with images (i.e., be less paltry) but I
recently scrubbed the site clean of material I didn't create to free
myself of copyright issues. Still, there's a good helping, and the
Brainwaves course is highly relevant-- http://www.rit.edu/~dakgsh/

Psy 325 - Intro Psychology
Psy 400 - Experimental Psychology
Psy 545 - Brain & Behavior
Psy 546 - Right Brain Left Brain
Psy 547 - Brainwaves & Behavior

Research Helpers

Psycholinguistics Database
APA format Guide #1
APA Guide #2
Run Statistics online
Brain-Behavior Relationships
CogPrints - electronic archive of Cog papers,
http://cogprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/

Outside of academia, we have news gathering organizations such as
Science Daily (http://www.sciencedaily.com/news)

Mind & Brain News at Science Daily
Neuropsychology at Science Daily , and
biofeedback at Science Daily .

As well as other helpful sites,
Yahoo Brain Research
PsychWatch Weekly webzine
http://www.mentalhealth.org/newsroom
MSNBC Health library
Spark Notes - http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology
Sci-Tech Daily
NPR's Science Friday

For general news junkies, there is

Newsblaster at Columbia Univ, an attempt to remove humans from the
filtering process entirely. Here, computers preprocess content, and
abstract the relevant elements, making a front page on their own --
which I suspect eventually other computers will be reading, in an
intellectual-apocalyptic-Terminator kind of way. The process must be
tailored to each domain of knowledge, and mental health and brain
research news haven't been attacked yet (I talked with the director
months ago about helping her but we have yet to start).

Newsmax.com is my favorite, not for news, but because it posts the
Late night jokes from the previous night and beyond -- Leno,
Letterman, and Conan.

Want atoms instead of bits? Try the flea market of the world, Ebay -
http://pages.ebay.com/search/items/ basicsearch.html

Mind videos at Ebay
Brain videos at Ebay
Psychology videos at Ebay
Google's foray into sales - Froogle

Finally, Search engines, when you need something specific and now:

(Note: Links and search engine fields are all available
at http://start.eegspectrum.com/Newsletter/dec2003.htm )

Of course, if you fail to find what you want, and cannot get ahold
of a friend or colleague to answer that important question, there's
always the lure of cash to strangers: answers.google.com, a forum
where researchers answer your questions for a shilling or two.

And finally, if you cannot get enough of EEG Spectrum Intl's
offerings, there is the weekly content I maintain at
Start My Day with EEG Spectrum Intl - http://start.eegspectrum.com

-DK
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News & Reviews

NEW BOOKS

Exposure Anxiety - The Invisible Cage: ...Self-Protection in Autism
by Donna Williams
A very helpful perspective on autism from an insider's point of
view. Written like a manual for people dealing with this form of
anxiety. www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843100517/top100

Guide to Neuroimaging in Psychiatry
by C Fu, T Russell, C Senior, Dl Weinberger, R Murray
Paperback guide to the increasingly important role neuroimaging
plays in differential diagnoses, treatment, and prevention in
psychiatry. www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/184184229X/top100

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night- Time : A Novel
by Mark Haddon
Fictional accounnt of high-functioning autism (a novel my wife
really enjoyed - there is no higher praise)
www.amazon.com/ exec/obidos/ASIN/0385509456/top100

Cognitive Neuroscience of Development
by Michelle De Hann, Mark H. Johnson, Michelle de Haan, Arthur H.
Evans, Mark Johnson
Overview of methods used to study emerging interface between
neurobiological and psychological perspectives in typical and
atypical cognitive development.
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/184169214X/top100

Epilepsy as a Dynamic Disease
by P. Jung, J. Milton, E. Greenbaum
Explores the possibility of implanting a device in epileptics
capable of detecting seizure occurrence, with methods to abort it.
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3540427627/top100

Introduction to Alcohol Research: Implications for Treatment,
Prevention, and Policy
by Daniel L. Yalisove
Summary of alcohol research, positive and negative consequences of
alcohol consumption, and the causes and effective treatment of
alcohol disorders. www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0205331297/top100

Coping With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
by Diane Roberts Stoler
Comprehensive manual explains what is involved in diagnosis,
treatment, and rehabilitation of brain-injured people.
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0895297914/top100

I Hate You, Don't Leave Me : Understanding the Borderline
Personality
by Jerold J. Kreisman, Hal Straus
Guide provides professional advice, designed to aid BPD victims and
their families. www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ 0380713055/top100
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JOURNAL PAPERS

Psychological treatments for epilepsy. : Reviewed psychological
treatments: relaxation therapy was unsuccessful; EEG biofeedback
improved cognitive and motor functions; educational interventions
improved understanding of epilepsy, coping & med compliance.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14583944

Knowledge of epilepsy and familiarity with this disorder in the U.S.
: The general public has little knowledge about epilepsy;
educational campaigns through community settings are recommended.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14636355

Brain imaging studies in human addicts. : Heroin-related stimuli
provokes activation of anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal regions.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14636961

Abnormal brain lateralization in high-functioning autism. : Autistic
individuals with history of early language disturbance show atypical
cerebral dominance, indicated maturational disturbances in
establishing lateral preference.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14594334

SPECT brain perfusion findings in traumatic brain injury. : Basal
ganglia hypoperfusion is the most common abnormality following mild
or moderate traumatic brain injury, common in patients complaining
of memory problem and dizziness.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14600973

Emerging dialogue between psychoanalysis and neuroscience:
neuroimaging perspectives. : Hopes to reestablish psychodynamic
theory in contemporary medicine via neuroimaging are discussed.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14596561

Computer method for identifying patterns in electroencephalogram
signals. : Machine identification of weak signals hidden by specific
ones (across long, 1 hr time windows) -- useful for sleep, perhaps.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14602518

Brain atrophy in alcohol dependence : Brain atrophy in alcohol
dependence reflects individual differences in exposure to alcohol.
Comorbid cocaine use disorder may exacerbate white matter atrophy.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14594753

Left-hemisphere dysfunction in autism: What are we measuring? :
Results suggest bilateral neuropsychological involvement, affecting
left- hemisphere functioning predominantly but not exclusively.
Authors caution about inferences.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14592007

Learning impairment in male and female alcoholics. : Alcoholics are
impaired on face-name learning but whether it's a direct effect of
alcohol or their disrupted interpersonal relationships remains to be
investigated.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14589692

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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

Miami, FL Feb 19-22
Los Angeles, CA Mar 25-28
Boston, MA Apr 15-18

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.

CONFERENCE LOCATION DATES
Winter Brain Palm Springs, CA Feb 7-11
AAPB Colorado Springs Apr 1-4
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Last Word

Knowledge is Power -- or so we quote

My students in Intro Psych must write a term paper for or against
one of the propositions below, famous or not-so-famous quotes that
address the human mind. Here are some of the best:

It is by logic we prove; it is by intuition we discover

It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two
opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the
ability to function.

A mind too active is no mind at all.

All men by nature desire knowledge.

Everything you can imagine is real.

Every quotation contributes something to the stability or
enlargement of the language.

Grasp the subject, the words will follow.

Words have a longer life than deeds.

Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing.

Learning: to suddenly understand something you've understood all
your life, but in a new way.

The most merciful thing in the world is the inability of the human
mind to correlate all its contents.

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance,
nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.

We are what we repeatedly do.

All perception of truth is the detection of an analogy.

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.

Don't fall before you're pushed.

Never give a child a sword.

An undefined problem has an infinite number of solutions.

It's so much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too
much about the problem.

If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.

If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting
different results.

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.

A neurosis is a secret that you don't know you are keeping.

Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity.

The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.

Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on children than
the unlived life of the parent.

I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.

I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle -Plato.

More quotes at http://www.rit.edu/~dakgsh/quotes.htm

-DK
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