What's New in Neurofeedback

A Monthly Summary of News and Events
Vol. 9 No. 2 - February 2006

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) 2006
by EEG Spectrum Intl, Inc. or David Kaiser. All rights reserved.
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Announcements - News
In the Spotlight - Two Angles at Testing Neurofeedback
News & Reviews - Books & journal papers
Events & Locations - Conferences, Courses
Last Word - The New Math
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Announcements

-Mind Rewind: Brains Run in Reverse
-Scientists are split on different ways men & women think
-Can't Focus? Aging Brain May Be to Blame
-Brain Scans May Beat Polygraphs at Lie Detection
-Study confirms location of potential autism gene

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

Two Angles at Testing Neurofeedback

Last month two papers were published that investigated the
effectiveness of neurofeedback from completely different
angles. Both examined training specificity, but the first
used a lateralized paradigm and the other functional
neuroimaging. Both are important papers and should not to
be missed:


Barnea A, Rassis A, & Zaidel E. (2005). Effect of
neurofeedback on hemispheric word recognition.
Brain and Cognition, 59, 314-21.
Abstract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1\
6337872

Can lateralized neurofeedback -- training of one
hemisphere only -- preferentially impact performance of
the trained hemisphere? Pulvermuller et al (2000)
previously showed how training slow cortical potentials
over the left hemisphere can improve language performance
in this hemisphere. This study explored whether learned
modulation of neuroregulatory cortical activity (SMR,
theta bands) likewise produces hemispheric effects. Twenty
children, half boys and half girls, underwent 20 half-
hour sessions across a month at either site C3 or C3
referenced to the ipsilateral ear. Using a well-studied
language task, it was found performance of the left
hemisphere improved with C4 training in boys and C3
training in girls. Although the results for the boys might
be interpreted in terms of reduced inhibitory influence of
the right hemisphere in language performance, initial
levels of language performance for the boys make this
conclusion tentative. However the girls' finding is more
substantiated, indicating a focal impact for left-sided
training and general impact for right-sided training.
Girls improved in language performance in both right and
left sided presentations after right-brain training (C4)
but only for left-hemisphere presentations after
left-brain training (C3).

One wrinkle to this study was the use of Hebrew-speakers
(i.e., readers). Hebrew has a deep orthography, perhaps
the world's deepest, which means letter-to-sound
correspondences are ambiguous without knowledge of the
word itself. English has a moderate depth to its
orthography: some letters always map to the same sounds,
some do not and vary from word to word. For instance, if I
ask a waiter "Can I have the Caesar Salad?" the letter c
is pronounced as a hard /k/ then as an /s/.
Spelling-to-sound consistency can be illustrated by the
nonword "ghoti" which is pronounced, of course, as "fish".
How, you might ask? Well, "gh" in tough or rough sounds
like /f/; "o" is pronounced like a short /i/ in "women"
and "ti" is /sh/ in vacation and other words. Together
these five letters in English can be pronounced as "fish"
-- or "goatie" or "foatie" or foshie", etc. Languages with
shallow orthographies, such as Serbo-Croatian, do not have
such ambiguity or confusion to the assembly of sounds from
the written word; the letter "c" is always pronounced /k/,
"t" as /t/, etc. Hebrew is much removed from this ease.
Hebrew is also written from right-to-left, unlike this
sentence which is read and pronounced left to right. The
right-to-left direction, more common to historically early
writing systems, probably reflects greater involvement of
the right hemisphere in deciphering stone inscriptions and
the like.



Levesque J, Beauregard M, & Mensour B. (2006). Effect of
neurofeedback training on the neural substrates of
selective attention in children with ADHD: A functional
magnetic resonance imaging study.
Neuroscience Letters, 394, 216-21.
Abstract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1\
6343769


In Levesque's study, 20 ADHD children (no
psychostimulants, no co-morbidities) participated in a
functional neuroimaging assessment of neurofeedback
training. Fifteen children were randomly assigned to
neurofeedback training and five were left as controls.
Children in the neurofeedback conditions underwent 20
sessions of SMR-enhancement training (with theta inhibit)
followed by 20 sessions of low Beta (15-18 Hz) enhancement
(with theta inhibit) at site Cz referenced to the left
earlobe. Sessions lasted 60 minutes each, three times a
week.

Both groups were scanned while performing a Counting
Stroop task one week before neurofeedback training began
for the experimental group and one week after the end of
training. Both groups showed activation of the left
superior parietal lobe during task performance prior to
training, but after training the group which underwent
neurofeedback also showed significant activation of right
anterior cingulate cortex. The anterior cingulate may be
dysfunctional in ADHD, as evidenced by its inactivity in
ADHD adults during the same task. The anterior cingulate
is critical in the final stages of selective attention and
response inhibition and the Stroop Task is all about
inhibiting responses and attending selectively to
information. In the original Stroop task subjects name the
ink color which a word appears in so if the word "salad"
appears in green ink, one responds "green" or clicks a key
for this color. In the interference (difficult) version of
this task, items are now colors words such as "red" in
green ink or "green" in blue ink. One has to ignore the
meaning of the word (red) and respond solely to its
physical presentation (green). Reading for most
individuals is highly automated and difficult to stop so
most subjects are slowed and make errors during color-word
presentations. In the Counting Stroop, subjects indicate
how many words appear on a screen. In the neutral
condition words are common animal terms such as bird or
dog, and in the Interference condition words are numbers
so a subject might see "three three three three" and have
to press the key for four (i.e., the number of words on
the screen).

Children who received neurofeedback training also showed
left caudate and left substantia nigra activation during
Counting Stroop performance, which is very consistent with
ADHD as a dysfunction of dopaminergic transmission in
fronto-striatal circuits. The authors suggest that SMR
neurofeedback "led to the neuromodulation by dopamine of
neural activity in the anterior cingulate-striatal
circuit."

Children who underwent neurofeedback also showed
improvement in digit span and attention (IVA) as well
hyperactivity and inattentiveness assessments by parents
on the Conners Rating Scales, whereas the controls show
little change; but we've shown these behavioral
improvments all before, without convincing the masses of
professionals who fail to understand why learning is more
powerful than medicating. Learning is the most powerful
force of nature. It is through learning that a large
violent aggressive ape is transformed into the paragon of
animals... "in action how like an angel! in apprehension
how like a god!" to quote another author.

-DK
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News & Reviews

NEW BOOKS

Psychic Trauma: Dynamics, Symptoms, and Treatment
by Ira Brenner
Clinical study of psychic trauma, focusing on two groups:
early physical and sexual abuse and Holocaust survivors.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0765703653/eegspectrum

Somatoform Dissociation: Phenomena, Measurement, & Theoretical Issues
by Ellert R. S. Nijenhuis
Describes how trauma, somatoform dissociation and defense may work together.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393704602/eegspectrum

Mapping Cognition in Time and Space
by T Muente, H.J. Heinze
Focuses on high temporal resolution neuroimaging techniques:
event-related brain potentials, magnetoencephalography
-- www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9051994923/eegspectrum

Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook
by Joyce H. Lowinson, et al
Textbook on biological, psychological, and social aspects
of substance abuse. For clinicians.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ ASIN/0781734746/eegspectrum

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: Neurochronometrics of Mind
by Vincent Walsh, Alvaro Pascual-Leone
Promotes transcranial magnetic stimulation to investigate cortical function.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262731746/eegspectrum

Autism And Williams Syndrome
by Helen Tager-Flusberg
Theory of mind as it emerges during childhood is discussed
in reaction to autism and William's syndrome research.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1841690082/eegspectrum

Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Epilepsy
by Orrin Devinsky, et al
Provides a broader perspective of healthcare for seizure
patients. --www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1888799897/eegspectrum

Mind, Brain, And Schizophrenia
by Peter Williamson
Instead of investigating its cause, the author argues, we
should focus on the final symptoms and behaviors of
schizophrenia in order to devise effective treatments.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195176375/eegspectrum

Boundaries of Consciousness: Neurobiology and Neuropathology
by Steven Laureys
Functional brain imaging techniques offer detailed,
integrated exploration of neural and behavioral correlates
of consciousness. -
-www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0444518517/eegspectrum

Intoxicating Minds: How Drugs Work
by Ciaran Regan
Humanity co-evolved with drugs. That process and how they
have altered our very being is discussed in the context of
new drug therapies.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0231120176/eegspectrum

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JOURNAL PAPERS

Neurofeedback: efficacious treatment for ADHD : Iillustrates treatment
modalities and compares them to neurofeedback for ADHD
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16385424


Can neurofeedback training enhance performance? : Rationale for using
neurofeedback to train individuals for peak performance.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16385423


Low frequency rTMS stimulation of the right frontal cortex : Moderate robust
persistence of rTMS treatments over time were found.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16433057


Alcohol and adult neurogenesis in chronic alcoholism. : Reviews opposing
neurogenic processes associated with alcohol intoxication and abstinence.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16421863


Age-dependent decline of ADHD : ADHD's persistence into adulthood depend until
strictness of one's criteria. Partial remission criteria reveals 2/3rds of
those with childhood ADHD suffering from ADHD symptoms as adults.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16420712


Memory activation enhances EEG abnormality in mild cognitive impairment. : Mild
cognitive impairment patients show less decrease in the lower alpha band than
controls during picture memory activation.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16406153


Maternal depression, child frontal asymmetry, and child affective behavior :
Childhood-onset depression children exhibited left frontal asymmetry associated
with both anxious/depressed and aggressive child problems.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16405644


Spectrum-weighted EEG frequency as a quantitative indicator of mental arousal.
: Weighted mean frequency of the EEG spectrum may indicate general mental
activation.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16400227


Functional neuroimaging studies of cognitive recovery after acquired brain
damage : Review of functional neuroimaging studies of stroke and traumatic
brain injury.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16395622


Clinical significance of sleep EEG abnormalities in chronic schizophrenia. :
Chronic undifferentiated schizophrenics suffer from disturbances in sleep
continuity and slow wave sleep.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16377158
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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)

Phoenix, AZ Mar 23-26
Boston, MA Apr 20-23
Washington DC Jun 22-25


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

AAPB - http://www.aapb.org Portland OR Apr 6-10
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Last Word

The New Math

Children are now more likely to be the victim of a crime
at school than away from school. Thirty million crimes
were committed in our public schools in the last ten
years, that's 30,000,000 - not a typo. Girls are 17 % more
likely to be a victim at school than away, boys 23 % more
likely. Schools as a protective haven where parents sent
their children to keep them safe and off the streets is
now a quaint memory. The streets are now safer than the
schools. Nearly three-quarters of public schools will
experience one or more violent incidents this year. Has
violence in schools become acceptable in our society? How
else can we explain why 738,000 violent crimes were
committed at schools last year with little media
attention?

What has happened? Let's look at the physics of it all.
The buildings. Take the state of California which once
possessed the best public educational system in the
nation. In the last 20 years the state of California has
built 33 new prisons and a single university. It increased
its juvenile detention centers by 50 percent over the past
five years, or more when one factors in the dozens of
impersonal mega-schools built during this time, which
sometimes act as detention centers. Mega-schools are high
schools with student enrollment above 2,000 and last year
23 new monstrosities were opened nation-wide. Add this to
the 1,414 mega-schools already operating in this country,
take a look into any one, and the reason for school
violence and dropping test scores and other social ills
become apparent. We've come a long way from the one-room
school house in only 50 years, and all of it in the wrong
direction. We are building the wrong kind of buildings for
our children.

33 prisons + 1 college = 21st century.

It's a new kind of math, one we are getting use to, a form
of subtraction that threatens us all.

-DK

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