EEG alpha biofeedback
Research Papers
Comparison of Alpha-Theta, Alpha and EMG Neurofeedback in the Production of Alpha-Theta Crossover and the Occurrence of Visualizations
Background: Alpha-theta biofeedback training has been employed in clinical addictions treatment since the first reports of successful application by Peniston and Kulkosky. Several studies have questioned the theta crossover component of this feedback protocol as necessary to the training condition. Methods: We observed theta and alpha amplitudes, percentage of theta/alpha crossover, and self-reports of visualization in 191 sessions of three different protocols of brain wave biofeedback. Feedback conditions studied were alpha only, alpha-theta, and a type of EMG training. Subjects with identical electrode placement in all conditions, and not informed as to the nature of the feedback received, were given the same induction and expectations. They were asked to describe imagery occurring during feedback. Results: Visualization was found to be not exclusive to alpha-theta neurofeedback, but instead was present in all three modes of feedback. In addition, an inverse relationship was found to exist between the degree of theta-greater-than-alpha states and the presence of visual imagery. EMG sessions produced a greater percentage of time in theta/ alpha crossover states than alpha training alone, but the differences were small. Conclusions: Alpha only feedback, EMG feedback and alpha-theta feedback sessions were associated with similar amounts of average theta/ alpha ratio and percentage of theta/alpha crossover across sessions. Neither alpha-theta biofeedback nor biofeedback associated theta/alpha ratio increase is specific to the self-reported production of imagery.
View Full Paper →Alpha Conditioning as an Adjunct Treatment for Drug Dependence: Part II
The use of alpha biofeedback in a multimodal client-centered program is seen to have certain unique advantages for treating an opiate-abusing population. It employs immediate reinforcement for success in a task which virtually all subjects can accomplish. Subjects are seen to be responding to intrinsically important motives, including the desire to reduce transient, situational anxiety or to seek a state of euphoria. The concreteness and nonverbal nature of the alpha techniques appear to be favorably contrasted to the word therapy techniques which client populations have often found unsuccessful and/or rewarding. The shift of responsibility for health onto the client, combined with the achievement of self-produced success experiences, appears to offer a useful method for therapeutic generalization and treatment.Reservations in such use of alpha biofeedback include the fact that little or no controlled study of alpha as a therapeutic modality has been published. Also, there are data suggesting that anxiety reduction and increase in alpha are not intrinsically tied together. Finally, alpha use is suggested only as one link in a total program focusing on the unique history and motives of the client. The maladaptive motives and habits of the clients make alpha control useful at an early stage, but the therapeutic program must lead to the development of styles of thought and behavior fostering autonomy from such existential crutches. Research is needed to clarify both the short -and long-term functions that alpha can serve in a therapeutic program and the types of substance abusers that can most profit from its use. More clarification is also needed in the exact techniques of alpha training to allow comparison and criticism.
View Full Paper →Effects of Alpha Feedback Training on Occipital EEG, Heart Rate, and Experiential Reactivity to a Laboratory Stressor
The intent of this study was to examine whether brief alpha biofeedback training would alter the degree of physiological and experiential stress evidenced in an aversive laboratory situation. While occipital alpha and heart rate were monitored, 36 subjects underwent 8 presentations of a warning tone preceding fingertip electric shock by 30 sec. Subjects were then placed into one of three treatments taking place in dim light with eyes open. Group 1 received 24 min of contingent feedback. Group 2 received an equivalent amount of non-contingent feedback and Group 3, a no-feedback control condition, listened to music. Following the treatment period, 12 additional tone-shock pairings were presented, equally divided between eyes-open and eyes-closed trials, also with and without continuation of the treatment period “signal” (i.e. contingent, non-contingent feedback, or music). The results revealed that, in general, enhanced alpha density was maintained by the contingent feedback group during the post-treatment aversive situation. However, the reduction in alpha suppression was not systematically accompanied by corresponding heart rate and self-report reductions in situational reactivity. It was concluded that alpha feedback training was not sufficient to produce a generalized relaxation to the aversive situation. Alternative accounts of the results, focusing primarily on independence of response systems, are discussed.
View Full Paper →Ready to Optimize Your Brain?
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