alpha/theta
Research Papers
Beneficial outcome from EEG-neurofeedback on creative music performance, attention and well-being in school children
We earlier reported benefits for creativity in rehearsed music performance from alpha/theta (A/T) neurofeedback in conservatoire studies (Egner & Gruzelier, 2003) which were not found with SMR, Beta1, mental skills, aerobics or Alexander training, or in standby controls. Here the focus was the impact on novice music performance. A/T and SMR training were compared in 11-year old school children along with non-intervention controls with outcome measures not only of rehearsed music performance but also of creative improvisation, as well as sustained attention and phenomenology. Evidence of effective learning in the school setting was obtained for A/T and SMR/beta2 ratios. Preferential benefits from A/T for rehearsed music performance were replicated in children for technique and communication ratings. Benefits extended to creativity and communication ratings for creative improvisation which were shared with SMR training, disclosing an influence of SMR on unrehearsed music performance at a novice level with its greater cognitive demands. In a first application of A/T for improving sustained attention (TOVA), it was found to be more successful than SMR training, with a notable reduction in commission errors in the children, 15/33 of whom had attention indices in the ADHD range. Phenomenological reports were in favour of neurofeedback and well-being benefits. Implementing neurofeedback in the daily school setting proved feasible and holds pedagogic promise.
View Full Paper →The effects of neurofeedback training on the spectral topography of the electroencephalogram
Objective: To investigate the impact of EEG frequency band biofeedback (neurofeedback) training on spectral EEG topography, which is presumed to mediate cognitive-behavioural training effects. In order to assess the effect of commonly applied neurofeedback protocols on spectral EEG composition, two studies involving healthy participants were carried out. Methods: In Experiment 1, subjects were trained on low beta (12–15 Hz), beta1 (15–18 Hz), and alpha/theta (8–11 Hz/5–8 Hz) protocols, with spectral resting EEG assessed before and after training. The specific associations between learning indices of each individual training protocol and changes in absolute and relative spectral EEG topography was assessed by means of partial correlation analyses. Results of Experiment 1 served to generate hypotheses for Experiment 2, where subjects were randomly allocated to independent groups of low beta, beta1, and alpha/theta training. Spectral resting EEG measures were contrasted prior and subsequent to training within each group. Results: Only few associations between particular protocols and spectral EEG changes were found to be consistent across the two studies, and these did not correspond to expectations based on the operant contingencies trained. Low-beta training was found to be somewhat associated with reduced post-training low-beta activity, while more reliably, alpha/theta training was associated with reduced relative frontal beta band activity. Conclusions: The results document that neurofeedback training of frequency components does affect spectral EEG topography in healthy subjects, but that these effects do not necessarily correspond to either the frequencies or the scalp locations addressed by the training contingencies. The association between alpha/theta training and replicable reductions in frontal beta activity constitutes novel empirical neurophysiological evidence supporting inter alia the training's purported role in reducing agitation and anxiety. Significance: These results underline the complexity of the neural dynamics involved EEG self-regulation and emphasize the need for empirical validation of predictable neurophysiological outcomes of training EEG biofeedback protocols.
View Full Paper →“Native Americans, Neurofeedback, and Substance Abuse Theory”. Three Year Outcome of Alpha/theta Neurofeedback Training in the Treatment of Problem Drinking among Dine' (Navajo) People
This three year follow-up study presents the treatment outcomes of 19 Dine' (Navajo) clients who completed a culturally sensitive, alpha/theta neurofeedback training program. In an attempt to both replicate the earlier positive studies of Peniston (1989) and to determine if neurofeedback skills would significantly decrease both alcohol consumption and other behavioral indicators of substance abuse, these participants received an average of 40 culturally modified neurofeedback training sessions. This training was adjunctive to their normal 33 day residential treatment. According to DSM-IV criteria for substance abuse, 4 (21%) participants now meet criteria for “sustained full remission”, 12 (63%) for “sustained partial remission”, and 3 (16%) still remain “dependent” (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The majority of participants also showed a significant increase in “level of functioning” as measured by the DSM-IV Axis V GAF. Subjective reports from participants indicated that their original neurofeedback training had been both enjoyable and self-empowering; an experience generally different from their usual treatment routine of talk-therapy and education. This internal training also appeared to naturally stimulate significant, but subtle, spiritual experiences and to be naturally compatible with traditional Navajo cultural and medicine-ways. At the three-year follow-up interview, participants typically voiced that these experiences, and their corresponding insights, had been helpful both in their ability to cope and in their sobriety. From an outside perspective, experienced nurses also reported unexpected behavioral improvements during the participant's initial training. Additionally, administrators and physicians generally found the objective feedback and verification quality of neurofeedback protocols compatible with their own beliefs. An attempt has also been made to conceptualize the outcome analysis of this study within both a culturally specific and universal socio/bio/ environmental context.
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