Neuropsychiatric practice

Z-score LORETA Neurofeedback as a Potential Therapy in Depression/Anxiety and Cognitive Dysfunction1www.TallahasseeNeuroBalanceCenter.com

Introduction of quantitative electroencephalogram low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (QEEG/LORETA) electrical brain imaging has improved our diagnostic ability in neuropsychiatric practice by enhancing identification of dysregulated (defined as two standard deviations above or below the norm) cortical areas implicated in patient symptoms. Additional use of LORETA Z-score neurofeedback (NFB) enables us to directly target these areas of dysregulation in order to improve associated symptoms. Out of 235 neuropsychiatric patients treated in our clinic with Z-score LORETA NFB, a detailed analysis of 35 cases of depression, anxiety, and cognitive dysfunction is presented. Specific areas of dysregulation attributed to particular conditions identified by LORETA are discussed. Follow-up findings of QEEG/LORETA electrical imaging after NFB therapy (including computerized cognitive testing results) are shown. This chapter summarizes our experience with LORETA Z-score NFB as a tool for therapy of depression and associated anxiety. In addition, this form of NFB is able to improve cognitive functions of individuals suffering from memory, information processing, and other cognitive dysfunctions. Extensive presentations of selected cases are used for demonstration of results from our practice. 25 out of 35 patients (71%) were identified as having an objective improvement (on average 10 points) through cognitive testing. In addition, with NFB subjective cognitive improvement and an objective reduction of QEEG abnormalities were also achieved in most of the patients. Detailed analysis of our patients diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety showed that out of 31 included in the study, 24 (77%) were found to have both subjective and objective (improvement of QEEG abnormalities) improvement of the symptoms within 10 sessions of LORETA Z-score NFB. These results are very promising and indicate good effectiveness of LORETA Z-score NFB in therapy of depression, anxiety, and cognitive enhancement.