slow wave activity
slow wave activity patterns in EEG reflect specific brain states and functions. QEEG brain mapping measures slow wave activity activity across brain regions, revealing individual patterns that guide neurofeedback protocol selection. Explore our 2 research papers covering this topic.
Research Papers
Neurofeedback in adolescents and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Abstract Neurofeedback is being utilized more commonly today in treating individuals who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Neurofeedback, which is based on theories that recognize the organic basis of ADHD, utilizes biofeedback to guide individuals to regulate their brain activity. Neurofeedback relies on research that has demonstrated that most individuals who have ADHD, as compared to matched peers, have excess slow wave activity and reduced fast wave activity. It provides immediate feedback to the individual about his or her brain wave activity in the form of a video game, whose action is influenced by the individual's meeting predetermined thresholds of brain activity. Over several sessions of using the video and auditory feedback, individuals reduce their slow wave activity and/or increase their fast wave activity. Individuals who complete a course of training sessions often show reduced primary ADHD symptoms. Research has shown that neurofeedback outcomes compare favorably to those of stimulant medication. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session 61: 621–625, 2005.
View Full Paper →EEG and behavioral changes in a hyperkinetic child concurrent with training of the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR): a preliminary report
Reduced seizure incidence coupled with voluntary motor inhibition accompanied conditioned increases in the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR), a 12- 14 Hz rhythm appearing over rolandic cortex. Although SMR biofeedback training has been successfully applied to various forms of epilepsy in humans, its potential use in decreasing hyperactivity has been limited to a few cases in which a seizure history was also a significant feature. The present study represents a first attempt to explore the technique's applicability to the problem of hyperkinesis independent of the epilepsy issue. The results of several months of EEG biofeedback training in a hyperkinetic child tend to corroborate and extend previous findings. Feedback presentations for SMR were contingent on the production of 12- 14-Hz activity in the absence of 4- 7-Hz slow-wave activity. A substantial increase in SMR motor inhibition, as gauged by laboratory measures of muscular tone (chin EMG) and by a global behavioral assessment in the classroom. Opposite trends in motor inhibition occurred when the training procedure was reversed and feedback presentations were contingent on the production of 4- 7 Hz in the absence of 12- 14-Hz activity. Although the preliminary nature of these results is stressed, the subject population has recently been increased to establish the validity and generality of the findings and will include the use of SMR biofeedback training after medication has been withdrawn.
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