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Improve mental health with neurofeedback
As Vicki Wyatt attaches electrodes to my scalp with a generous = glop of=20 slimy goo, I'll admit I'm a little skeptical about the calming = effects of=20 the treatment I'm about to experience. With newborn twins at home, = I=20 usually have enough slime in my life and on my clothes to push = anyone over=20 the abyss. But that, says Wyatt, is precisely why I could benefit = from=20 neurofeedback, a therapeutic tool that advocates claim can reshape = our=20 brains=E2=80=94and our lives.
To learn more about the procedure, I've come to The Wyatt = Clinic in=20 downtown Oklahoma City. Just blocks from the memorial that marks = the site=20 of the 1995 federal building bombing, the location is aptly = associated, in=20 my mind, with both psychic trauma and healing. This is a = gentrifying but=20 hardscrabble neighborhood where Wyatt treats patients, from = overstressed=20 professionals to addicts trying to get back on their feet. Wyatt = has been=20 a therapist for 22 years, with a research background at the = University of=20 Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, but she has only recently = embraced=20 neurofeedback as part of her treatment regimen. "My formal = education=20 didn't really provide any alternative treatments," she says. "It = was=20 traditional psychotherapy and talk therapy. When I look back, I = think this=20 would have benefited a lot of the children and families earlier in = my=20 career."
The equipment looks fairly unexceptional, including the = electrodes,=20 which could pass for iPod headphones and are glued strategically = to my=20 head and temples. Wyatt clips a "ground wire" to my ear. The wires = run=20 from the electrodes to a black amplifier box the size of a small=20 paperback. This deceptively simple-looking piece of machinery, = which can=20 cost several thousand dollars, processes electrical signals from = my brain=20 and sends them to a laptop, where they're represented graphically = on the=20 screen. Wyatt boots the laptop, opens a neurofeedback training = software=20 program and settles me into one of the comfy chairs that make her = cozy,=20 carpeted office look more like my mother's living room than the=20 white-tiled clinic I'd expected.
After Wyatt hooks me up, I'll use my brain waves to control a = video=20 game. When I achieve the desired mental state, a small red bug = will move=20 around the screen eating flowers and emitting a happy chirping = sound. To=20 succeed at the game, I must eliminate brain waves that interfere = with=20 relaxed concentration=E2=80=94those associated with hyperactivity, = depression and=20 that all-too-familiar feeling of "zoning out."
I'm coming off a sleepless night of diaper-changing, rocking = and=20 feeding, so focus isn't exactly my forte right now. But after = watching the=20 bug languish sadly for a few minutes, I begin to practice some = deep, yogic=20 breathing and try to stop my racing thoughts about work, home and=20 deadlines. Sure enough, the band representing my desired brain = activity=20 jumps and the red bug begins to rouse himself from his stupor, eat = a few=20 flowers and chirp with approval.
After years on the outskirts of medical respectability, = neurofeedback=20 has been vindicated by a growing body of evidence showing its = potentially=20 remarkable benefits to everyone from elite athletes and musicians = to=20 violent criminals and children with Attention Deficit = Hyperactivity=20 Disorder (ADHD). The U.S. National Library of Medicine's database = of=20 scholarly articles, for example, contains dozens of positive = scientific=20 studies on neurofeedback published in the last two years. The = results,=20 from some of the world's top universities and research hospitals, = suggest=20 that neurofeedback is a promising treatment for a range of = cognitive=20 health issues: seizures, low IQ in kids with learning = difficulties,=20 vertigo and tinnitus in the elderly, and substance abuse, even = with=20 notoriously addictive, destructive drugs like crack cocaine.
Advocates say neurofeedback has emotional benefits as well. = "You feel=20 very good on this," says John Gruzelier, a professor of psychology = at the=20 University of London's Goldsmiths College. And all these effects = are=20 generated by the patient's brain, not by drugs. No wonder some = proponents=20 describe neurofeedback's effects in spiritual, as well as = physical,=20 terms.
It all starts with those slimy electrodes attached to the = scalp, which=20 pick up a small part of the electrical symphony produced = continually in=20 our brains. Neurons, the billions of cells that make up our = cerebral=20 cortex and nervous system, transmit information by firing = electrical and=20 chemical signals across synapses, the junctions where they meet. = These=20 tiny electrical pulses are central to our consciousness and bodily = lives:=20 Each time our hearts beat, we blink at a bright light or smile at = a bit of=20 good news, that action requires a flurry of electrical = activity.
The brain's electrical impulses take the form of waves that = researchers=20 categorize by frequency=E2=80=94the number of times they repeat = each second (see=20 "Making waves" box). The slowest are the delta waves, which the = brain=20 typically produces during deep sleep. Next are theta waves, = another slow=20 undulation at four to eight cycles per second, often associated = with=20 creative and subconscious thought, which we produce when we're = sleepy or=20 daydreaming. We make alpha waves of eight to 12 cycles per second = when=20 we're alert and relaxed, and still-faster beta waves when we = engage in=20 active problem-solving or become alert or anxious. The fastest = patterns,=20 above 30 cycles per second, are made by gamma = waves=E2=80=94usually faint and=20 difficult to detect, but associated with high-level thought.
An overabundance or deficiency at one of these frequencies = often=20 correlates to conditions such as depression and other emotional=20 disturbances and learning disabilities. Children with ADHD, for = example,=20 often have too many slow brain waves (delta or theta) and not = enough of=20 the faster waves that allow them to focus, engage and think=20 productively.
Neurofeedback reads these waves, feeds them into a computer and = translates them into visual form=E2=80=94in my case, the ladybug's = states of=20 lethargy correlate to levels of electrical activity in my brain. = The=20 underlying principle is that by seeing your brain waves you can = gain=20 control over them, training your brain to produce desired levels = of=20 activity, much like you train your voice to produce certain = musical notes.=20 And once those brain waves are in play, the desired brain state = comes with=20 them. If, for example, you've got too much anxiety-producing beta, = try=20 inducing some theta to calm down.
That might sound like trippy science fiction, but it's based on = technology that's been around since the German psychiatrist Hans = Berger=20 began using electrodes to measure and categorize human brain waves = in the=20 1920s. The recordings of the human brain-wave activity produced by = this=20 technology=E2=80=94electroencephalography, or EEG=E2=80=94are the = cornerstone of=20 neurofeedback. By the 1970s, it was possible to feed that = information back=20 to patients who heard a rewarding tone when they produced a = pre-selected=20 frequency of brain waves. What's new is both the sophistication of = the=20 feedback display and the precision with which therapists can = target=20 different parts of the brain wave spectrum. On top of that, = neurofeedback=20 has become cheaper, more efficient and more readily applicable to = a vast=20 array of brain disorders.
"When I was doing quantified EEG back in the 1970s, computers = were the=20 size of filing cabinets," says James R. Evans, a former University = of=20 South Carolina psychology professor and current clinician at the=20 Sterlingworth Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Evans, who has = written=20 and edited dozens of articles and books on neurofeedback and is a=20 consulting editor to one of the field's flagship publications, The = Journal=20 of Neurotherapy, says those technological hurdles limited = neurofeedback's=20 therapeutic reach in the early years: "You had to have a = large-scale grant=20 to afford the equipment and electrical engineering people to keep = it=20 going."
By the early 1990s, the same technology that brought us = personal=20 computers and Xboxes had changed all that, and without huge = research=20 investments therapists could focus specifically on brain waves = that=20 correlate to mental states. A quantified EEG could show that a = patient's=20 brain contained waves outside the normal range, and new software = made it=20 easier to create training protocols or use existing ones to boost = or=20 reduce activity across a frequency or region of the brain. = Neurofeedback=20 began to gain a devoted following of patients and clinicians who = swore by=20 its effects. Martin Wuttke is one of those clinicians, a = neurofeedback=20 pioneer known for getting remarkable results=E2=80=94starting with = himself.
A former heroin addict, Wuttke discovered meditation could help = him=20 beat the drugs, and soon he was running meditation and counseling = sessions=20 for other addicts. "I found that the key to recovering from = addiction was=20 a spiritual experience," Wuttke says. "That's what the Twelve = Steps [of=20 Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous] are all about, but I felt like = that=20 had gotten lost." To facilitate that experience and give it = credibility by=20 grounding it in science, Wuttke turned to neurofeedback.
Alcoholics and drug addicts often have too many fast brain = waves=E2=80=94which=20 is perhaps why they seek a chemical fix to calm and soothe = overactive=20 brains, he says. With the right technology, neurofeedback = practitioners=20 believe they can wake up parts of the brain that are too sleepy = and calm=20 down regions that are spinning out of control.
For Wuttke, the results were life-changing. As people moved = through his=20 program, he says, "Their depressions went away, their pains went = away,=20 their anxieties went away." Wuttke believes patients become less = likely to=20 backslide once they realize they have access to inner calm without = drugs=20 or alcohol, an insight he describes in terms of "awakening."
Neurofeedback's potential hit home when Wuttke's son, Jacob, = was born=20 with brain injuries and major developmental problems. "At age 2, = he had no=20 muscle tone and some severe difficulties," says Wuttke, "but the = pediatric=20 neurologist couldn't give us any answer about why or how to treat = him."=20 Wuttke and his wife at the time, Amy O'Dell, took matters into = their own=20 hands, developing a comprehensive treatment regime incorporating=20 neurofeedback.Facing the difficulties of asking a child so young = to=20 control his brain waves, Wuttke and O'Dell observed the feedback = screen=20 and stimulated their son when his brain produced the desired = patterns. "We=20 would be very quiet when his brain wasn't within parameters, and = then when=20 it was, we would squeeze him and say, 'Good work!' and orient his = brain to=20 those moments."
At the beginning of the process, Wuttke describes his toddler = son as=20 "hypotonic": unable to sit on his own or hold his head upright. = But=20 "within 60 days, his brain started to come alive," Wuttke says, = and this=20 cognitive awakening was the first step in a process that soon had = his son=20 crawling, walking and running. After witnessing the results, = Wuttke and=20 O'Dell established Jacob's Ladder, a school for developmentally = challenged=20 children in Atlanta, Georgia, run by O'Dell. Although Jacob = couldn't=20 retain five letters of the alphabet at age 6, by age 14 he was = reading at=20 a 12th grade level, and the school had achieved national = recognition.
That experience helped Wuttke formulate his = "neurodevelopmental"=20 approach, in which he uses exercise, dietary supplements and = neurofeedback=20 in concert to establish and rewire broken pathways in the brain. = Since=20 then, Wuttke has trained thousands of neurofeedback practitioners = and=20 garnered a cadre of patients who describe neurofeedback in = transformative=20 terms.
Beth Black, for example, fairly raves about the way Wuttke's=20 neurofeedback regimen impacted her 7-year-old son. "Ethan's a = completely=20 different kid now," she says. When Black adopted Ethan at 5 months = old,=20 he'd already endured severe neglect and suspected pre-natal drug = use by=20 his mother, so it wasn't entirely surprising that the boy faced=20 challenges. Still, by the time he entered first grade at age 6 it = was=20 clear to Black, director of the Family Art Therapy Center in = Clayton,=20 Georgia, that Ethan's problems were cause for serious concern. "We = first=20 noticed that when you teased him, he wouldn't understand or react=20 normally, but would have these explosive tantrums," she = explains.
Failing socially and academically, Ethan hated school despite = the=20 efforts of his teachers and his mother to implement a program of = special=20 instruction and behavioral therapy. "He said no one liked him and = he=20 wanted to die, and when he would get really upset he would have to = exhaust=20 himself before he could get control," Black recalls. A child = psychologist=20 labeled Ethan with ADHD and prescribed medication, but Black was = desperate=20 to avoid drugs and turned to Wuttke instead. Using an evaluative=20 brain-wave scan, Wuttke determined that Ethan lacked normal levels = of=20 beta, the relatively fast waves associated with attention and = concentrated=20 thought.
They implemented a training program of neurofeedback and = listening=20 therapy to boost this band and improve the boy's concentration, = and within=20 two weeks Black was a believer. "For the first time ever, he could = tell me=20 a story in sequence; within three weeks, he was scoring 100s on = his=20 spelling tests and just blowing us and his teachers away." After = seven=20 weeks, Ethan was able to calm himself, and the explosive anger was = a thing=20 of the past.
Black was so impressed that she applied for a grant to use=20 neurofeedback with the juvenile offenders sent to her clinic = regularly for=20 court-assigned behavioral therapy. Counseling these young = offenders had=20 been "a waste of money," according to Black, but the seven = juvenile=20 offenders who entered the program of intensive neurofeedback = therapy=20 flourished.
"The judge came to us at the end of this program," Wuttke = remembers,=20 "and said, 'What did you do to these kids?'" Within weeks those = who'd=20 dropped out were back in school, performing so well on = standardized tests=20 that their learning disabilities seemed to have disappeared.
Such stories abound. "Our whole family was in trouble because = of my=20 daughter's depression and discipline problems," says Joann = Bullard, whose=20 daughter received treatment at Wuttke's clinic in the Netherlands. = "She=20 was going to have to go on medication because there just weren't = any other=20 options," Bullard says, but after 60 sessions of neurotherapy, = "there was=20 a total turnaround, and we're grateful every day." Another father, = Ben=20 Odukwe, says he visited specialists around the world after his son = Onura=20 was diagnosed with mild autism, but saw no real results until the = boy=20 entered Jacob's Ladder school and began a neurofeedback program = under=20 Wuttke's supervision. Onura's father notes that the boy's = "communication,=20 his confidence, his handwriting and dexterity all transformed," = and at age=20 16, he's entering mainstream school for the first time.
Neurofeedback doesn't cure conditions like ADHD, depression or=20 addiction. Instead, it enables people to produce the appropriate = brain=20 waves, which helps provide the attention, rest or contemplative = awareness=20 needed to deal with underlying issues. You can't manufacture these = brain=20 waves by force of will. I quickly discovered that success comes = from=20 letting go. "It's not a conscious thing," Wuttke emphasizes. You = have to=20 "surrender to the process [and] let your brain take over. You are = going to=20 deep parts of the brain and neutralizing disruptive brain waves, = and often=20 in this extreme state of quietude, key memories and patterns come = up,=20 almost like you're in a half dream state, and there's sort of a = rewiring=20 that occurs."
Wuttke likes to say our brain tends to follow certain = "scripts,"=20 patterns of thought that take us to the same place over and over.=20 Neurofeedback, as it forges new pathways in the brain, helps us = devise new=20 scripts.
Even as the technology has advanced and the success stories = have grown=20 into a rich anecdotal lore, however, neurofeedback continues to = face=20 skepticism and resistance from parts of the medical establishment. = It has=20 only begun to gain widespread acceptance as a therapeutic tool = recently.=20 "It was an up-and-coming treatment modality in the 1970s," says = Evans, who=20 has worked with the technology in academic and clinical settings. = But he=20 says neurofeedback lost scientific credibility when the early, = simple=20 equipment was adopted by and became associated with "hippies" in = pursuit=20 of "instant Zen."
Neurofeedback still has its skeptics among consumers too, = especially=20 since it remains unregulated; anyone who can afford the equipment = can rent=20 an office, hang a shingle and treat patients (see "How to choose a = neurofeedback practitioner" box on page 51). Today, however, Evans = says,=20 "We've reached a tipping point where there are hardcore science = people=20 working in neurofeedback and articles being published in good = journals,=20 and it's becoming much more difficult for mainstream medicine to = ignore.=20 No one can say any longer that there is no science behind it."
The studies that have generated the most enthusiasm are the = ones=20 suggesting that the treatment offers a drug-free alternative for = children=20 with ADHD. A review of the scientific literature in 2005, for = example,=20 noted that 75 percent of kids with ADHD treated with neurofeedback = improved=E2=80=94compared to about 70 percent treated with = drugs=E2=80=94and no study has=20 reported negative effects. A 2007 study from the University = Hospital of=20 T=C3=BCbingen in Germany showed that after a treatment regime = lasting several=20 months, children diagnosed with ADHD not only improved their = behavior and=20 increased their ability to concentrate "significantly," but added = nearly=20 10 points to their IQs=E2=80=94a result maintained six months = after the study=20 ended.
Skeptics have long argued that the benefits of neurofeedback to = children with ADHD could be attributed to the placebo = effect=E2=80=94or that the=20 children could achieve similar improvement if they spent the same = amount=20 of time working with parents on focused tasks like assembling = puzzles. By=20 this logic, it isn't the technology of neurofeedback that helps = children=20 with ADHD, but the attention and effort of parents and therapists = working=20 in concert to support learning and concentration. To find out the = truth,=20 Swiss researchers at the University of Zurich created a controlled = study=20 to isolate neurofeedback from other factors. One group of children = with=20 ADHD was given neurofeedback, while another entered an intensive=20 behavioral therapy program that used traditional techniques to = teach them=20 to focus. The results were dramatic: Children in the neurofeedback = trial=20 improved markedly on indices of attention and "metacognition" (the = awareness of one's mental processes), whereas children in the = behavioral=20 therapy group showed no significant improvement.
But there was just one caveat. The researchers noted that the = results=20 seemed "mediated by unspecific factors, such as parental support = or=20 certain properties of the therapeutic setting and content." So, = while=20 neurofeedback works, it isn't a magic bullet=E2=80=94parental = support and the=20 right clinical setting, which might include other therapies, are = key to=20 realizing its potential.
Importantly, however, that potential goes beyond the treatment = of=20 disorders. Indeed, neurofeedback seems remarkably effective at = improving=20 mental focus and concentration, even for apparently "normal" = individuals.=20 "We've just done a study training eye surgeons," says Gruzelier of = Goldsmiths College in London, "and we found that the rhythm that's = very=20 effective in reducing hyperactivity in ADHD children also helped = enhance=20 surgical performance by 20 percent." The aim was to do the surgery = as=20 quickly and accurately as possible, and neurofeedback training, = which=20 enhanced beta waves while relaxing the cerebral cortex to reduce=20 hyperactive movements, seemed to enhance surgeons' ability to = modulate=20 their performance. "Instead of just charging at the target," = Gruzelier=20 says, "they were actually slightly longer and more methodical in = their=20 preparatory time, then faster and more accurate on task."
Athletes and performers often associate such success with being = "in the=20 zone." Many athletes believe neurofeedback allows them to pause = racing=20 thoughts and live wholly in the moment of the game. Prominent = among them=20 is Chris Kamen, the center for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball = team,=20 who was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and struggled in his early = career,=20 despite his imposing seven-foot height. In 2007, he discovered=20 neurofeedback and soon improved his scoring and rebounding by more = than 50=20 percent. As important, Kamen says, his life off the court improved = as he=20 stopped making impulsive decisions.
Kamen not only attributed the success to neurofeedback, but = became a=20 spokesperson for Hope139, a Michigan company dedicated to bringing = neurofeedback technology into schools and businesses to improve=20 performance. Neurofeedback has gained such a lustrous reputation = that the=20 Italian professional soccer team A.C. Milan has created a = glassed-in "mind=20 room," where the team gathers for mental tune-ups. In the mind = room,=20 players watch their brain waves play out across a computer screen = while a=20 team of sports psychologists monitors their progress.
Gruzelier emphasizes that neurofeedback's performance-enhancing = results=20 go beyond relaxation or the relief of anxiety=E2=80=94effects that = might be=20 achieved with sedatives or more conventional relaxation = techniques. "We've=20 compared this to other techniques that have reduced anxiety but = have not=20 enhanced performance in the same way," says Gruzelier, citing his = studies=20 of professional dancers and musicians who did neurofeedback = training to=20 quiet the brain's fast-wave activity and produce more slow theta = waves.=20 These studies showed remarkable improvements "not only in = artistry, but=20 communication, the way people expressed themselves, the presence = they have=20 on stage."
Elite students at the Royal College of Music in London improved = their=20 performance an average 17 percent, according to a panel of = independent=20 judges, and competitive ballroom dancers achieved "professionally=20 significant" improvement in just five weeks. Moreover, Gruzelier = notes his=20 recent research hasn't only replicated these results, but shown = they=20 extend to novice performers. "There are dramatic improvements," he = says.=20 "Breath and pitch improve. Where they didn't sing in tune to begin = with,=20 they did afterwards."
Gruzelier attributes such results to the technology's ability = to allow=20 slow waves to travel farther, uninterrupted, across the brain. = That=20 facilitates interaction between areas of the brain that don't = typically=20 connect, he says. Normally, such a process is disrupted by the = fast waves=20 that characterize our waking life=E2=80=93a kind of mental static. = "It's been=20 known for centuries that the hypnagogic experience, the border = between=20 waking and sleeping, is the source of remarkable insights," = Gruzelier=20 says.
Neurofeedback's apparent ability to bring those insights into = the=20 light, however, is what seems remarkable, especially since we = still don't=20 understand key factors about how it works=E2=80=94how, for = example, people control=20 their own brain waves. "It's very much a black box," explains John = Kounios, a professor of psychology at Drexel University in=20 Pennsylvania.
Kounios conducted a double-blind study of elderly subjects that = showed=20 neurofeedback may help improve cognitive processing speed and = "executive=20 function," the mental operations that help us plan and organize = our lives,=20 but he admits the cognitive process underlying neurofeedback is = still=20 something of a mystery. "Although neurofeedback has been around = for 40=20 years, we still don't have the slightest clue as to how people do = this,"=20 Kounios says. "It's not as if there aren't any good theories. = There are=20 just no theories, not even bad ones=E2=80=93just the observation = that this is=20 something animals and humans can do."
That sometimes makes for surprising results, as in the case of = Kounios'=20 study, which increased the production of alpha waves in the = frontal lobes=20 of elderly people. The frontal lobe often deteriorates as people = age,=20 which makes problem-solving, abstract reasoning and all kinds of = planning=20 more difficult. And so, as Kounios' subjects boosted their alpha = activity=20 in this region of the brain, they demonstrated an improved ability = to=20 respond when presented with new information and to make quick = decisions in=20 cognitive tests. Such results are preliminary but exciting. = Kounios=20 emphasizes that the field needs funding for large-scale studies = that can=20 establish the basic science of neurofeedback and determine which = training=20 protocols are most effective, "but there's no question in my mind = that=20 this has significant potential and the phenomena are real."
This is a common refrain among researchers and practitioners. = "It=20 works," agrees Evans. "Almost anybody can get the equipment and = get 60=20 percent good results. The question is, what are those people doing = who get=20 90 percent? Some people give vitamins along with their treatment; = others=20 pray with clients or use counseling. In many respects, these = people fire a=20 shotgun and we don't know which pellets hit."
That's why Wuttke is creating an institution that will train a = core=20 group of people who can replicate his results and methods. His = mission is=20 to establish a network of neurofeedback clinics and training = facilities in=20 Europe through his work with the LifeWorks Foundation.
"One of the biggest risks right now is that this becomes a = novelty,=20 where people can buy some software and hook into it at home and = play a=20 game," says Wuttke. "That's going to happen, but it takes away = from the=20 profound clinical applications, which have to be part of a more=20 comprehensive approach."
Wyatt agrees. "For most patients, whether they're suffering = from=20 depression or post-traumatic stress syndrome, I don't believe that = neurofeedback offers a complete solution any more than I believe a = doctor=20 can give you a drug that offers a complete solution. Neurofeedback = can=20 calm the brain down, but then you still often have to deal with = underlying=20 issues."
The desire to get at those underlying issues is why Wuttke, an = ordained=20 non-denominational minister, keeps coming back to the notion of = spiritual=20 growth. "When you incorporate all these things and straighten out = the=20 brain, the ultimate goal is for people's spiritual awareness to = start=20 manifesting itself," he says. Indeed, recent studies of Tibetan = Buddhist=20 monks by Richard Davidson, director of the Lab for Affective = Neuroscience=20 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have shown links between=20 spirituality and the processes encouraged by neurofeedback. In = particular,=20 monks who are experts in meditation seem capable of generating=20 extraordinary levels of gamma waves as they achieve a state = typically=20 associated with "transcendence."
From a materialist perspective, the key seems to be = neurofeedback's=20 ability to help us connect memories and sense perceptions that = have been=20 laid down in disparate regions of the brain=E2=80=94to achieve the = feeling of=20 unified consciousness by unifying the brain's electrical impulses. = But if=20 neurofeedback can foster and even enhance such a state, this begs = the=20 question of whether the phenomena we typically describe in terms = of=20 "spirituality" are just physical by-products of a material = mind.
Wuttke turns such skepticism on its head. "The way I look at = it," he=20 says, "we may be able to map an experience through physiology, = whether it=20 is a profound sense of peace or a religious sense, but that = doesn't mean=20 the material brain is the source of those experiences." Instead, = he sees=20 the brain as "a transformer, something that conducts energy = between=20 metaphysical and physical reality." He admits neurofeedback can't=20 necessarily help any Joe off the street achieve the transcendence = of a=20 Tibetan yogi, but adds, "It has been my experience that everybody = is=20 enlightened; they just don't know it."
After my first session of neurofeedback therapy, there's little = chance=20 I'll be confused with one of the enlightened=E2=80=94something my = wife readily=20 confirms. But as I watched the red bug move with increasing = dexterity=20 about the screen, it certainly felt empowering to see how much = control we=20 can exert over our minds, moods and selves. Over the next few = weeks, it's=20 a sensation I'll recall during moments of stress, like the long = nights=20 with my ever-wakeful children. Just this recollection seems to = have some=20 tangible effect, slowing the quickening pulse and quieting the = static I've=20 seen in the graphic representations of my brain waves. As Wuttke = would=20 say, we can sometimes be locked into old scripts, reacting to our = world in=20 ways we don't understand or seem to control. Neurofeedback's = potential is=20 so inspiring, in part, because it can help us rescript our brains = and,=20 thus, rewrite our lives.
Blaine Greteman, who trains the brains of=20 undergraduates as a professor at Oklahoma State University, wrote = about=20 micro power generation in the September 2008 = issue.
=C2=A9 Ode = Magazine USA, Inc. and=20 Ode Luxembourg 2008 (further information in Privacy &=20 Copyright)