Neurofeedback has been receiving a lot of attention in the medical world, thanks to its effectiveness in treating a variety of psychiatric disorders. And, the positive effects of neurofeedback is supported by plenty of evidence that back up the claims.

This is a type of feedback that uses movies, video games, computers, and other tools to help individuals regulate their brainwaves. It is a scientific method that directs training of the brain function in a way that the brain learns to function more efficiently. This is a gradual learning process, wherein, the brain is rewarded for changing its own activity to more appropriate patterns. It is alternatively also known as EEG Biofeedback, as it is based on electrical brain activity or the electroencephalogram.

Neurofeedback is used by psychiatrists to address problems of brain disregulations, which include the entire anxiety and depression spectrum, attention deficit, behavioral, and sleep disorders, headaches, migraines, and emotional disturbances. Even organic brain conditions like seizures, autism, and cerebral palsy can be effectively treated using neurofeedback.

Here are a list of conditions that neurofeedback is used to treat successfully.

Attention Deficit

People with ADD or ADHD display a variety of symptoms like being distracted, impulsive, and inattentive. This is not a psychological problem, but related to the brain. A person with ADD or ADHD experiences too much rapid activity in some regions of their brain that leads to problems like acting aggressively or impulsively and feeling anxious. Their brain races so fast that it is nearly impossible for them to sit still, and the fast mental pace causes them to move ahead, missing out on the crucial details. Neurofeedback allows people to work directly on the problem areas in the brain by training it to become calmer, more focused, and less impulsive.

Anxiety

Anxiety is the human body’s response to stress, which can stem from psychological, physical, or environmental sources. Once the brain gets locked in the pattern of anxiety, it becomes a very difficult cycle to break. Learning how to modulate or turn off chronic stress responses can be a life changing solution for them. Neurofeedback provides the psychological assistance that helps people change their responses to stress. The brain training teaches them to develop skills to reduce or eliminate anxiety from their lives.

Autism and Asperger

Neurofeedback training has known to be very effective in treating thousands of children suffering from Asperger syndrome to full-blown autism. Even research studies have been done to support these claims. Parents of autistic children who have undergone neurofeedback training report that their children are calmer, manage emotions better, and don’t get overwhelmed easily. As neurofeedback uses biofeedback technology to establish healthier brain patterns, it is very effective in stabilizing and regulating the brain function. By facilitating improvement in areas of abnormal connectivity and improving the brain functions, symptoms are reduced and the patient experiences positive outcomes.

Bipolar Disorder

Patients suffering from bipolar disorder suffer from extreme mood swings, anger, and inability to focus. Bipolar patients are prescribed strong medications which often lead to complicated side effects. Some of the dangerous side effects include liver toxicity, weight gain, rashes, among others. In order to counter these side effects, they are given more medications, which causes a vicious cycle, as patients start developing tolerance for the medications, the dosage is increased. However, brain training with neurofeedback teaches the brain to create healthier patterns and maintain a more consistent state. As the patient learns self-regulation, they achieve better mood stabilization. It is known to reduce their susceptibility to mood swings, increased ability to function which makes them less reactive and increases their ability to respond and act appropriately.

Depression

People who suffer from depression know how fatal it can be, as it robs them of all joys of life as they sink into despair, loneliness, and overwhelming sadness. Traditionally medications and various therapies have been used to treat depression, both of which have significant side effects. Medications do not teach the brain to develop healthy patterns. Neurofeedback, on the other hand, can help restore healthier brain patterns and eliminate depression by teaching the brain to better modulate itself. It also reduces their dependence on prescribed medications. Neurofeedback training goes to the root of the problem, altering the brain patterns affiliated with depression, thus bringing lasting brain changes.

Learning Disabilities

The traditional methods used to treat learning disabilities are intended to help the person compensate for or work around their learning difficulties. But, neurofeedback training focuses on improving learning skills by training the areas of the brain relevant to learning and execution skills like math, reading, auditory, and visual processing. Neurofeedback improves the coordination and communication between different areas of the brain involved in the learning process. With practice, the brain learns to make consistent healthier patterns, which results in improved ability to learn, which is long lasting.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious type of anxiety caused by a series of extremely stressful events. Studies have shown PTSD is a disorder of the brain, a severe stress response which leads to numerous disruptive symptoms. The challenge here is to teach the brain to turn off the stress response, which is achieved through neurofeedback training. The specific area of the brain affected by PTSD is targeted and trained to produce healthier patterns. With sufficient training, the PTSD patient can maintain a calm state on his or her own.

Seizures

Seizures reflect a brain that has lost stability temporarily. Seizures occur on account of numerous conditions, and negatively affects the quality of life. Neurofeedback training teaches patients to regulate and stabilize their brains and achieve lasting results. The brain’s timing is the electrical response that goes awry when the person suffers from seizures. Neurofeedback helps stabilize the timing in the brain. It helps the brain strengthen its inter-connectivity and timing, thus, reducing or even altogether eliminating many brain related problems. In more complicated situations, people benefit from the periodic brain maintenance sessions as it keeps their brains operating smoothly.

Neurofeedback is the quickest and most effective way to help patients with various brain disorders, and gives lasting results. It improves quality of life as it weans patients off their medications, and teaches the brain to create healthier patterns consistently. A calmer brain can be easily controlled. The length of treatment depends on the individual. However, this is a painless and non-invasive method that uses advanced medical research in bringing long-lasting solutions.