A new tool for psychological well-being: neuromodulation
THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Neuroscience has demonstrated that at the foundation of all our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors lies communication between neurons within our brain.
Brain rhythms continuously change based on what we are doing and feeling. Our brain profile and our daily experience of the world are inseparable.
Research has identified brainwave patterns associated with all types of emotional and neurological conditions.
Hyperactivation of certain brain areas is linked to anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, nightmares, hypervigilance, impulsive behavior, anger/aggression, agitated depression, and chronic nerve pain. Conversely, hypoactivation of specific brain areas is correlated with certain types of depression, attention deficits, chronic pain, and insomnia.
BRAIN MAP–THE QEEG
Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) is a computerized analysis of brainwave localization that allows detection of activation/inhibition in different brain regions. The procedure involves applying an elastic cap with 19 sensors to the scalp; it is a recording and therefore has no side effects and is painless.
Several minutes of activity are recorded with eyes open, eyes closed, and during tasks.
This data is compared with one or more age-based normative databases and then processed to create two-dimensional maps that clearly show which areas are particularly active, which appear dominated by slow rhythms, and how various brain areas communicate with each other.
This detection allows observation of the subject’s specific brain functioning patterns and determination of whether and how brainwave patterns underlie a wide range of symptoms and/or pathologies.
The Brain map is therefore a fundamental preliminary operation to guide the choice of training protocols and can be repeated during treatment to assess its effectiveness.
NEUROFEEDBACK
Neurofeedback, also known as EEG Biofeedback, is a non-invasive and painless methodology based on certain parameters derived from brain electrical activity, and is founded on synaptic plasticity, that is, the brain’s biological capacity to modify and reorganize neural connections based on learning and experience.
As the word indicates, Neurofeedback provides “return” information (feedback) on brain activation through monitoring instruments (computer and sensors). The trainer applies electrodes to the person’s scalp, which function to detect the underlying brain activity and transmit it directly to the computer, which, after amplifying and converting it into easily understandable acoustic and visual signals, displays it on the screen.
In this way, the person sees their brain activity in real time, directly on the computer.
The selected parameters will be displayed on the screen in the form of multimedia content that functions and animates only if the subject maintains the state of relaxation, attention, or concentration above the threshold established by the trainer based on the previously performed analysis (QEEG).
This form of training allows the subject to modify their EEG activity in the desired direction, which will correspond to achieving symptomatic, cognitive, and/or behavioral modifications that are objectively detectable and stable over time.
Neurofeedback protocols are aimed at rebalancing brain activation; the treatment is specifically modeled on individual characteristics, a peculiarity that makes it a tool usable in a wide range of situations. The impressive body of research conducted that supports the validity of this technique is now also recognized at an institutional level. Authors have concluded that Neurofeedback can be considered an evidence-based treatment for various pathologies as well as for maximizing the resources that our brain possesses.
Finally, it is important to emphasize that just as medications target the brain’s chemical domain, neurofeedback intervenes in the electrical domain, characterizing itself as a valid alternative to pharmacological treatment.
In this sense, neurofeedback can be preparatory to psychotherapeutic treatment or parallel to it: this clinical choice must be “constructed” based on a careful diagnosis of patients who come for consultation.
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