EEG Neurofeedback

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A few things you can check:

- where they trained / learned
- what certifications they have (BCIA, ISNR, AAPB, etc.)
- what experience they have in general and/or with epilepsy patients (most won't have much I think)
 
Thank you Bernard...did do some real research before we choose the practice and my son felt @ home and really, really likes his therapist. I know they are not all certified and pretty sure my Sons therapist is not, but the practice itself is certified, ‘one of’ has the credentials…but my son is booking measurable results as far as he is concerned…so maybe I am being to skeptical?
 
If you interact with the practitioner much, you should get a good sense of whether or not they know what they are doing. Can they explain the process to you? The protocol they are following? etc. If you are seeing positive results, I'd say that's a pretty strong indicator.
 
Robin, How do I find one that the Othmer's have trained?

I live in CA, as well. My main concern as been the different credentials that people have. There are 2 in Bakersfield, that is the closest. When I saw that they had different credentials, that is when I decided not to try NFT.
 
Re: Certifications, etc.

Just by way of information, ISNR and AAPB don't offer certifications in neurofeedback. Both organizations point you to BCIA, which is essentially the centralized, worldwide board certification program for biofeedback, neurofeedback, and pelvic muscle dysfunction biofeedback. As you'll find on the BCIA website, the APA recognizes BCIA certification as proficiency and ISNR, AAPB, and BFE all consider it to be adequate standards for training. That said, you'll find people who are more involved in different professional societies and will have the status of fellow, senior fellow, diplomate, etc., commonly based on their level of involvement, length of time as a member, and generally recognized expertise.

You'll not normally find someone with any kind of a degree in biofeedback specifically (and at this point there's not a specific degree requirement for BCIA certification), but their training will come from two or three places: experience as a student, experience with certain mentors (part of the BCIA cert process), and experience working with/for others in a professional setting.

I'm currently in the middle of the cert process so I've spent a considerable amount of time looking into the requirements and experience involved.

There is also a QEEG certification board (google "QEEG certification board"), which sets standards for QEEG training. I haven't seen a lot of information on QEEG in this thread (though I admit I haven't read it all), but my opinion is that simply doing neurofeedback without an initial QEEG (even a basic one) is, to use an epilepsy analog, like picking a treatment without really knowing what kind of epilepsy someone has. The QEEG cert is less common, but you should still look for a provider that does it (or at least sends the data to someone qualified to give an interpretation) as part of the treatment process. It's an objective way to measure improvement, as is reduction in seizures, but it gives a picture of activity that you don't get in a seizure count.

- Jeremy
 
Thank you Robin, there is one close by where I live.

jcroper, would you please list the initials and what words they mean?

I have never heard of any of them. That does not mean that they haven't been brought up, though.
 
Neurofeedback - The New Wave of Medical Treatment...

I am glad to see so much interest in neurofeedback here; I see I am not alone here. Unfortunately, drugs are the standard operating procedure accepted by AMA. There is certainly a monetary motive here - think of all the money drug compainies are making with millions of persons with seizures taking those drugs all their lives! There's more money in this than heroin - and it's all perfectly legal! So, of course, the drug companies are going to do everything they can to discredit this approach and halt funding.

My own MD is open-minded about this approach, but she wants me to keep taking the drugs. Thing is, you probably have to find 'virgins' for the experimentation. Once you're on the drugs, the withdrawal could cause lots of dangerous seizures and it can be fatal to quit taking them. This is actually addiction, though they probably call it "acclimation" or something.

I believe we have more control over our minds and bodies than AMA's assumption we are helpless victims at the mercy of whatever MDs want to do to them (and make money in the process). All of this is a major shaking up of common assumptions.
 
Received via email:
I am pleased to announce the publication of the IEEE Recommended Practice for Neurofeedback Systems. This project was initiated by ISNR and included the collective effort of several other organizations. ISNR would like to ackowledge Tom Collura (BrainMaster Technologies, Inc.) as Chair of the IEEE Committee for leading this important initiative, and a special thank you to Nancy Wigton for her representation of ISNR in the process.

This new standard is comprised of detailed requirements for the documentation of neurofeedback instruments and software to provide quality and availability of information to users. You may obtain a copy of the standard here via the IEEE website:

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/search/searchresult.jsp?newsearch=true&queryText=6228483&x=0&y=0
Click to expand...
 
Any idea on how to train the brain in case you can barely see something flawed?. I just know that during eye closure my brain patterns may become abnormal but with open eyes usually they are normal even on qeeg.

Now I started neaurofeedback but the therapists actually don't have high hopes for me because it's Juveniale myoclonic epilepsy with no origin rather than just some epilepsy which originates from specific part in the brain.
 
Myoclonic seizures would tend to show up on the QEEG -- did yours? Even without, that your therapists should still have some idea of which brainwaves they are trying to suppress, and which they are trying to encourage through the training. I hope you do get good results -- it can take at least 20 sessions, though, so you may need to be patient.
 
Nakamova said:
Myoclonic seizures would tend to show up on the QEEG -- did yours? Even without, that your therapists should still have some idea of which brainwaves they are trying to suppress, and which they are trying to encourage through the training. I hope you do get good results -- it can take at least 20 sessions, though, so you may need to be patient.
Click to expand...

That's the thing, I don't just get them, they cab happen only by reflex. My qeeg was almost perfect, they did find something they said and I quote, "it showes a muscle movement but there are no muscles there", as I understood it relates to a spot that some epileptic patients get motor seziures from. Also my bettas are pretty high and since my auras invlove anxiety one of the practitioners suggested lowering the bettas because they are related to anxiety but for now we will try to work on the first part.

btw I got a game and been told that the balls should touch each other.
Is there a way that the dopamax will interferer with my own will and thoughts and will somehow disrupt my attempts at succeeding?
 
Since the Topomax is suppressing the abnormal brainwaves that you want to target, then that's probably why nothing is showing up in the QEEG. If you were on no meds, then the abnormal brainwaves might be easier to see and to "fix". Of course, then you would run the risk of seizing more.

Let us know how it goes.
 
I've brought this up in another thread about gaming controllers, but has anyone checked out the Emotiv EPOC? It seems to be relatively sophisticated compared to other "home neurofeedback" devices which usually only have a few sensors at most. This has 16 electrodes. Its main use now is active control of computer without touching keyboard or using mouse. I see no reason why it could not play back our brainwaves to achieve greater control.

There are two versions of this: The EPOC is for active control. The EEG is for our own purposes to looks at brainwaves. https://www.emotiv.com/eeg/features.php?phrase_id=586444
 
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The EPOC version is physically exactly the same as the EEG, just it's firmware is crippled to disable access to the 'RAW' format data.

Whilst the EPOC costs $299, the EEG version can also only be purchased with an SDK the cheapest of which makes it $750.

There has been a fair bit of backlash from consumers such as ourselves wishing to use the Emotiv device for medical purposes. Separate software-only licenses ($99) must also be purchased per extra platform of usage.

Given that their next generation of device- the Insight- is scheduled for release this summer it may be prudent to wait a while.

Apparently Emotiv are responding to feedback (lol) and will provide a similarly priced consumer medical unit as the new game controller version- though whether that is just PR is anyone's guess..
 
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Not sure whether the Insight would work perfectly well for our purposes or not. My understanding the "hairnet" version EPOC is a bit of a pain to put on. The EEG is probably far more sophisticated with 16 electrodes. The Insight would have 5. But maybe we better wait and see reviews from people OUTSIDE of Emotiv. I've managed to find a few from gamers who don't seem quite as impressed as Emotiv publicity. But at least it's coming into our price range. I'm keeping an eye on it though.
 
It is a bit of a PITA if various web reviews are to be believed- and I agree that the claim to be producing a medical version of the Insight is highly dubious given the number of electrodes.

Mind you, if you'd have told me they'd be doing a wireless, completely dry version so soon after the prototype I'd have been dubious about that too lol But tech always zoooms on!!

The main reason I suggest waiting to purchase is simply to see if there's a price-drop for the previous gen devices.

I will be buying an Insight this year, but just for developing on (unless it really can be used for our purposes at the standard price). If they could just knock out the EEG at the standard price instead of forcing an SDK licence along with it, then I think that would be perfect :)

It has been difficult getting unbiased info about these devices though. If you care to peruse a few of the papers written using the EEG, a lot of them do combine it with the more old-school type of gel-based cap we're used to- which is slightly worrying..

We shall see though. Even if it doesn't help my E, I'll still be having fun writing apps to control devices with my mind.... MYYYY MIIIIIIIIINDDD!!!! :P
 
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SlimBlue: Like you, I am interested in EEG feedback for other reasons than just seizure control. I am interested in meditation and altered states. The idea of mind control is fascinating. I'd like to see what you come up with.
 
Lol it's been said of me in the past I also used to like medication and altered states :P

Sorry to be flippant, I couldn't resist that joke, but I know what you mean :D

It truly is amazing, BCI has come on in leaps and bounds recently. All I need now is some proper VR kit, a robot with decent AI and a flying car to make my childhood dreams complete :)

I realise the market is still tiny atm, but I'm hoping that within a year it will be worthwhile having an extra sub-forum on here to discuss/share development info/apps...

Keep in touch John (friend if you want) and we can help bring the latest info back to CWE, and even work on some apps together.
 
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