Is neurofeedback helpful for those with traumatic brain injuries and post-concussive syndrome? How does the QEEG brain mapping procedure help?

Neurofeedback’s Impact on Traumatic Brain Injury

For more information about Neurofeedback, go to http://www.NeurofeedbackBook.com Dr. Clare Albright is a psychologist (CA License PSY11660) and a Neurofeedback practitioner and can be reached at (949)454-0996

Approximately five million people in the United States live with some type of disability resulting from traumatic brain injury, or TBI. Sadly, it is reported that an additional 1.5 million annually will experience some degree of TBI. Of those, about 80,000 end up on long-term disability and 50,000 die. Most brain injuries are directly related to car accidents, although serious falls are also a potential risk. Because of these vast numbers, experts estimate that some $49 billion are spent every year for treatment.

Although the consequences of traumatic brain injury would depend on the situation and person, the most common effects involve psychological and cognitive functioning. This means that the person’s ability to reason, solve problems, or concentrate become challenged. Along with these, other problems develop, including depression, fatigue, irritation, and lack of motivation, which is understandable. Not only has the life of the person with TBI been disrupted, but family members and friends are also affected.

Because traumatic brain injury is a serious and growing problem, new studies are continually being conducted to try to gain a better understanding of how the brain is impacted, as well as what new treatments or therapies are available to help. One that has gained serious focus is neurofeedback, specifically the QEEG, which stands for Quantitative Electroencephalogram. QEEG is a diagnostic tool that has taken the traditional EEG signal and digitized it. Therefore, rather than having the findings of the assessment being printed on paper, information is captured electronically and saved where it can then be analyzed via computer.

The benefit of using QEEG specifically for traumatic brain injury is that the patient’s brainwaves can be replicated at a future date and then reviewed but also compared to a database of other people without brain injury to determine weaknesses or areas of the brain that are not responding or processing normally. This information is valuable for neurofeedback therapists in that they can then zero in on the type of training the patient needs so the connection between mind and body can be reestablished.

To accomplish this, neurofeedback therapists use two different types of QEEG measures. First, brain activity from many different locations on the scalp that have had electrodes applied would be looked at to determine the brainwave activity for each location according to a particular frequency. Second, variables would be analyzed, to understand connectivity patterns of the brain between the locations on the scalp. This looks at what is known as the brain’s white matter, or activity between myelinated fibers that connect different parts of the brain.

All of the values that are identified using the QEEG can help the therapist provide the best training so the patient ultimately receives the best therapy and results. During testing, the patient would be asked to focus on specific tasks with the eyes closed, which enhances the signal produced by Neurofeedback QEEG. Typically, this type of testing and retesting might occur over a seven-day period, which increases level of accuracy.

Taking information from the strategically placed electrodes on the scalp, information, or brainwave activity is sent to the neurofeedback machine. Then, with a software interface, selected feedback is provided to the patient using visual or audio signals. These signals are used to help the patient recognize activity in the brain to avoid and when done, responses from the body would improve.

Neurofeedback can be a long process, especially when it comes to therapy for people with a traumatic brain injury, but in time and with hard work, the brain may be supported so that the mind – body connection is retrained positively. Neurofeedback therapy is not complicated, however, and it appears to have had great success for helping people with traumatic brain injury. With time, the individual may regain the ability to read, concentrate, follow through on tasks, and prevent or control symptoms that often go along with TBI such as headaches, pain, and depression.

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