A Symphony in the Brain

Author: Jim Robbins
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
ISBN: 0802191533
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 259

Book Description
A “fascinating overview” of neurofeedback and its potential benefits for treating depression, autism, epilepsy, and other conditions (Discover). Since A Symphony in the Brain was first published, the scientific understanding of our bodies, brains, and minds has taken remarkable leaps. From neurofeedback with functional magnetic resonance imaging equipment, to the use of radio waves, to biofeedback of the heart and breath and coverage of biofeedback by health insurance plans, this expanded and updated edition of the groundbreaking book traces the fascinating untold story of the development of biofeedback. Discovered by a small corps of research scientists, this alternative treatment allows a patient to see real-time measurements of their bodily processes. Its advocates claim biofeedback can treat epilepsy, autism, attention deficit disorder, addictions, and depression with no drugs or side effects; bring patients out of vegetative states; and even improve golf scores or an opera singer’s voice. But biofeedback has faced battles for acceptance in the conservative medical world despite positive signs that it could revolutionize the way a diverse range of medical and psychological problems are treated. Offering case studies, accessible scientific explanations, and dramatic personal accounts, this book explores the possibilities for the future of our health. “Robbins details the fascinating medical history of the therapy, tracing it back to French physician Paul Broca’s discovery of the region in the brain where speech originates. At the heart of this riveting story are the people whose lives have been transformed by neurofeedback, from the doctors and psychologists who employ it to the patients who have undergone treatment.” —Publishers Weekly

Decade of the Brain: Poems

Author: Janine Joseph
Publisher: Alice James Books
ISBN: 1948579391
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 131

Book Description
In the deeply personal Decade of the Brain, Janine Joseph writes of a newly-naturalized American citizen who suffers from post-concussive memory loss after a major auto accident. The collection is an odyssey of what it means to recover—physically and mentally—in the aftermath of trauma and traumatic brain injury, charting when “before” crosses into “after.” Through connected poems, buckling and expansive syntax, ekphrasis, and conjoined poetic forms, Decade of the Brain remembers and misremembers hospital visits, violence and bodily injury, intimate memories, immigration status, family members, and the self. After the accident I turned out all of the lights in the room while I watched, concussed, from the mirror. I edged like a fever with nothing on the tip of my tongue.

ADD

Author: Mark Steinberg
Publisher: Author's Choice Publishing
ISBN: 9781931741378
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
ADD: The 20-Hour Solution explains how EEG biofeedback (neurofeedback) addresses the underlying problem and characteristics of ADD and ADHD, so that symptoms resolve and tangible improvement results. This book describes the method by which we can improve the brain's ability to pay attention and regulate its behavior. It explains the self-healing capacities of the human brain and how it can learn or re-learn the self-regulatory mechanisms that are basic to its normal design and function. This book shows: .What ADD really is and how the brain maintains self-regulation.How and why EEG biofeedback (neurofeedback) helps people with ADD.What parents can do to get their child on-track to healthy adjustment and development.How to talk to doctors, therapists, teachers, and others about ADD.Good assessment procedures and how they contribute to effective treatment.How self-control, personal choice, and responsibility for one's behavior relate to scientific principles of brain functioning.How to find appropriate resources and get started with neurotherapyThe book also lists specific up-to-date resources on where to find information on EEG neurofeedback and how to find providers throughout the world

Biofeedback for the Brain

Author: Paul G. Swingle
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813542871
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 233

Book Description
Neurofeedback is a cutting-edge, drug-free therapeutic technique used by over a thousand licensed therapists in North America to treat a range of conditions from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders to epilepsy, stroke, anxiety, migraine, and depression. First popularized in the 1970s, this naturalistic method is based on the idea that we can control our brain activity and that, through training, the brain can learn to modify its own electrical patterns for more efficient processing or to overcome various states of dysfunction. In Biofeedback for the Brain, Dr. Paul G. Swingle describes in clear and coherent language how these procedures work. With numerous actual case examples, readers follow the progress of clients from the initial "brain map" that shows the location and severity of the neurological abnormalities to the various stages of treatment. Conditions often considered untreatable by conventional health practitioners respond positively to neurotherapeutic treatment and Swingle describes many of these remarkable recoveries. Other chapters describe the use of neurotherapy for a variety of surprising purposes, including performance training for elite athletes, of which the most famous example is the Italian soccer team who considered the technique to be their "secret weapon" in attaining a World Cup victory. Despite wide-ranging success stories and the endorsement of the American Psychological Association, many health care practitioners remain skeptical of neurofeedback and the procedures are still not well-known by the public or conventional health care providers. This book provides a thorough, definitive, and highly readable presentation of this remarkable health care alternative that offers millions of individuals a chance for healing.

Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Developmental Trauma: Calming the Fear-Driven Brain

Author: Sebern F. Fisher
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393707865
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Book Description
Working with the circuitry of the brain to restore emotional health and well-being. Neurofeedback, a type of "brain training" that allows us to see and change the patterns of our brain, has existed for over 40 years with applications as wide-ranging as the treatment of epilepsy, migraines, and chronic pain to performance enhancement in sports. Today, leading brain researchers and clinicians, interested in what the brain can tell us about mental health and well being, are also taking notice. Indeed, the brain's circuitry—its very frequencies and rhythmic oscillations—reveals much about its role in our emotional stability and resilience. Neurofeedback allows clinicians to guide their, clients as they learn to transform brain-wave patterns, providing a new window into how we view and treat mental illness. In this cutting-edge book, experienced clinician Sebern Fisher keenly demonstrates neurofeedback’s profound ability to help treat one of the most intractable mental health concerns of our time: severe childhood abuse, neglect, or abandonment, otherwise known as developmental trauma. When an attachment rupture occurs between a child and her or his primary caregiver, a tangle of complicated symptoms can set in: severe emotional dysregulation, chronic dissociation, self-destructive behaviors, social isolation, rage, and fear. Until now, few reliable therapies existed to combat developmental trauma. But as the author so eloquently presents in this book, by focusing on a client's brain-wave patterns and "training" them to operate at different frequencies, the rhythms of the brain, body, and mind are normalized, attention stabilizes, fear subsides, and, with persistent, dedicated training, regulation sets in. A mix of fundamental theory and nuts-and-bolts practice, the book delivers a carefully articulated and accessible look at the mind and brain in developmental trauma, what a “trauma identity” looks like, and how neurofeedback can be used to retrain the brain, thereby fostering a healthier, more stable state of mind. Essential clinical skills are also fully covered, including how to introduce the idea of neurofeedback to clients, how to combine it with traditional psychotherapy, and how to perform assessments. In his foreword to the book, internationally recognized trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk, MD, praises Fisher as “an immensely experienced neurofeedback practitioner [and] the right person to teach us how to integrate it into clinical practice.” Filled with illuminating client stories, powerful clinical insights, and plenty of clinical "how to," she accomplishes just that, offering readers a compelling look at exactly how this innovative model can be used to engage the brain to find peace and to heal.

Getting Started with Neurofeedback

Author: John N. Demos
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393075532
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
What is neurofeedback? Neurofeedback is founded upon computer technology joined with auxiliary equipment that can measure the metabolic activity of the cerebral cortex. Neurofeedback training combines the principles of complementary medicine with the power of electronics. It is a comprehensive system that promotes growth change at the cellular level of the brain and empowers the client to use his or her mind as a tool for personal healing.Until now, there has not been a single comprehensive yet easy-to-understand guide for clinicians interested in adding neurotherapy to their practice. Getting Started with Neurofeedback is a step-by-step guide for professional health care providers who wish to begin with neurotherapy, as well as experienced clinicians who are looking for a concise treatment guide.This book answers essential questions such as: How does neurotherapy work?, What is the rationale for treatment? When is neurotherapy the treatment of choice? Why should I add it to my already existing healthcare practice? The author also answers questions important to establishing a successful practice such as: What kind of training should clinicians get? What kind of equipment should clinicians buy? How can clinicians add neurofeedback to their existing practice?The first part of the book introduces the reader to the world of neurofeedback, its history and scientific basis. Case studies help clinicians apply what they are learning to their existing practice. Demos takes the mystery out of the assessment process and charts and examples of topographical brain maps (in full color) serve as teaching aids. Later in the book, advanced techniques are explained and demonstrated by additional case studies. The reader is shown how to use biofeedback for the body to augment neurofeedback training as well as being taught to work with the body and acquire a basic knowledge of complementary medicine.The book concludes by offering clinicians practical suggestions on marketing their expanded practice, purchasing equipment, finding appropriate training and supervision, and keeping up with the ever-growing profession of neurofeedback. Research and theory unite to demonstrate the clinical underpinnings for this exciting new modality. Some images in the ebook are not displayed owing to permissions issues.

Connectome

Author: Sebastian Seung
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547508174
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 389

Book Description
“Accessible, witty . . . an important new researcher, philosopher and popularizer of brain science . . . on par with cosmology’s Brian Greene and the late Carl Sagan” (The Plain Dealer). One of the Wall Street Journal’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Year and a Publishers Weekly “Top Ten in Science” Title Every person is unique, but science has struggled to pinpoint where, precisely, that uniqueness resides. Our genome may determine our eye color and even aspects of our character. But our friendships, failures, and passions also shape who we are. The question is: How? Sebastian Seung is at the forefront of a revolution in neuroscience. He believes that our identity lies not in our genes, but in the connections between our brain cells—our particular wiring. Seung and a dedicated group of researchers are leading the effort to map these connections, neuron by neuron, synapse by synapse. It’s a monumental effort, but if they succeed, they will uncover the basis of personality, identity, intelligence, memory, and perhaps disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Connectome is a mind-bending adventure story offering a daring scientific and technological vision for understanding what makes us who we are, as individuals and as a species. “This is complicated stuff, and it is a testament to Dr. Seung’s remarkable clarity of exposition that the reader is swept along with his enthusiasm, as he moves from the basics of neuroscience out to the farthest regions of the hypothetical, sketching out a spectacularly illustrated giant map of the universe of man.” —TheNew York Times “An elegant primer on what’s known about how the brain is organized and how it grows, wires its neurons, perceives its environment, modifies or repairs itself, and stores information. Seung is a clear, lively writer who chooses vivid examples.” —TheWashington Post

Music, Language, and the Brain

Author: Aniruddh D. Patel
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019989017X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 526

Book Description
In the first comprehensive study of the relationship between music and language from the standpoint of cognitive neuroscience, Aniruddh D. Patel challenges the widespread belief that music and language are processed independently. Since Plato's time, the relationship between music and language has attracted interest and debate from a wide range of thinkers. Recently, scientific research on this topic has been growing rapidly, as scholars from diverse disciplines, including linguistics, cognitive science, music cognition, and neuroscience are drawn to the music-language interface as one way to explore the extent to which different mental abilities are processed by separate brain mechanisms. Accordingly, the relevant data and theories have been spread across a range of disciplines. This volume provides the first synthesis, arguing that music and language share deep and critical connections, and that comparative research provides a powerful way to study the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying these uniquely human abilities. Winner of the 2008 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award.

Neurofeedback and Neuromodulation Techniques and Applications

Author: Robert Coben
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 012382236X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 458

Book Description
The study of neurofeedback and neuromodulation offer a window into brain physiology and function, suggesting innovative approaches to the improvement of attention, anxiety, pain, mood and behavior. Resources for understanding what neurofeedback and neuromodulation are, how they are used, and to what disorders and patients they can be applied are scarce, and this volume serves as an ideal tool for clinical researchers and practicing clinicians in both neuroscience and psychology to understand techniques, analysis, and their applications to specific patient populations and disorders. The top scholars in the field have been enlisted, and contributions offer both the breadth needed for an introductory scholar and the depth desired by a clinical professional. - Includes the practical application of techniques to use with patients - Includes integration of neurofeedback with neuromodulation techniques - Discusses what the technique is, for which disorders it is effective, and the evidence basis behind its use - Written at an appropriate level for clinicians and researchers

Musicophilia

Author: Oliver Sacks
Publisher: Vintage Canada
ISBN: 0307373495
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 448

Book Description
What goes on in human beings when they make or listen to music? What is it about music, what gives it such peculiar power over us, power delectable and beneficent for the most part, but also capable of uncontrollable and sometimes destructive force? Music has no concepts, it lacks images; it has no power of representation, it has no relation to the world. And yet it is evident in all of us–we tap our feet, we keep time, hum, sing, conduct music, mirror the melodic contours and feelings of what we hear in our movements and expressions. In this book, Oliver Sacks explores the power music wields over us–a power that sometimes we control and at other times don’t. He explores, in his inimitable fashion, how it can provide access to otherwise unreachable emotional states, how it can revivify neurological avenues that have been frozen, evoke memories of earlier, lost events or states or bring those with neurological disorders back to a time when the world was much richer. This is a book that explores, like no other, the myriad dimensions of our experience of and with music.