From: yaniv_vi_at_yahoo.com
Date: 2001-05-03 08:34:05
first i must say - i liked the article , is clear , simple , and yet
shows the amazing potential of neurofeedback .
second , what about the title :
what does it mean "yaniv is making me work"? :)
don't you ever again mention this word "work"
near my name.
i don't ever want to have any connection with it ! :)
with a grin
yaniv
--- In buildcheapeeg_at_yahoogroups.com, peterson_at_d... wrote:
> The following is the text of a short piece Yaniv asked me to write
to
> describe the potential benefits of cheap neurofeedback. Comments
and
> suggestions for its improvement are invited.
>
>
> WHY CHEAP EEG BIOFEEDBACK?
>
> Humans are obviously capable of attaining a large number of
> different states of consciousness. Each of these states is marked
by
> a unique pattern of rhythmic electrical activity in the brain.
> One's
> ability to function in different roles in life is directly related
to
> the ease with which one can move among the various states of
> awareness—in effect, to move from one brainwave state to another.
>
> Brainwave biofeedback, or neurofeedback, is a relatively new
generic
> approach for teaching people to control and modify their states of
> consciousness by means of deliberately altering their brainwave
> patterns. The basic learning procedure uses electronic equipment
to
> detect changes the trainee's brainwave activity and provide
> him/her
> with ongoing information about these changes.
> Neurofeedback has a number of applications in the general realm of
> personal development and realizing human potential. To cite only
two
> examples, researchers have used neurofeedback to make the process
of
> learning meditation techniques vastly easier, teaching skills in a
> matter of weeks that once required years of training. Other
students
> of the technology have discovered forms of brainwave training that
> greatly enhance focus and concentration skills. This training has
> proved useful for a variety of purposes ranging from improving
> cognitive efficiency to enhancing certain kinds of sports
> performance.
> Psychologists have also discovered a number of clinical
applications
> for this technology. When used to treat conditions of clinical
> concern, the method is generally termed neurotherapy. A number of
> studies have established one form of neurotherapy, based on
training
> clients to increase their production of slow-wave activity, as
> perhaps the most effective approach yet known for treating
> addictions. Other researchers are using a different form of
> neurotherapy to successfully treat attention deficit disorders. A
> very new and extremely promising line of research is exploring
> neurofeedback to remediate the brainwave patterns associated with
> depression, thereby effectively treating the disorder without
> medications.
> A major problem for both amateur explorers of brainwave training
for
> self-development and for researchers in this field has been the
cost
> of the equipment. The cheapest machines on the market currently
cost
> about a thousand dollars, and the more specialized equipment can
> easily cost several thousand. These prices place the technology
> beyond the reach of many amateurs, and of many professionals as
> well. A major block preventing the widespread use of neurotherapy
> for treatment of alcoholism has been the cost of the equipment.
The
> small clinics that do most of this work are generally under-
financed,
> "shoestring" operations that simply cannot afford the
> equipment they
> would need to provide effective neurotherapy-based treatment to
their
> clients.
> Ultimately. I believe that the self-exploration aspects of
> neurofeedback may well come to outweigh the clinical uses.
> Widespread access to well-designed and appropriate neurofeedback
> equipment may prove to be the key to a revolution in human
> consciousness and spirit. This technology has the potential to
free
> people from their addictions, to place attention deficit disorder
> into the ranks of extinct conditions, and to give everyone access
to
> the uncharted depths of our inner being.
>
> James M. Peterson, Ph.D.
> Licensed Psychologist
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