Treatment
Our approach:
1. Contact Us
Tell us about yourself through our questionnaires and consultation. This allows us to outline your symptoms and provide an individualized approach to treatment.
2. Assessment
We use Quantitative Electroencephalograpic (qEEG) data collection and interpretation to assess and measure your current level of brain function. This provides a "Brain Map" for treatment.
3. Training
Neurofeedback training is used to correct abnormal brain activity and gradually restore the brain's connections to a normal level of functioning.
4. Results
The goal of treatment is to reduce symptoms and behaviors, and in turn improve quality of life. These changes are measurable and reflected on new qEEG scans!
1. Contact
Call or send us an email for an initial consulation. During your consultation, severity of symptoms and behaviors are reported through patient questionnaires and interview.
These symptoms and behaviors being experienced are linked to specific areas in the brain. After identifying the areas and connections specific to your symptoms, an individualized training plan is created to begin training the brain back to a level of normal functioning.
2. Assessment
qEEG is the best method for understanding the electrical activity of the brain. It can identify problems in one's ability to process information, make connections between brain networks, and send and receive clear information in a timely manner. At East Carolina Neurotherapy, we use the latest, most advanced and targeted technology available: swLORETA z-score neurofeedback.
This is an example of the summarized information obtained from the QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalograph), commonly called a Brain Map.
Traditional forms of neurofeedback treatment typically use an EEG cap with 1-6 sensors. This method only allows the computer to read and train generalized areas of the brain. Our method of neurofeedback treatment utilizes a 19-sensor EEG cap and an advanced brain imaging technique called standardized weighted low resolution electromagnetic tomography analysis (swLORETA). It's like a GPS for brain activity, showing where the activity is, where it is going, and how fast it will get there.
EEG cap
Our sophicated EEG is the only non-invasive and inexpensive measure to see the real-time learning and flow of information through the brain. It measures the electrical activity in the brain, and then the results are compared to well functioning brains for each age and gender. The person's symptoms and behaviors are linked to the presence of dysfunction in brain areas and networks of connections.
This demonstrates how thoughts, feelings, abilities, and behaviors are expressed in Functional Brain Disorders. The following illustration of the midline brain area networks are most involved in disorders of mood, emotion, self perception and memory. Identifying the location of these brain processing areas and how they are communicating is an important question that is answered with the QEEG Brain Map.
"Deep dive" into neurofeedback →3. Training
Neurotherapy is a safe, effective, long term approach for improving dysfunctional brain activity. Neurotherapy methods engage the brain's ability to recognize desirable and undesirable brainwave activity to create improved brain connections and patterns.
Our method of training aims to identify and teach the brain hubs and connections in real time. This shows a 3D image of real time brain activity and pinpoints specifically where the source of activity is located. It can visualize more areas in the cortex and subcortical areas, such as the cerebellum and thalamus, deeper down in the brain. For this reason, the modality is often called “deep brain neurofeedback.”
By comparing brain activity against a normative database of “healthy brains” we identify regions and patterns that show dysfunctional brain activity outside these levels. This gives us a z score comparison (i.e. a statistical measurement) of how far the activity in a particular region is outside the “healthy” range. Correlating the dysfunctional brain hubs and connections that are outside these healthy ranges with unwanted symptoms/behaviors is an important step in setting up the brain training protocol.
We select the hubs and network connections that are determined to underlie the symptoms/behaviors and simultaneously train them toward healthier functioning. As a result, swLORETA z score neurofeedback is one of the most precise, targeted, and individualized brain-improving tools available.
4. Results
Neurofeedback treatment promotes the natural process of experiential learning. During treatment, positive changes in the brainwave activity are promoted while unwanted changes are discouraged. Instead of just learning facts, the brain is learning how to regulate its own processing abilities by shaping the brain network interactions.
Throughout the process, the brain's awareness of positive and negative experiences improves. For example, relaxing and breathing slowly may help produce a desired brain activity while tensing up or daydreaming does not produce a desired brain activity. Much of what the brain does is without conscious control. Brain training targets both what we do and do not consciously control through the neurofeedback process.
Each session, progressive changes are measured and the overall changes from training sessions are compared to the initial QEEG findings. Over time, with repetition, the new brain network activation patterns become stronger and more established resulting in long term changes.
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