Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback that uses graphic representations of electric activity from the brain (EEG waves) to help improve brain function and symptoms. The history of neurotherapy begins in the 1960s with two researchers and it is still being written today as research continues and new protocols are developed.
The Beginning
In 1875 Richard Caton discovered that the brain had electrical impulses. It wouldn't be until 1924 that German neurologist Hans Berger was able to amplify the brain's electrical activity and record it on graph paper. He was the first to note that the brain waves changed depending on the person's level of consciousness.
The 1960s
Neurofeedback began with two men studying very different species. Dr. Joe Kamiya was studying brain waves in people at the University of Chicago. Dr. Barry Sterman was studying cats at the Unviersity of California Los Angeles. Both men were learning about the brain waves produced during a restful state and they discovered that their subjects--no matter the species--could learn to control the resting brain waves through a simple reward system.
The 1970s
Throughout the 1970s, Sterman continued to conduct research on cats and people. He published many studies documenting his success with the use of neurofeedback to alleviate epileptic seizures in human subjects. Another physician, Dr. Joel Lubar, replicated Sterman's studies and then began to hypothesize about whether neurofeedback would help those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In 1976 Lubar published the results of the first study ever performed to evaluate the effect of neurofeedback on children with ADHD, or hyperkinetic syndrome as it was called then. His results showed that neurofeedback helped to eliminate or reduce hyperactivity.
Expanding Horizons
In April 1989 Drs. Eugene G. Peniston and Paul J. Kulkosky published positive results of their studies using neurofeedback in veterans with alcohol addiction. Margaret Ayers is known for her work using neurofeedback to treat traumatic brain injuries. She also opened the first private clinic specializing in neurofeedback and developed real-time digital EEG neurofeedback.
The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback had been in existence since 1969 but it wasn't until 1993 that interest demanded the addition of an EEG section. This marked neurofeedback's entry into the mainstream.
With the advent of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers began to quantify results by showing brain activity during specific activities. In March 2006, Drs. Johanne Lévesque and Mario Beauregard conducted a study at the Université de Montréal in which fMRIs were performed as children with ADHD completed selective-attention tasks. Their results, published in Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, stated that "neurofeedback has the capacity to functionally normalize the brain systems mediating selective attention and response inhibition in AD/HD children."
Future
As of August 2009 eight clinical trials were recruiting participants for studies to examine the use of neurofeedback in ADHD, depression, spinal cord injury, tinnitus, fibromyalgia and cognitive rehabilitation in women with breast cancer. While its use is increasing, there are still controversies surrounding its effectiveness.
Ohio State University is running one of the clinical trials. The introduction to its study, "Pilot Exploration of Neurofeedback Issues in ADHD," states, "Neurofeedback is increasingly advocated for the treatment of ADHD despite a thin evidence base." The trial's goal is to lead the field by implementing and publishing the first double-blind randomized clinical trial of neurofeedback treatment in children with ADHD.
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