Landscape Art by Susan Szabo - www.susanszabo.com

How Does Neurofeedback Work?

Think of Neurofeedback as weight training for the brain. If you want to build up your muscles, you go to a gym and start an exercise routine. With Neurofeedback, you go to a training center and exercise the neural pathways to build up your brain so that you can concentrate better. For children, it's like going to gymnastics or piano lessons.

The procedure is simple. Sensors are placed on the scalp and held in place with a special gel. Fine wires from these sensors conduct electricity from the child's head to a recording instrument that registers the different frequencies and amplitudes of the electricity produced in the area of the brain being monitored. Changes in the brain wave patterns show whether the person is paying attention and whether he/she is sitting still (or, more accurately, suppressing the impulse to move.) In an EEG, the brain wave tracing is shown as a wavy line. In Neurofeedback training, the computer converts the brain waves into game-like displays (e.g., a fish moving through a maze, puzzle pieces fitting together) or colorful images like a rising sun. The colorful displays are paired with sounds to give auditory feedback as well. The client's attentiveness controls what happens on the screen. Clients can play the game only by controlling their level of concentration.

If the client's mind wanders, as it does when he/she spaces out in class or at the workplace, the colors on the monitor change or the action stops. The better he/she sustains attention, the faster the activity on the screen changes. With most Neurofeedback systems, the client also wins points, which can be converted into rewards (children find this aspect especially pleasing).

The games can be adjusted so that clients can be successful and at the same time, alter the brain's physiology. Just as an athlete uses weight training to build up the muscles needed for sports, the client is exercising and producing beneficial changes in the brain (settling down, attending, concentrating), which will help the client pay attention in school, on the job and elsewhere.