Summary
Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen welcome Dr. Gattis from their Costa Mesa clinic to discuss how neurofeedback can help with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and traumatic brain injury. Dr. Gattis explains that neurofeedback creates a brain-computer interface where EEG sensors measure electrical activity and translate it into real-time feedback through movies, video games, or simple visual displays, effectively acting as targeted physical therapy for the brain. The episode traces the history of neurofeedback from its origins in epilepsy treatment, where researchers accidentally discovered that training a stabilizing rhythm on top of the head reduced seizure frequency. They then found that patients also experienced improvements in depression, anxiety, and attention, which led Joel Lubar at the University of Tennessee to begin applying it to children with ADD. Tana shares her own daughter's experience with neurofeedback for severe anxiety that was initially mistaken for ADD. Dr. Gattis introduces LORETA neurofeedback, a newer technique that uses a full 19-electrode cap to trace the actual source of brain signals in three dimensions rather than training a single surface electrode. This approach allows more precise targeting of specific brain regions and can potentially reduce the number of sessions needed. The traditional rule of thumb was about 20 sessions per major problem, but LORETA's precision may improve on that timeline. The discussion emphasizes that neurofeedback can address both children and adults, with applications ranging from TBI recovery to anxiety reduction to improved concentration.
Key Points
- Neurofeedback creates a brain-computer interface where EEG sensors pick up electrical activity and give the brain real-time feedback through movies, video games, or visual displays
- Neurofeedback was originally discovered while treating epilepsy, when researchers found that training a stabilizing brainwave rhythm on top of the head reduced seizure frequency
- Side benefits of seizure training included improvements in depression, anxiety, and attention, which led to neurofeedback being applied to ADD and ADHD in children
- A QEEG brain map identifies areas of decreased blood flow or abnormal electrical activity, allowing neurofeedback protocols to be targeted to specific brain regions
- LORETA neurofeedback uses a full 19-electrode cap to trace signals in three dimensions, enabling more precise targeting than single-electrode approaches
- The traditional guideline is approximately 20 neurofeedback sessions per major issue being addressed, though newer LORETA techniques may reduce that number
- Neurofeedback works for both children and adults across conditions including TBI, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and epilepsy
- For children, neurofeedback sessions can feel like playing video games, making compliance much easier than traditional therapeutic approaches
Key Moments
Neurofeedback creates a brain-computer interface to target specific abnormalities
Dr. Gattis explains that neurofeedback uses sensors to pick up electrical brain activity and feed it into a computer, creating a brain-computer interface. This same technology is used to help paralyzed people communicate by selecting letters with their brainwaves. In therapy, clients watch a movie that gets dark when blood flow decreases and bright when it improves.
"So, we have a little decrease in blood flow, and so what we can do is we put the sensor on the thermal feedback, which picks up the electrical activity in the brain, and we feed that into the computer. And what happens is I'm creating a brain-computer interface, which is actually used to help people, for instance, who can no longer speak to communicate. Oh, interesting. It's the same technology, right? So, they can use their brainwaves to select letters."
Neurofeedback was accidentally discovered through epilepsy treatment
Dr. Gattis describes how the original application of neurofeedback was epilepsy treatment. It was a coincidental discovery that training a particular stabilizing rhythm on top of the head inhibited seizures. Researchers then noticed that patients' depression, anxiety, and attention also improved, leading Joel Lubar to apply it to ADHD children.
"one of the less well-known applications of neurofeedback was the original application of neurofeedback, which is epilepsy"
LORETA neurofeedback uses 19 electrodes to target specific 3D brain regions
Dr. Gattis describes the newer LORETA neurofeedback method which uses a full cap of 19 electrodes to trace the actual source of brain signals and target specific three-dimensional regions. This is much more precise than traditional single-electrode approaches and allows the brain to learn faster, potentially cutting session counts in half.
"Then when you use the cap and you can tell it, no, I want you to change this particular activity in this little three-dimensional region over here."
Comprehensive treatment combining neurofeedback with nutrition and integrative medicine
Tana Amen emphasizes that Amen Clinics offers neurofeedback alongside EMDR, hyperbaric oxygen, integrative medicine, and nutrition because all these things affect the brain and the brain affects everything else. They focus on skills not just pills, offering multiple targeted modalities for comprehensive brain health.
"We have experts in different, you know, that deal with so many different things at our clinics. And I love that because we're really about skills, not just pills here. And so we want to be able to be sure that we can offer people a variety of different treatments depending on what they're going through. I love that we have hyperbaric oxygen, that we have EMDR therapy, that we have neurofeedback, that we have all these different modalities that are not just typical."
