Neurofeedback: Treating Trauma by Training the Brain What is Neurofeedback? Biofeedback for the brain Operant Conditioning An association between a behavior and a consequence How Does Neurofeedback Work? 1
The brain grows more in the first year of life than at any other point in time! Brain growth is 90% complete by the time a child is three-years-old! A Bit About The Brain Brain growth is contingent upon the affection and psychological stimulation provided to the infant by the caregiver. The stress of living in a chaotic and/or neglectful environment creates a brain a human being more vulnerable to stress (i.e., real or perceived.) The child traumatized prior to adoption arrives in the family with an overactive stress response system. So, he or she will enter the states of flight dissociation or fight hyperarousal easily and long after placement in a healthy family system. 2
Traumatized children are physiologically in a state of alarm, of fight or flight, even when there is no visible threat or demand. The brain develops and modifies itself in response to experience. Neurons and neuronal connections (synapses) change in an activity-dependent fashion. This "use-dependent" development is the key to understanding the impact of neglect and trauma on children. AROUSAL: A Continuum Inattentive Impulsive Hyperactive Awake Alert Creative Problem-Solving Substance Abuse Bi-Polar 0 40 Sleep Cognitive Dysfunction Excessive Daytime Sleepiness; drowsiness; dissociation; Insomnia; Hypervigilence Cognitive Dysfunction Hallucinations; Psychosis Panic, Fear Irritable Bowel; Headaches 3
CO-DYSREGULATION 4
Healing Young Brains: The Neurofeedback Solution By Robert W. Hill & Eduardo Castro Biofeedback For The Brain: How Neurotherapy Effectively Treats Depression, ADHD, Autism, and More by Paul Swingle The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness by Daniel G. Amen 5
Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 6 Types of ADD by Daniel G. Amen The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook--What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing by Bruce Perry & Maia Szalavitz Getting Started with Neurofeedback by John Demos The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are by Daniel J. Siegel Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self: The Neurobiology of Emotional Development by Allan N. Schore The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life by Joseph Ledoux 6
www.eegspectrum.com www.eeginfo.com www.aboutneurofeedback.com www.centerforbrain.com http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ paes/frontline/shows/ teenbrain/ www.isnr.org, PCC Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio 12608 State Road Suite 1 Cleveland, OH 44133 440-230-1960, ext. 4 Arletaj@aol.com Visit my blog at www.perspectivespress.com/blog 7