NEUROFEEDBACK FOR MUSICIANS

BBC NEWS
Brain machine ‘improves musicianship’
Scientists have created a technique that dramatically improves the performance of musicians. The system – called neurofeedback – trains musicians to clear their minds and produce more creative brain waves.

Research, to be published in the journal Neuroreport, indicates the technique helps musicians to improve by an average of 17% – the equivalent of one grade or class of honours.

Some improved by as much as 50%.

Students were assessed on two pieces of music before and after neurofeedback sessions.

Neurofeedback monitors brain activity through sensors attached to the scalp which filter out the brainwaves.

 

Drug Effectiveness: Overblown

As reported in the Psychotherapy Networker Jab/Feb 2010 edition, a professional magazine for the psychotherapy profession:

Erick Turner and other researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University subpoenaed the FDA to release all the studies on antidepressant effectiveness in its archives.  Because science journals prefer positive findings over negative ones, Turner and his colleagues were unsurprised to find unpublished studies concluding that SSRIs are no more effective the placebo*

 

What exactly is flight-or-flight?

by David Delaney, MA, CAR, LPC                 david@boulderneurofeedback.com

Fight-or-flight is the collection of physiological (body) and psychological (mind & emotions) changes that occur when you face a perceived threat–when you face situations where you feel the demands on you outweigh your resources to effectively cope.

When some event in your life triggers the state of fight or flight, a series of changes occur within your body and mind, often without our awareness. They include:

•A quickening of the pulse

•A burst of adrenaline (can mean shaking, feeling queasy, or hyper-alert)

 

50 to 70 million with sleep disorders in U.S. alone….

by David Delaney, M.A.                                                                                                            david@boulderneurofeedback.com

Graciella (not her real name) has had sleep problems most of her life.  This is not why she came to seek help with me but I discover during our intake that this is a serious problem for her.  She has a very difficult time falling asleep, staying asleep, and then finds it very difficult to rise in the morning. Her original concern for why she sought help was anxiety and depression. And now research has demonstrated that there is a direct link between sleep problems and depression!

Depression and sleep disorders now linked…

It is estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from a disorder of sleep and wakefulness, hindering daily functioning and adversely affecting health and longevity. The cumulative long-term effects of sleep deprivation and sleep disorders have been associated with a wide range of degenerative heath consequences inducing an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, hearth attack, and stroke. The Institute of Medicine (IOM), Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research concluded that although clinical activities and scientific opportunities in the field are expanding, awareness among the general public and health care professionals is low, given the magnitude of the burden. 1

 

Drop it, and move on? Easier said than done!

by David Delaney, MA, CAR, LPC

Johnny’s (not his real name) Mom contacts me to say that he is having anxiety and school is about to begin. Can I help? He is feeling upset in anticipation of the school year and all the stress that that brings with it. He is upset allot and that is affecting the family as a whole. It’s true, if one family member is not doing well, everyone feels it. Whether we are an adult or a child, we all have to deal with the anxiety of anticipating changes that school and life brings, and honestly, some of us cope better than others.

 

Children, ADD, and Medication Side Effects


The following is an excerpt from chapter five of The ADD Answer: How to Help Your Child Now by Dr. Frank Lawlis and published by Viking. For more, go to www.franklawlis.com.

Medical students are often warned that “sometimes the treatment can be worse than the disease.” I sincerely believe that is often the case when children with ADD are given medication to control their symptoms.

 

Benefits

Improving its own adaptability…

Because the Central Nervous System has the job of adapting to life’s constant changes, it is able to literally change itself in response to life experience.  This means that it can change how it reacts to life’s circumstances if given feedback about its own behavior (feedback is the basis of all life).  Prior to 15 years ago, it was generally accepted that after 18 years of age the brain did not change.  But within the last 15 years, research has demonstrated that it is a self-organizing, instinctual organic system and its very nature is ADAPTABILITY.  Adaptability is the hallmark of survival.

 

DON’T JUST DO SOMETHING: SIT THERE!

By David Delaney, MA, CAR, LPC                        david@boulderneurofeedback.com

http://boulderneurofeedback.com

Bob (I have changed his name) finds that he cannot stop himself from being on the go all day long. And then he has problems getting to bed and staying asleep. Sometimes in the middle of the night, when he cannot sleep, he will get up and read or get on the Internet, which further adds to the problem. He is overloaded and this overload is affecting his health and well-being. He came to me based on a recommendation by a client who thought that I could help him.

 

YOUR BRAIN CAN IMPROVE ITS OWN FUNCTION; ITS VERY NATURE IS ADAPTIBILITY.

by David Delaney

His father brings nine-year-old Harold (not his real name) to my office. Neither he nor his mother is able to get him to go to sleep at night; sometimes they find him wandering around late because he cannot sleep. He gets up repeatedly when they put him back to bed. This kind of behavior is wearing on his parents!

 

SOME SEE HOPE IN BIOFEEDBACK FOR ATTENTION DISORDER

September 26, 2000

By JIM ROBBINS

If a child at the Enrico Fermi School in Yonkers is found to have attention deficit disorder, parents can choose an unusual alternative to medication: neurofeedback, a computerized biofeedback system that some say strengthens the brain.

Linda Vergara, the school’s principal, said she decided to try the approach when doctors diagnosed the disorder in her son in 1992. ”They told me I needed to give him something to calm him down,” she said.

Ms. Vergara decided not to give her son Ritalin, the drug frequently used to treat the ailment, and instead took him to see Dr. Mary Jo Sabo, a psychologist in Suffern, N.Y., to try neurofeedback.

 
Older Entries