“Ritalin Gone Wrong” article from the New York Times link
Molecular model of Ritalin…
Stress and aging…
In the July/August 2011 Scientific American Mind magazine.
General Adaptation Syndrome
A diagram of the General Adaptation Syndrome model.
Physiologists define stress as how the body reacts to a stressor, real or imagined, a stimulus that causes stress. Acute stressors affect an organism in the short term; chronic stressors over the longer term.
Selye researched the effects of stress on our bodies.
Alarm is the first stage. When the threat or stressor is identified or realized, the body’s stress response is a state of alarm. During this stage adrenaline will be produced in order to bring about the fight-or-flight response. There is also some activation of the HPA axis, producing cortisol.
One Mother’s experience of NeurOPTIMAL Brain Training: herself and her son
My son has a diagnosis of Dyspraxia and ADD, and found NeurOPTIMAL (neurofeedback) helpful.
*Developmental dyspraxia is a chronic neurological disorder beginning in childhood that can affect planning of movements and co-ordination as a result of brain messages not being accurately transmitted to the body
**Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder. It is characterized primarily by “the co-existence of attentional problems andhyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone” and symptoms starting before seven years of age.
As a parent I can only report what I observed. He became much more efficient in daily activities,
did everything faster and more fluently, and was more “on” rather than off, as you know an ADD person can be.
HIs language and also motor skills improved markedly under NO.
It was very much like, his brain went directly to what it wanted to do, instead of meandering around in a field for a while first.
However, 2 years later we have seen varying regression in nearly all areas. I have some ideas why in our particular case, but as another has said,
each brain is different and one person’s experience does not necessarily predict the exact outcomes for anothers’ brain.
Your personal genetic and biochemical make up is not the same as anyone else’s. I think of neurofeedback as an efficiency
generator. It gives your brain a chance to find it’s own way to be the most efficient it can be at processing and outputting information.
We went back recently for a tune-up session and the rebound effect from 1 session was pretty good. I think there are people who just need to go back occasionally to remind their brains how to be the most efficient. Who are they? Impossible to guess as there are no tests for these kinds of things.
Neuroscience is very much in it’s infancy even in the traditional medicine world and medications have all kinds of side effects
some of which do not go away. Zengar falls short from my ideal in that they have weak anecdotal published studies, so it leaves people like you
and me asking questions and getting poorly defined answers. It leaves you having to take a leap of faith that I personally think is silly to
ask a client to do, but that’s where it stands right now. I was working with a professional at the time that I trusted, and I felt that if it was safe
I didn’t have much to lose trying it. PS. you can find studies on the outcomes of neurofeedback on the internet that have been fairly constructed.
They may not have used Zengar to do the work, but I think it is safe to say there are positive correlations between the outcomes of different manufacturers.
Neurofeedback is not well publicized in the US, and I think it is really too bad as it has been proven to be effective with various disorders in many studies.
The most important longitudinal study on the use of neurofeedback for attention deficit disorders was completed and reported from Ohio State Univ School of Medicine last year – several yrs in length and paid for by the US National Institutes of Mental Health. They unfortunately used some little known manufacturer’s system (that was not nearly as sophisticated as NO in my opinion) and took some professional criticism for the construction of the study. I spoke to the researchers in person twice during the study, as well as 1 parent of a child participant, and the anecdotal reply is that parents were thrilled with the outcomes for ADD/ADHD in their kids, but the statistical evaluation at the end was inconclusive. They are considering redoing the entire study and getting more professional input on the study design.
My experience was that NO is safe. I did about 35 sessions myself and I feel that I have had lasting effect
with some regression, but not nearly to where I was originally.
If you have the chance to try NO and it’s possible for you, I’d give it 10 sessions to experience the full ongoing effect. I had a big change after 4 sessions but I can’t say what will happen with someone else.
Of all the things we have tried, both traditional and non-traditional, NeurOPTIMAL was the most effective as an all around remediation for attention deficit, language and executive functioning.
I hope this helps you in your decision. In the end, my feeling is that it comes down to your personal decision of how to spend your time and money and the degree of safety.
Best,
Andrea
UTILIZING TRADITIONAL COUNSELING WHILE RECEIVING NEUROFEEDBACK
I received an email from a client who was referred to me by a colleague in Denver. She went to my website and decided that I was not a traditional psychotherapist. And at first glance, that might seem true. But in all actuality, my training and background include traditional talk therapy and counseling, having worked as a supervisor who trained masters level interns in the internship phase of their training in a community mental health facility. And research indicates that a good therapist needs to be tremendously flexible and adaptable based on the needs and desires of her/his client.
General Benefits of NeurOPTIMAL Brain Training
Weekly, I speak with clients who have been to my website and been to Zengar’s NeurOPTIMAL™ website (www.zengar.com). They come for a broad spectrum of reasons and symptoms. ADD/ADHD, depression, anxiety, Lyme Disease, to improve social interaction, work stress, optimal and peak performance, to improve focus in their sport, performing artists, and on and on. The list is much longer. (see the 2008 Independently produced Client Survey for all the categories).
So how does providing your brain with moment to moment feedback about it’s turbulent behavior improve such a broad spectrum of symptoms and problems?
Diagnosis of ADHD On the Rise
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/
120319134214.htm
Diagnosis of ADHD On the Rise
ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2012) — The number of American children leaving doctors’ offices with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis has risen 66 percent in 10 years, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Over this same timeframe, specialists, instead of primary care physicians, have begun treating an increasing number of these young patients, the study found.
The study, which will be published in the March/April issue of the journal Academic Pediatrics, analyzed ADHD trends from 2000 to 2010 among children under the age of 18 who were diagnosed and treated by office-based physicians. Researchers analyzed changes in the diagnosis of ADHD and treatment of the disorder over this 10-year time period.
ADHD and Diet
Children with ADHD Need Healthier Diets
A new study suggests that feeding children the wrong kinds of food could lead to behavioral problems.
By Emily Main
Broaden your kids’ culinary horizons with a diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, and fish.
RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Most parents know that feeding kids lots of sugar will undoubtedly lead to the youngsters bouncing off walls, crying and, eventually, crashing out on the couch in a sugar-induced coma. That’s one case where the link between food and behavior is pretty clear. But a new study in the Journal of Attention Disorders suggests that sugar, along with other types of unhealthy processed foods, could have more subtle effects on a child’s mental health. The study found an association between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and diet, specifically Western diets that include too many processed meats, full-fat dairy, and unhealthy carbohydrates.
Cancer Patient’s Experience…
This week, I heard from a neurofeedback client I had worked with a few years ago for anxiety who now has cancer and has been going through an extremely difficult time. Receiving radiation treatments is never easy, and on top if it, he has been having panic attacks, mostly in the middle of the night. The panic is a repercussion of overload that he is dealing with, a relief valve of sorts. And it is a healthy mechanism for maintaining equilibrium in his system, but certainly not pleasant at all. So he called to ask if I could help.
Neurofeedback helps Veteran with PTSD
Experimental treatment gives hope to sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder
ANNE MCILROY
Last updated Saturday, Oct. 01, 2011 6:19AM EDT
Aubrey Francis, 42, undergoes a neural feedback therapy session which he has found very helpful in treatment of his PTSD in Kingston, Ontario on Sept 27, 2011. He and his wife, Tracy have recently started a family with the birth of their first child, Perry, three months. (Peter Power/The Globe and Mail)
Neurofeedback Improves Student Performance
Published in the online publication: MyWestHartfordLife.com
West Hartford psychotherapist uses neurofeedback training to improve student performance
Monday – July 25, 2011
The student who can never sit still during a teacher’s lesson is often viewed as a “problem child.” However, in many cases these kids are in fact facing their own learning barriers, such as restlessness, inability to maintain visual focus and being easily distracted. As a result, the academic requirements make the child feel “bullied” by the environment as they do not sense that they are able to succeed.