Many have pointed out the steadily rising interest in the prevalence of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), known formally as a “mild closed head injury” and colloquially as a concussion. Recent high-profile studies on the long-term effects of repeated mTBIs in athletes has played a significant role in popularizing awareness of the concept, but a 2016 survey of adolescents found that nearly 20% of them had been diagnosed with an mTBI at least once, with more than 5% reporting multiple such diagnoses. One has to imagine that many, many more such injuries are not even reported, let alone diagnosed by the time one has reached adulthood.
Many forms of cognitive impairment are associated with mTBI events, and among those that has been studied the most closely is attention deficit. Diagnoses of attention deficit disorders have been on the rise across all age groups, and as our understanding deepens, our approaches to treatment continue to evolve. While medication is the most popular prescription, there could be various reasons a medication-based intervention may not be able to help, especially in the eyes of parents who would prefer a less invasive option. Thankfully, a steadily growing body of research has emerged over the last few decades to support another avenue that approaches the problem not on a neurochemical level, but on an electrophysiological one: quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG)-based sw LORETA neurofeedback training. The sw LORETA stands for the application of a mathematical method called the inverse solution needed to transform brain surface electrical activity into a 3-dimensional picture, as it is done in neuroimaging when using a tomograph showing not only the surface but the deeper formations within the brain. With help of the inverse solution, or the use of the standardized weighted Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (swLORETA) a skilled practitioner can get an insight into the connectivity or communication of different centers in the brain that form specific networks. For instance, one of these centers located deeper in the brain is the amygdala. If information flows at the right speed, volume and in the required direction between the amygdala and other areas, for instance, the prefrontal cortex, our ability to emotionally regulate, make decisions and assess risk appropriately will feel easy.
What Is So Different about Neurofeedback Training?
The approach we call qEEG-based sw LORETA neurofeedback training is at the cutting edge of neurofeedback technology. This individualized approach begins by having the recipient complete a qEEG recording. Unlike an encephalogram, the qEEG directly measures and visually interprets the electrical activity of the brain by comparing the individual recording with a normative data base. A quantitative analysis of this activity produces discrete measurements of the electricity moving between identifiable networks which govern certain functions – for example, attention – and compares those measurements to a normative database. Based on this comparison, the practitioner creates a personalized protocol designed to reinforce healthy brainwave activity (such as focus) by providing real-time “feedback,” such as an audio or visual cue. These cues engage the innate plasticity of neurons to form reinforcement pathways of its own, helping to optimize the aspect of brain function being targeted in a self-sustaining fashion.
How Can I Be Sure It Will Help Me?
Research into neurofeedback training techniques for the specific purpose of rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury has been ongoing since the field’s inception. Studies as old as 2001 and as recent as 2021 all show clear evidence that people who have received EEG-based neurofeedback perform better at foundational cognitive skills such as sustained attention and visuospatial reasoning than control groups who have not, and across a broad swath of demographics, from children who play contact sports to adults in physically hazardous lines of work. qEEG-based sw LORETA neurofeedback represents the most advanced application of these techniques currently available, and Dr. Liliana Sacarin has been at the forefront of this training approach nearly since its inception. In some situations, a combination between neurofeedback training and sound training – the advanced applications of Dr. Tomatis’s Method could be the most beneficial training approach.
If you are interested in how qEEG-based neurofeedback could be of benefit to you or someone you know who is dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, feel free to learn more about sw LORETA neurofeedback training here.
