Can neurofeedback rewire our brain without the help of drugs?

Summary

The video script introduces neurofeedback, a non-invasive technology that alters brain states without drugs. It has shown potential in reducing ADHD symptoms and weaning patients off medication by training the brain to create new patterns. The process involves recording and analyzing electrical brain activity through electrodes attached to a cap. During sessions, participants might watch a movie that only plays clearly when their brain activity meets certain goals, promoting focus and neural firing. Neurofeedback requires commitment, with 20 to 40 sessions potentially needed for significant results. Side effects are minimal. While studies on its effectiveness for other conditions like anxiety, autism, and schizophrenia are less conclusive, anecdotal evidence suggests benefits for a range of issues, including PTSD, OCD, speech challenges, anger management, peak performance for athletes, and migraines. The technology also fosters self-awareness and self-reflection.

Takeaways

• 💡 Neurofeedback is a technology that can change brain states without drugs, potentially reducing the need for medication in conditions like ADHD.
• 🎓 It works by training the brain to create new patterns, which can lead to reduced symptoms of certain conditions after a period of training.
• 🧠 The process involves recording and analyzing the electrical activity of the brain, specifically the firing of neurons, through electrodes attached to the scalp.
• 📺 Neurofeedback training often involves watching a movie that becomes clearer and the volume increases as the brain activity meets the desired parameters.
• 🐶 The training uses a form of classical conditioning, similar to Pavlov's experiment, where the brain associates a reward (clearer movie) with the desired brain state.
• 🧵 The electrodes are connected to a computer that receives and responds to the brain's electrical activity in real time.
• 📉 The side effects of neurofeedback are minimal compared to pharmaceutical interventions.
• 🕒 It requires time and effort, with substantial changes possibly taking 20 to 40 sessions of training.
• 🧘‍♂️ Many people report increased self-awareness and comfort with their thoughts after neurofeedback training.
• 🛑 While neurofeedback has shown promise in treating ADHD, studies on its effectiveness for other disorders like anxiety, autism, or schizophrenia are less conclusive.
• 🏆 The technology has also been used to enhance peak performance in athletes and reduce the severity of migraines.

Q & A

What is neurofeedback and how does it differ from using drugs to change brain state?

Neurofeedback is a technology that can change a person's brain state without the use of drugs. It trains the brain to create new patterns, potentially reducing the dependency on medications for conditions like ADHD.

How does neurofeedback help with ADHD symptoms?

Neurofeedback can help reduce the severity of ADHD symptoms by training the brain, particularly focusing on the prefrontal cortex, to increase the rate of neuron firing which is associated with better focus and concentration.

What does a typical neurofeedback session involve?

A typical neurofeedback session involves placing electrodes on the head, usually over the prefrontal cortex, and connecting them to a computer. The computer records and analyzes the brain's electrical activity in real time.

How does the neurofeedback process work with electrodes and a computer?

The electrodes are placed on the scalp to pick up electrical pulses from the brain. A conductive gel helps transmit these pulses to the electrodes, which are then connected to a computer. The computer records this data and provides real-time feedback, which can be used to train the brain.

What is the role of the prefrontal cortex in ADHD and how does neurofeedback target it?

The prefrontal cortex is associated with executive functions like planning, concentration, and organization. In ADHD, this region may fire at a slower rate. Neurofeedback aims to increase the firing rate of neurons in this area to improve ADHD symptoms.

How does watching a movie play a role in neurofeedback training?

Watching a movie is used as a form of biofeedback in neurofeedback training. The clarity and volume of the movie are linked to the brain's activity. As the person focuses and their brain activity changes, the movie becomes clearer and easier to hear, providing a reward for the desired brain activity.

What is the concept of rewarding brain activity in neurofeedback similar to?

The concept is similar to Pavlov's experiment with conditioning a response. Just as the dogs began to salivate at the sound of a bell associated with food, neurofeedback trains the brain to associate a reward (like a clearer movie) with the desired brain activity.

What are the potential benefits of neurofeedback training?

Neurofeedback training can potentially improve focus, reduce the severity of ADHD symptoms, and even help with other mental disorders like PTSD, anxiety, and OCD. It can also enhance self-awareness and the ability for self-reflection.

How many sessions are typically required to see substantial changes from neurofeedback training?

It can take anywhere from 20 to 40 sessions of neurofeedback training to see substantial changes, depending on the individual and the specific condition being addressed.

What are the side effects of neurofeedback?

The side effects of neurofeedback are minimal and, if experienced, usually do not last long. It is considered a safe method for brain training with few risks.

How does neurofeedback compare to other clinical treatments for disorders like anxiety or schizophrenia?

While neurofeedback has shown promise in treating ADHD, studies on its effectiveness for other disorders like anxiety or schizophrenia are less robust and results are somewhat inconclusive. More research with proper controls is needed to draw definitive conclusions.

What is the speaker's personal opinion on the effectiveness of neurofeedback?

The speaker has seen good success with neurofeedback for a range of issues, including ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, OCD, speech challenges, anger outbursts, peak performance for athletes, and even migraines. The speaker notes that most people tend to experience some form of improvement.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Introduction to Neurofeedback Therapy

The first paragraph introduces the concept of neurofeedback as a non-pharmaceutical method to alter brain states. It discusses the potential of neurofeedback to help with conditions like ADHD by training the brain to function differently, reducing dependency on medication. The technology measures and analyzes electrical activity in the brain, specifically looking at the firing rate of neurons. The process involves using a cap with electrodes that connect to a computer to record brain activity in real time. The goal for someone with ADHD is to increase the firing rate in the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with executive functions like planning, concentration, and organization.

05:00

🎥 How Neurofeedback Training Works

The second paragraph explains the process of a neurofeedback training session. It details how electrodes are placed on the head, typically over the prefrontal cortex, and connected to a computer that monitors brain activity. A common training method involves watching a movie that becomes clearer and the volume louder as the brain activity, specifically the firing rate of neurons, increases. This real-time feedback and reward mechanism is likened to Pavlov's experiment, where a conditioned response is created. The training aims to increase focus and awareness by accelerating the neuron firing rate, which over time and with repetition, can lead to a new default state of heightened focus.

10:01

💊 Commitment and Applications of Neurofeedback

The third paragraph addresses the commitment required for neurofeedback training, noting that substantial changes may take up to 40 sessions. It highlights the minimal side effects compared to pharmaceutical treatments. The paragraph also explores the potential applications of neurofeedback for a range of disorders beyond ADHD, including anxiety, autism, and schizophrenia, although it notes that studies on these are less conclusive. Personal experiences shared include successes with mental disorders like PTSD, anxiety, OCD, speech challenges, anger outbursts, peak performance for athletes, and migraines. The benefits extend beyond the intended goals, with many individuals reporting increased self-awareness and comfort with self-reflection after training.

Keywords

💡Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback that uses real-time displays of brain activity to teach self-regulation of brain function. In the context of the video, it is used to help individuals with conditions like ADHD by training their brain to create new patterns and reduce dependency on medication. The technology is shown to help with focus and potentially wean off medication over time.

💡ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by symptoms such as inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. The video discusses how neurofeedback can be used as an alternative to medication for managing ADHD symptoms by training the brain to improve focus and reduce the severity of the condition.

💡Brain State

The term 'brain state' refers to the current condition or mode of the brain's activity. The video explores how neurofeedback can alter an individual's brain state without the use of drugs, which is significant for conditions like ADHD where traditional treatments often involve medication.

💡Electrical Activity

Electrical activity in the brain refers to the electric pulses or signals that neurons use to communicate with each other. Neurofeedback technology records and analyzes these pulses to understand and influence brain function. The video explains that this electrical activity is measured through electrodes attached to the scalp.

💡Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex is the forward part of the frontal lobes in the brain, responsible for executive functions such as planning, concentration, and organization. The video highlights that in individuals with ADHD, the prefrontal cortex may fire at a slower rate, leading to difficulties in focus and task completion. Neurofeedback aims to increase the firing rate in this area to improve these functions.

💡Electrodes

Electrodes are conductive surfaces or objects that are used to make contact with a non-soluble medium at various points of interest. In the context of the video, electrodes are placed on the scalp to pick up the brain's electrical activity, which is then transmitted to a computer for analysis in neurofeedback sessions.

💡Pavlovian Conditioning

Pavlovian Conditioning, named after Ivan Pavlov, is a learning process in which an involuntary response comes to be associated with a particular stimulus. The video uses Pavlov's experiment with dogs to explain how neurofeedback uses a similar principle of rewarding the brain for desired activity, such as increased focus, to create new neural patterns.

💡Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals are medications used in the treatment or prevention of disease. The video discusses the use of drugs to alter brain state for conditions like ADHD and proposes neurofeedback as a drug-free alternative that can help reduce dependency on medication.

💡Clinical Disorders

Clinical disorders refer to any psychological or psychiatric conditions that require professional diagnosis and treatment. The video mentions that while neurofeedback has been studied for ADHD, it is also being explored for other disorders such as anxiety, autism, and schizophrenia, although the results are less conclusive.

💡Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a technique in which individuals learn to control some of their bodily processes, such as heart rate and muscle tension, through monitoring physiological functions. Neurofeedback is a specific type of biofeedback that focuses on brain activity. The video emphasizes how neurofeedback allows individuals to train their brain to operate more effectively.

💡Peak Performance

Peak performance refers to the highest level of performance an individual can achieve in a particular domain. The video mentions that neurofeedback has been used not only for clinical applications but also to enhance peak performance in athletes by improving focus and mental clarity.

Highlights

Neurofeedback is a technology that can change brain state without drugs.

It has the potential to help individuals with ADHD reduce their dependence on medication.

Neurofeedback trains the brain to create new patterns, improving focus and reducing ADHD symptoms.

The technology records and analyzes electrical pulses from the brain, known as neuronal firing.

A common method involves using a cap with electrodes to capture brain activity.

The cap is connected to a computer which receives brain activity in real time.

Neurofeedback can identify areas of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex, that need training.

Training sessions involve tasks that require increased neuronal firing to achieve a goal, like watching a clear movie.

The process uses a reward system similar to Pavlov's experiment to condition the brain to new firing rates.

Neurofeedback can take multiple sessions to see substantial changes.

It has minimal side effects compared to pharmaceutical options.

Studies on neurofeedback for disorders other than ADHD are less robust and inconclusive.

The presenter has seen success using neurofeedback for a range of conditions including PTSD, anxiety, OCD, and peak performance.

Neurofeedback can also help with self-reflection and comfort with one's thoughts post-training.

Many people report improvements and unintended benefits from neurofeedback training.

The technology is not a quick fix and requires work and commitment from the individual.

Neurofeedback is a powerful tool with the potential for significant transformation in various mental health areas.

Transcripts

I often get the question are you putting

electricity into my brain with this

thing we typically use drugs to change

our brain state to help us improve our

Focus or to give us a high or to help us

calm down it's a huge industry as we all

know for both prescription and

recreational drugs but what if I told

you that there's a technology out there

that can change our brain State without

taking any drugs at all

well there's actually a number of

technologies that can do this I'll make

sure to cover all of these in future

videos but for today I want to show you

one in particular it's called neuro

feedback say you have ADHD and you're

taking meds to help you with your focus

well neuro feedback has the capacity to

help you titrate off from your meds this

technology trains your brain and once

your brain has been trained you're no

longer as dependent on these meds

you literally are creating new patterns

within your

brain a number of Studies have shown

that neuro feedback can help reduce the

severity of participants ADHD symptoms

I'll link to a few of these in the

description below now I am not a doctor

I am not giving medical advice speak to

your doctor before you make any

adjustments in your

medications so what does neuro feedback

look like well say you're coming in for

ADHD you want to reduce the severity of

your ADHD symptoms well many clinics

will want to see what your brain state

looks like before you start any

training neuro feedback looks at the

electrical activity of your brain you

might have heard someone say neurons in

your brain

fire the firing of these neurons is

actually electrical they're electric

pulses or signals this is how your

neurons communicate with each other now

neuro feedback is recording and

analyzing these electric pulses within

your

brain so how does that even work how do

you peer inside the brain well there are

many methods one common way is with this

it does look pretty funny doesn't it now

let's pop this on so you can see how

this

[Music]

works got to make sure you get a good

rainbow coming out of your head speaking

of this rainbow these colorful wires

serve a really important purpose they'll

be sending the electrical pulses coming

from your head over to a computer that's

how the computer will receive your brain

activity and record it in real

time I often get the question are you

putting electricity into my brain with

this thing nope no there's absolutely no

electricity going into your brain this

cap is designed to only listen to the

electrical pulses occurring in your

brain

so once you get the cap on your neuro

feedback provider will squirt gel into

each of these holes here now these holes

are actually electrodes and the gel is a

type of electr gel it can conduct the

electricity coming from your brain and

pipe that electricity right into these

electrodes now from there these

electrodes are attached to our rainbow

actually you can you can see it let me

take this off for a second oh jeez you

can see all these wires right here these

wires are directly connected to these

electrodes now the signal travels

through the wire to the computer and

again that's how the computer can

receive the electrical activity of your

brain in real

time so we've seen what's happening

inside the brain now we can determine

what needs training specifically so for

our ADHD example let's take a look at

what the brain looks like when you have

ADHD D so typically the prefrontal

cortex will be firing at a slower rate

compared to the norm so again firing

that's those electric pulses that we

were talking about so if you're firing

at a pretty slow pace you're kind of in

a day dreamy State especially if it's

occurring in the prefrontal cortex this

front region of your head so the

prefrontal cortex is especially related

to planning basically your executive

functions so again plan planning

concentration Focus organization all of

that happens mainly up here in this

prefrontal cortex region so if your

prefrontal cortex isn't firing at a fast

enough rate then you likely have a

harder time concentrating focusing

basically staying on task or you might

have a hard time keeping organized or

completing tasks these are all classic

ADHD symptoms so our job during your

neuro feedback training sessions is to

upt Trin the rate of firing of those

neurons located within your prefrontal

cortex to basically get these neurons to

fire faster within this region how the

heck do we do that let me show

you a neuro feedback training session

could look something like this you walk

into the office and your neur feedback

provider places electrodes onto your

head it could look like that whole cap

that we had looked at earlier so the

whole thing with the rainbow sticking

out and all now the cap is really useful

because you can train the brain all at

once as a cohesive unit it's a really

powerful training tool or they might

Place individual electrodes on your head

in those specific regions that you need

training so for us with ADHD it would be

the prefrontal cortex this frontal

region here now once they have the

electrodes on your head they'll plug

them into a computer just like we

learned earlier now the computer can see

your brain activity in real time a a

common Training Method that many people

use is to let you watch a movie I know

right just watching a movie well you got

to work for it and the work happens up

here remember our situation for the ADHD

our neurons up here in the prefrontal

cortex are firing slowly we've got to

get them firing faster that's our

training goal now the only way we'll be

able to watch this movie

is if we get our neurons firing faster

than they currently are so if our

neurons aren't firing at a fast enough

rate the computer will know that and it

will make the movie get blurry hard to

see and the volume will really drop so

it's really hard to hear it's so

frustrating but then your prefrontal

cortex starts fing a little faster

because you're starting to focus more

you're trying to figure out what the

heck is going on here how can I get this

movie to clear up so I can actually see

the darn thing and in that moment

something really crazy happens the movie

starts getting

clear and the volume increases you can

hear the movie better

too well what happened well as you were

starting to focus your neurons in your

prefrontal cortex started firing more

started firing faster and the computer

registered that and it responded to your

neurons firing faster in real time it

immediately shifted the movie so that

you could see it more

clearly you were rewarded for increasing

the rate of firing of these neurons in

the prefrontal cortex for increasing

your focus now this reward is

key have you heard of Pavlov's

salivating dog

experiment well this researcher named

Ivan Pavlov trained a bunch of dogs to

get really excited about eating food

every time he rang this Bell I bet you

can guess how he did it you might have

even done it yourself with your own pets

you might pull out your pet's favorite

bowl and set it on the counter and that

clanking noise of the bowl gets your cat

or dog or whatever it is running right

over to you your pet has Associated this

clanking sound with food because it's

heard the sound every time right before

it gets food

and that's what Pavlov did he rang the

bell and gave the dogs food rang the

bell gave the dogs food you better

believe that those dogs expected food

every time they heard that bell ringing

it became such a strong Association that

they started to salivate just from

hearing the Bell whether there was food

there or not they were like oh yeah I

can already taste the food that right

there is a conditioned response the

Salvation itself is the condition

condition to

response and that's what we're doing

with your brain it's the exact same

process every time your brain does the

thing that we want it to do you get a

reward you get to watch the

movie over time over many repetitions

your brain starts to shift a new default

habit begins to

form this default habit is your neurons

firing at a faster rate than ever before

and guess what that means faster firing

often corresponds with more focus a more

heightened

awareness your new default is greater

Focus that sounds like success to me so

that's how neuro feedback Works in a

nutshell now as you might have noticed

this requires work time effort this

isn't a pill that you take to have

everything be solved you're literally

changing how your brain is firing that

requires work so it could take you 20 to

40 sessions of training to see

substantial changes substantial results

so that's something just to be aware of

speaking of taking pills the side

effects of neuro feedback are very

minimal if anything and if you are

experiencing something it usually

doesn't last that long so neuro feedback

has some pretty powerful applications as

we've seen with ADHD it does a pretty

good job but what about all these other

clinical disorders like anxiety or

Autism or

schizophrenia can neuro feedback treat

these or at least reduce the severity of

them potentially the studies done on

these disorders are less robust than the

ADHD studies so their results are a bit

inconclusive to have a strong study you

have to have certain controls in place

but many of these studies don't do that

so it's hard to know if their results

are accurate in the description I'll

link to some of the studies that explore

these other clinical disorders so that

you can explore the results for

yourself so those are some things to

look for when reading through research

papers now maybe you don't have time to

read a bunch of papers and instead

you're just looking for a general

opinion on neuro feedback well I can

tell you what my personal opinion is

based off my experience I've trained a

lot of people at this point and have a

pretty good sample

size but also I'm just one data point so

just keep that in mind as we go forwards

I've personally seen good success with

treating other mental disorders like

PTSD or anxiety or OCD I've also seen it

for speech challenges as well as anger

outbursts I've even seen it for Peak

Performance you know for athletes when

they're training for their sport I've

even seen it for reducing the severity

of migraines

I've seen small improvements in some

people and in others I've seen truly

remarkable Transformations even within

just a few sessions but in general the

vast majority of people tend to have

some form of

improvement I've also seen people get

more in tune with themselves after a few

sessions of training getting more

comfortable with simply sitting with

one's thoughts a greater ability for

self-reflection of develops which can

help in future challenges long after you

finish the nerfy back

training I've found that there tends to

be many benefits from this training some

we weren't even looking

for so there we are that's neuro

feedback in a nutshell tell me how it

landed with you did I answer all of your

questions or are you looking for a

deeper explanation on some topic within

this let me know in the comments and

I'll be sure to get that answer

if you know someone who's considering

neuro feedback share this video with

them so they can get a little background

on what they're getting into subscribe

to the channel like the video you know

the drill I'll see you in the next one