ADVANCED METHODS IN NEUROFEEDBACK TO TRAIN CORTICAL-SUBCORTICAL REGIONS OF THE BRAIN:
Applied Neuroscience and our understanding of the complexity of the brain continues to be a pioneering frontier. Most individuals who are seeking the best way to train their brain through neurofeedback have at best a rudimentary understanding of what they are in search for. And our Applied Neuroscience profession has a responsibility to educate our clients or potential clients searching for a neurofeedback professional competant to help address their concerns. If the potential client googles "neurofeedback," they discover a variety of different neurofeedback systems, and approaches. Most individuals who have come into my clinic, who experienced neurofeedback, were trained through a "passive" approach." They did not understand what they were doing while looking at the training screen. A passive approach does not support the client to listen to their deeper inner experience (an active approach; or known as NeuroDynmic therapy (Dr. Sal Barba and Dr. Joel Lubar-2023). Either approach can be utilized with standardized surface training neurofeedback technologies, or more advanced neuro-technologies such as SW LORETA that is able to target the subcortical deeper regions of the brain associated with subcortical disorders, (Applied Neuroscience Incorporated: Dr. Robert Thatcher).
The clinician or technician places electrodes on one or two sites, and either provides a preset protocol on one or more crainial site locations limited to targeting the client's symptoms on the cortical surface of the brain. There are different software technologies that go with the territory of different levels of understanding, training and experience of the clinician who uses neurotechnology to help with their clients concerns. (Getting Started with Neurofeedback, by John Demos, is a great book to learn from), (The Neurofeedback Bood: An Intyroduction to Basic concepts in Applied Psychophysiology by the Thompsons is an excellent book to pursue greater depth in understanding the complexity of the brain and the use of QEEG assessment, psychometric instruments, and a decision making tree to help sort out where to start first with the client when developing a protocol training plan.) Generally speaking, a symptom based approach, although useful, is incapable of offering a comprehensive evidence and data based approach, and cannot offer neocortical dynamic analysis-multiple network analysis that is critically important to analyzing assocated regions of the brain being impacted by a comprehensive protocol. A comprehensive protocol (is complicated, and is both a science and an art, and should always be supported by the research when developing it.) is developed first by an interhemispheric and local neuronetwork assessment before a comprehensive protocol can be devleoped. Furthermore, most clients show an underarousal and over arousal phenomenon both at the cortical surface and the subcortical surface of the brain with asymetical patterns. Often times, a protocol must target dysfunctional connectivity, which could be occurring in several metrics that can be measured (in standard deviations according to the population database a clinician is working from), such as coherence, lagged coherence, phase, phase difference and phase lock: transmission of information. Advanced neurotechnology is capable of identifing the symptoms, and provides clarity on how to proceed with a customized protocol to address the right locations of those symptoms for positive outcome.
With advanced multiple channel, and additional neurotechnological programs, the experienced and knowledgable clinician is able to analysis and address subcortical-deeper regions of the brain associated with symptoms such as, Parkenson's Disease, Spectrum Disorders showing mirror neuron dysregulation, ADHD, Tourettes, Tics, OCD, deeper regions of the brain impacted by truamatic brain injuries, Complex PTSD, Dissociation, Marijuana abuse and addiction (has the potential to cause symptoms similar to traumatic brain injuries from chronic use, and a whole array of addiction problems including caffiene addiction), and several cortical circuits assoicated with functional challenges of the brain and behavior.
Each of the cortical circuits have different functions that flow through areas of the brain such as the striatum, known as the basal ganglia, nucleus accumbens and thalamus to areas of the cortex, such as the motor regions of the brain, the oculomotor system: frontal eye fields, the dorsolateral prefrontal areas, the lateral orbitofrontal regions, the executive function areas and the anterior cingulate cortex (the limbic areas). Some individuals who experience hypervigilance and vigilant rigidity suggest that a person with these symptoms experience greater memories associated to the neuropathways from the colliculus through the pulvinar to the amygdala encoding emotional responses to negative associations rather than positive ones. These would include an instensity of unpleasant memories or intrusive phenomena that could undermine sleep and cause secondary symptoms such as diminished cogntive processing, cognitive fatigue, anxiety, hypervigilance intruding upon one's sleep cycles, poor attention span, challenges in short and long term memory, and word acquisition, as well as diminished daily resilience. Interaction regarding different regions of the anterior cingulate cortex further connected to the locus coeruleus, the periaqueductal gray, the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala, the lateral hypothalamus, and the intralaminar thalamic nucllei ( Vogt et al., 2009), (Frank M. Corrigan, Hannah Young and Jessica Christie-Sands (2025), and (Siebern Fisher, 2014). These clinical symptoms make it difficult for individuals suffering from them to shift states of consciousness, and can become entrenched in habitual patterns that show outwardly that the brain has difficulty shifting states. This is why neurofeedback training should integrate other therapeutic modalities during the client's training process. This approach is referred to as "Active" training and is neurodynamic in that the client actively learns how to engage in different regions of their brain to promote a direction toward optimal brain performance, and self directed neuroplasticity. This approach further supports neuro-regulation on the cortical and subcortical areas of the brain, and helps direct the client toward healtheir behavioral changes,choices and new meaning in their lives.
Good standardized neurotherapy practice will always include a QEEG: Quantitative Encepholography with an in depth analysis of the cortex and sub cortical regions shown in advanced image analysis technology, such as Neuro-Navigator, which provides MRI template image technology that shows volume views of the brain, three cut views of the brain, such as an Axial view, a Sagittal view and a Coronal view, along with a Connectome View that helps to identify dysfunctional connectivity, timing and transmission of information that travels interhemispherically across the client's corpus collosum. This kind of analysis further includes a neuro-cortical dynamic analysis that assesses not just a global picture of your brain's challenges, but also specific symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, different types of ADHD, Spectrum Disorders, Parkonson's Disease, Balance and sleep problems, PTSD, and challenges with neuro-regulation, as well as a host of TBI sequalea. Furthermore, the on-going new discoveries about the brain requires even greater neuromodulation training systems that have the capacity to perform complex neocortical dynamic analysis to better understand the changes from neurofeedback training that are impacting the surface of the brain, known as the neo-cortex, and the deeper regions of the brain referred to as the subcortical regions. These include the cerebellum, and its relationship to the motor cortex, but also its ability to regulate and promote cognitive speed, which often times can improve a growing concern of brain fatigue, and diminished cognitive speed post Covid symptoms.
Quantitative technology to monitor in time and cuumulative changes in the brain is important, and is able to show how the targeted sites are impacting other parts of the brain in real time.The brain is complex, and whatever neurofeedback training systems that are being utilized, the clinician should, when needed and appropriate have access to consultations with other more experienced clinicians to integrate psychotherapy skill sets with the training; to examine pre and post training session data, and to offer recommendations relevant to the clients clinical presentation that could change within any given sequence of training sessions, such as seeing a Naturopathic Physician in determining depletion of nutriants, or an assessment to consider brain optimizers subsequent to a head injury, Berometric Oxygen Therapy to support healthy oxygen blood flow, or Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback integrated with neurofeedback training, or a psychiatric evaluation, or sleep study, or a neuropsychological evaluation. These approaches can be vitally useful in the promotion of optimal brain health.
I hope this helps to bring greater clarity for those of you who are reading this support blog. As research continues to inform us on new discoveries of the brain, and outcomes of SW LORETA research, I will include those new discoveries. Until then, try to make wise choices concerning the health of your brain, in diet, rest, exercise, and other brain health modalities appropriate for your brain's unique needs.
Until the next blog, Wishing you good Brain Health!
Dr. Sal
