| Pre/Post Differences in ADHD for two treatment modalities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Measure | Biofeedback | Ritalin |
| TOVA Inattentiveness (std score) | +14 | +12 |
| TOVA Impulsivity (std score) | +22 | +21 |
| TOVA Response time (std score) | +12.6 | +32 * |
| TOVA Variability (std score) | +32 | +18 |
| Attentional load, operating speed (%) | +17 | +16 |
| Attentional load, errors (%) | -14 | -12 |
| Attentional load, speed/errors (%) | +19 | +13 |
| Attentional load, range (%) | -1.5 | +6 |
| Connor's Behavioral Ratings (mothers) | -4 | -5 |
| Connor's Behavioral Ratings (fathers) | -3 | -2.5 |
| Total IQ | +4 | +2.5 |
| Performance IQ | +5 | +6 |
| Verbal IQ | +2 | -.5 |
Significant pre/post differences are beige
* Significant interaction between groups (p<.01)
For those who can read German, the entire dissertation in its native tongue can be found at http://www.eegspectrum.com/german/fuchs.htm
NEW BOOKS
Introduction to Quantitative EEG and Neurofeedback
James Evans and Andrew Abarbanel (Eds)
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Ritalin Is Not the Answer: A Drug-Free, Practical Program for Children Diagnosed With ADD or ADHD
by David B. Stein, Peter R. Breggin
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The Promise of Sleep : A Pioneer in Sleep Medicine Explains the Vital Connection Between Health, Happiness, and a Good Night's Sleep
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Of Two Minds: The Revolutionary Science of Dual-Brain Psychology
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States of Mind: New Discoveries about how Our Brains Make Us Who We Are
by Roberta Conlon, Jerome Kagan
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JOURNAL PAPERS
Experts spot anti-social behavior by age 3
--"We're talking about serious, aggressive behavior. "We want to look not only at what contributes to anti-social behavior, but also what goes on to contribute to pro-social behavior," said Dr. Renee Jenkins, head of pediatrics at Howard University Hospital in Washington and organizer of the meeting. "There are many complex ingredients, but early aggression before age 5 is the strongest predictor of anti-social behavior later on," said Stephen Hinshaw, a psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley. "If the parents aren't on board, if we can't fix parenting skills, then the interventions aren't likely to take."
Child rearing by prescription is becoming pervasive
--The Littleton, Colo., school-shooting tragedy has highlighted the widespread use of powerful prescription drugs to treat what are diagnosed as emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents - the great majority of them boys. Critics charge that some of these substances have not been adequately tested on young people, and federal agencies warn of possible adverse side effects. Some experts say such heavy reliance on drugs is an easy and relatively cheap cop-out favored by disengaged parents and insurance companies who'd rather have kids pop a pill than deal with root causes through counseling and the family.
Frontal lobe performance of ADHD adults
--Abnormal scores on a series of frontal lobe-executive functioning tests were good predictors of ADHD. However, normal scores poorly predicted the absence of ADHD except when the overall battery was combined into a single index. This findings was consistent with conceptualizations of ADHD depicting mild neurologic dysfunction in frontal lobes.
Differences In Brain Size Found In Hyperactive Children
--Hyperactive children appear to have less grey matter in the right frontal lobe as well as less white matter -- the neuronal connections between cells in both the right and left frontal lobes.
Repeated Exposure To Cocaine Alters Brain Structure
--Cocaine can produce long-lasting changes in the structure of nerve cells in certain areas of the brain, according to new data presented at the Fifth Annual Wisconsin Symposium on Emotion. "Repeated exposure to cocaine results in persisting brain changes that we believe contribute to addiction and the risk of relapse." Drug-induced changes (abnormally elongated and densely packed dendrites) were localized in the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex, regions of the brain associated with reward, learning and memory,
Multitasking Behaviors Mapped To The Prefrontal Cortex
--Investigators have mapped a region of the brain responsible for "branching", a multitasking behavior unique to humans. Branching is the ability to perform several separate tasks consecutively while keeping the goals of each task in mind. "The results of this study suggest that the anterior prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain that is most developed in humans, mediates the ability to depart temporarily from a main task in order to explore alternative tasks before returning to the main task at the departed point," says Jordan Grafman, Ph.D., a co-author of the study.
Brain Changes Seen In People With Depression
--Neurons and glial cells in the prefrontal cortex are abnormal in the brains of people who suffered from clinical depression and most of whom committed suicide. The glial cells were fewer in number and the neurons were smaller than normal and lower in density. This topographic region is responsible for higher intellectual functions and regulation of emotional and motivational behavior.
Adolescent Depression Often Continues To Adulthood
--Compared to the control subjects, those who were depressed as adolescents had a 5-fold increased risk for a first suicide attempt in the 10-15 year follow-up period and a 14-fold increased risk over their lifetime.
Regional brain function, emotion and disorders of emotion.
--Davidson's research on the neural substrates of emotion and its disorders. Particular emphasis has been placed on the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, parietal cortex, and the amygdala as critical components of the circuitry that may be dysfunctional in both depression and anxiety.
Electromagnetic Stimulation Shows Promise For Treatment-Resistant Depression
--An investigational treatment employing electromagnetic stimulation relieved depression in patients whose depression failed to respond to conventional treatment, report researchers at a recent APA meeting.
Compulsive acts linked to biology
--Research shows people with trouble controlling impulses have less activity in their frontal lobes, parts of the brain that put the brakes on primitive impulses. Many behaviors like shopping, mating or gambling fall along a spectrum that runs from normal, healthy behavior to pathological, said Dr. Donald Black, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa and one of the few who study compulsive buying and sexual behavior. For about 10 percent of pathological shoppers, buying sprees are sexually stimulating, Black said.
Prefrontal cortical dysfunction in depression
--Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated reduced prefrontal cortical blood flow and metabolism in depression, but the neurobehavioral significance of these observations is not yet established. In this context, it was found that depressed patients demonstrated significant deficits on multiple Wisconsin Card Sorting Test measures (a measure of executive/frontal performance).
Predicting posttreatment cocaine abstinence
--This study examined client and program characteristics that predict posttreatment cocaine abstinence. Programs which offered legal services and included recovering staff increased a client's likelihood of cocaine abstinence. Crack use predicted negatively. Treatment repeaters were relatively difficult to treat; however their likelihood of achieving abstinence was similar to that of first-timers if they were retained in treatment for a sufficient time.
Clinical services for sleep disorders.
--Children's sleep disorders are common and often harmful to development and well being. A three tier system of service provision is proposed to improve this situation, which rests essentially on better professional training in the sleep disorders field.
Advanced Training Courses | ||
|---|---|---|
|
BETA/SMR Advanced Practicum
with Sue Othmer Topics Covered
|
Alpha-Theta Advanced Practicum
Topics Covered
| |
| 1999 Schedule | ||
|---|---|---|
| Northampton, MA | Alpha-Theta Advanced Practicum | 6/29/99 Tue |
| London, England | Alpha-Theta Advanced Practicum | 7/15/99 Thur |
| London, England | BETA/SMR Advanced Practicum | 7/16/99 Fri |
| Encino, California | BETA/SMR Advanced Practicum | 9/22/99 Wed |
| Encino, California | Alpha-Theta Advanced Practicum | 9/28/99 Tue |
| New York, New York | BETA/SMR Advanced Practicum | 10/12/99 Tue |
| Austin, Texas | Alpha-Theta Advanced Practicum | 11/23/99 Tue |
| Beta-SMR Advanced Practicum Limit = 20 | Alpha-Theta Advanced Practicum Limit = 15 | ||
PREREQUISITES FOR EITHER PRACTICUM:
- Completion of 1 EEG Spectrum International Biofeedback Training Course for Professionals
- EEG Biofeedback experience using NeuroCybernetics Instrumentation
Conferences for Neurofeedback Clinicians & Researchers | ||
|---|---|---|
| CONFERENCE | LOCATION | DATES |
| SNR 1999 | Myrtle Beach, SC | Sep 30-Oct 3, 1999 |
New Offices online
- Jolene Ross - Wellesley, MA
- Grand Avenue Psychology Offices - St. Paul, MN
New Case Histories online
New Neurofeedback Clinicians / New Offices
Carol J. Hindman, RN, MFCC, BCIA Center for Wellness & ADD Treatment Ctr 420 Brooksite Ave Redlands, CA 92373 (909) 792-2216 (pager 909-412-0879 cbhindman@compuserve.com Lynn Workman Nodland & Associates Lynn Workman Nodland, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist, BCIA 684 Excelsior Blvd, Suite 120 Excelsior, MN 55331 (612) 536-1717 Fax: 401-0490 | Mitch Sadar Sadar Psych Services 124 Woodlyn Ave. Trooper PA 19043 610 933-9440 |
Email:
Return to the Spectrum Theory of Mental Disorders
Excerpt from "EEG Biofeedback: An Emerging Model for its Global Efficiency"by Othmer, Othmer, & Kaiser in the recently published Academic Press book,
Joseph Biederman has made a careful study of ADHD and its comorbidities (Biederman et al., 1991; 1996). Even taking only the most important ones (conduct disorder, anxiety, and depression), less than 50% of ADHD cases are found to be uncomplicated by these conditions. Oppositional-defiant disorder is found to have a 65% overlap with ADD. If one also considers the tic disorders, as well as mania and bipolar disorder, sleep disorders, chronic head and stomach pain syndromes, immune function disorders, enuresis and encopresis, disregulation in blood glucose level, and specific learning disabilities, then only a small percentage of ADHD subjects will fall into the bin of pure ADHD. If one further admits into consideration all of the above issues where they are qualitatively and significantly present, but don't necessarily meet all clinical diagnostic criteria, then it becomes clear that the pure ADHD subject of the researcher's dreams exists more as an exceptional example than the rule.
It takes only a small shift in perspective to regard many of the comorbidities as helping to define the condition of ADHD, as being part and parcel of it. ADHD is then a composite disorder, in which symptoms are highly variable among individuals, depending on their genetic endowment and the insults their nervous system has suffered... Weinberg has taken this perspective, and suggested that ADHD is intrinsically a composite disorder, with contributions from an anxiety dimension, from a primary disorder of vigilance, and from learning disabilities (Weinberg & Harper, 1993; Weinberg & Brumback, 1992) ...
David Comings makes the case for Tourette Syndrome as a spectrum disorder (given a dozen or so comorbidities from 20% to 68% prevalence in TS)...
Goodwin and Jamison make the case for a spectrum theory of depressive illness: "The debate about whether depressive disorders should be divided into categories or arrayed along a continuum has gone on for decades, without resolution. In our view, there is more evidence consistent with the spectrum concept than there is with the idea that depressive disorders constitute discrete clusters marked by relatively discontinuous boundaries." (Goodwin and Jamison, 1990)
"Within a couple of years of its introduction, Prozac was shown to be useful in depression, OCD, panic anxiety, eating disorders, PMS, substance abuse, ADD, etc... .What does it mean when the same medication can treat depression and anxiety?... . drug response can emphasize commonality, and the futility of attempts at mechanistic categorization," states Peter Kramer in, Listening to Prozac, 1994. "A virtue of the functional theory of illness and cure is that it explains an apparent paradox of Prozac, a medication that is at once specific in its biochemical action and useful in a variety of disorders. The functional theory predicts precisely this relationship: "The greater the biochemical specificity of the drug, the greater is the chance that it will be nosologically (i.e., diagnostically) nonspecific.... Medications, it is increasingly understood, alter neurochemical systems. They do not treat specific illnesses."
This discussion prepares the ground well for the claims of EEG biofeedback. EEG biofeedback addresses regulatory function directly, through its manifestation in the EEG, and as such is expected to be diagnostically nonspecific. Biofeedback alters bio-electrical systems. It does not treat specific disorders.
Over the years, anti-convulsant medications have broadened in application to include not only seizure disorders but end-stage bipolar disorder, mania, schizophrenia, and even conduct disorder, some autism, some cerebral palsy, and some types of ADHD (e.g., Sporn, & Sachs, 1997; Kanba et al., 1994, Suffin & Emory,1995). This breadth of coverage, over conditions which have been viewed as having no clinical kinship, argues for a different conceptualization of these disorders as being fundamentally characterized by instabilities and discontinuities in mental functioning. Just as with Prozac above, the anti-convulsants are lumpers, not splitters, of diagnostic categories... EEG biofeedback is (likewise) deemed to address brain-based instabilities and discontinuities generally, and not address itself to any specific disorder.
The spectrum concept... focuses attention on teasing out a hopefully modest set of principal or characteristic failure modes of neurophysiological systems which underpin these various spectrum disorders. An analogy can be drawn here with the plate tectonics theory of continental drift. The diversity of geology over all the continents does not gainsay the existence of a single mechanism governing the process of crustal formation and continental drift over the globe. Similarly, the great variety of clinical manifestations of disorders does not invalidate the expectation of a smaller set of causal chains of failure in the neurological domain. The spectrum concept is compatible with the disregulation model, and both jointly support the case for a general efficacy of EEG biofeedback in re-regulation of nervous system functioning.
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