What's New in Neurofeedback

• Brain scan shows high IQ correlates

• Brain implant may restore memory

• High-Fat Diet Cuts Epileptic Seizures in Children

• Exposure to Marijuana in Womb May Harm Brain

• Back Pain Linked to Brain Shrinkage

  All links at: http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=science&cat=brain_research

Two classic papers that need to be included in any discussion on neurofeedback

• Clemente CD, Sterman MB & Wyrwicka W (1964). Post-reinforcement EEG synchronization during alimentary behavior. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 16, 355-365.

• Sterman MB, Harper RM, Havens B, Hoppenbrouwers T, McGinty DJ, & Hodgman JE. (1977). Quantitative analysis of infant EEG development during quiet sleep. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 43, 371-85.

Thatcher (1999) and Othmer et al (1999) refers to chapters in Introduction to QEEG and Neurofeedback.

Midterm #1 Psy 547-01 Brainwaves & Behavior (Kaiser) 

4. In the 10-20 electrode placement system, the number "4" in the site label
 "C4" lets us know that this electrode is positioned somewhere over the:
 A. right hemisphere
 B. occipital lobe
 C. cerebral cortex
 D. fourth ventricle

6. Fourier analysis is performed on EEG data in order to:
 A. detect seizures
 B. decompose signals into constituents
 C. identify electrophysiological mechanisms
 D. amplify signals

Questions about Sterman et al (1977):

9. Human sleep spindles attain their mature rhythm (speed) by what age?
 A. birth
 B. 3 months
 C. 1 year
 D. 9-10 years

10. The human sleep spindle is similar to what rhythm during wakefulness? 
 A. alpha
 B. delta
 C. theta
 D. sensorimotor

16. The first person to record electrical activity from the brain of animals was
 A. Richard Caton
 B. Hans Berger
 C. Carl Wernicke
 D. Adrian Matthews

17. The "10-20" in the 10-20 International System of Electrode Placement refers to 
 A. the number of electrodes attached to the scalp
 B. the percentage of total distance between specified skull locations
 C. the number of centimeters between electrode placements
 D. two montage types: one with 10 electrodes, one with 20 electrodes

18. Theta activity in a young child may reflect
 A. a normal variant of the dominant frequency
 B. drowsiness
 C. muscle tension
 D. all of the above
 E. both A & B

19. Referential (or monopolar) montages involve collecting information at an
 active electrode site and comparing this activity with a common reference
 electrode, such as the earlobes, which ______ be affected by cerebral activity.
 A. should
 B. should not

 (Though monopolar recordings are a fiction)

20. EEG recorded at the scalp is typically measured in 
 A. millivolts
 B. milliamps
 C. microvolts
 D. ohms

21. Transients refer to
 A. an isolated form or feature that stands out from the background EEG
 B. a repeating feature that stands out from the background EEG
 C. transitional states of increasing or decreasing arousal
 D. changes between active and resting (baseline) states

22. Measures of phase provide estimates of ____ between related generators
 A. lag time
 B. synchrony
 C. desynchrony
 D. coherence

23. In conventional EEG (also called clinical EEG), one of the primary tasks an
 expert would perform is to characterize
 A. the general background activity
 B. the magnitude of slow wave activity
 C. the incidence of artifacts and other signal corruptions
 D. the reliability of the EEG record

24. Which measure involves unnecessary squaring of the raw value, an outdated
 technique left over from early neurological investigations and engineering
 applications?
 A. power
 B. magnitude
 C. amplitude
 D. coherence

25. The magnitude of alpha activity at F3 divided by the magnitude of all
 frequency bands at the same site provides an estimate of:
 A. relative magnitude
 B. relative power
 C. absolute magnitude
 D. ratio power

28. About 98% of the energy of the human EEG lies between
 A. 0-3.5 Hz
 B. 0-30 Hz
 C. 5-15 Hz
 D. 8-13 Hz

29. Of the three - amplitude, coherence, phase -- which is usually more variable
 and less stable?
 A. amplitude
 B. coherence
 C. phase

32. According to Thatcher (1999), there are at least three primary reasons to use a
 normative database for the purposes of neurotherapy. Which is not one of
 those reasons?
 A. to determine to what extent there is a neurological basis of the patient's complaint
 B. to optimize neurotherapic choices and treatment design
 C. to evaluate effectiveness of treatment
 D. to determine to what extent there is a psychological basis of the patient's complaint

34. EEG rhythmicity is believed to be caused by pacemaking cells in the
 A. cortex
 B. reticular thalamic nuclei
 C. thalamus
 D. activating reticular formation

(In class I argued the Andersen-to-Steriade line of evidence about brain rhythmicity 
as opposed to Nunez's cortical arguments.)

35. Delta rhythms are thought to be generated solely in the
 A. cortex
 B. reticular thalamic nuclei
 C. thalamus
 D. activating reticular formation

38. For which condition is EEG not routinely applied or analyzed? 
 A. head injury
 B. epilepsy
 C. sleep disorders
 D. schizophrenia

41. Which mathematically transformed estimation of spectral amplitude produces
 relatively normal distributions for thalamocortical activity (say, 5-15 Hz)?
 A. log magnitude
 B. magnitude
 C. power

43. Cosine tapering functions are applied in Fourier analysis to reduce edge
 effects caused by segmenting data into epochs. Their use initially introduced
 what new form of artifact to QEEG analysis?
 A. leakage
 B. smearing
 C. sampling
 D. ocular

44. When a child's dominant frequency in a normal resting condition is replaced
 by faster, lower amplitude waveforms, we call this process:
 A. synchronization
 B. alpha blocking
 C. theta augmentation
 D. alpha synchrony

45. Non-specific arousal involves a _______ change in spectral amplitudes.
 A. localized
 B. spatial
 C. widespread
 D. unspecified

47. A baseline condition generally requires the following from a subject:
 A. eyes shut
 B. eyes being open
 C. no active mental processing 
 D. task performance

48. Which electrode site is positioned above the left medial frontal lobe
 A. Fp1
 B. F7
 C. F3
 D. F4
 E. F8

49. Which electrodes are a homologous pairing?
 A. Fz-F3
 B. T5-T6
 C. T3-C3
 D. Fp1-O1
 E. Fp1-F4

Correct Answers for Midterm #1
4--A
6--B
9--B
10--D
16--A
17--B
18--E
19--B
20--C
21--A
22--A
23--A
24--A
25--A
28--B
29--C
32--D
34--B
35--A
38--D
41--A
43--C
44--B
45--C
47--C
48--C
49--B

Midterm #2 Psy 547 Brainwaves & Behavior (Kaiser) 

5. Three-quarters of all cats trained by Sterman to produce sensorimotor rhythms:
 A. were completely protected from chemically induced seizures
 B. were completely vulnerable to chemically induced seizures
 C. were unable to do so.
 D. were resistant but did eventually produce seizures

6. Post-reinforcement synchronization reflects activity in which frequency band:
 A. alpha
 B. beta
 C. theta
 D. gamma

Questions for Clemente et al (1964)

7. When a cat's milk was diluted with water, the incidence of PRS
 A. increased
 B. decreased
 C. remained unchanged

8. In response to water dispensations, Cat #62 exhibited no PRS whereas Cat #60 
 showed PRS half the time. We can conclude that:
 A. Cat 62 was water deprived
 B. Cat 60 was water deprived
 C. Cat 60 was not water deprived
 D. both A & C

9. Marked reduction in PRS was associated with which behavior in Sterman's cats:
 A. sleep
 B. disinterest
 C. arousal
 D. feeding

10. During a visual task, which two sites are most likely to exhibit the highest
 degree of coherence:
 A. P3 and O1
 B. O1 and O2
 C. P3 and O2
 D. P3 and C3

11. According to the Nyquist Sampling Theorem, sampling once per cycle may produce
 A. the appearance of a constant signal
 B. the minimum sampling rate
 C. aliasing
 D. accurate frequency identification
 E. both B and D

12. In most human recordings, the insulating layers (skull, dura, scalp) make
 recording SMR difficult due to the:
 A. reduction of amplitudes
 B. speeding of frequencies
 C. slowing of frequencies
 D. both A and C

13. The inion is located
 A. near the nose
 B. near the ears
 C. near the back of the head
 D. below the neck

14. According to Othmer et al (1999), training frequencies between 2-12 Hz is for:
 A. psychological reintegration
 B. neurophysiological normalization
 C. dysrhythmias

15. Davidson's research has found that negative moods or withdrawal behaviors are
 associated with activation of the:
 A. left frontal medial area
 B. left frontal lateral area
 C. right frontal medial area
 D. right frontal lateral area

16. According to Othmer et al (1999), SMR neurofeedback training works because it
 A. produces arousal states otherwise unreachable by a patient
 B. challenges regulatory systems to respond to arousal changes
 C. reintegrates psychological trauma with normal cognition
 D. teaches patient to pay attention

17. The crossover state in alpha-theta training refer to:
 A. when theta activity becomes dominant in the signal
 B. when the patient experiences "rebirth" experiences
 C. when the patient crosses over to a new persona
 D. when the patient can re-experience past traumas 

18. The dominant frequency rhythm in early childhood (2-7 years of age) is
 A. theta
 B. alpha
 C. beta
 D. delta

20. Alpha-theta training may work because of the state-dependent learning model
 which argues that an individual is 
 A. returned to the dominant frequency of childhood
 B. able to experience past traumas in a detached mode
 C. better able to bond to a therapist during sessions
 D. able to focus on inner states, which is unusual for them

21. Prior to attaching electrodes, a site is prepped with an abrasive gel to
 remove any dead skin so as to:
 A. reduce amplitudes
 B. reduce impedence
 C. increase impedence
 D. increase wavelengths

23. Muscle and other forms of artifact are often handled in real-time during
 neurofeedback by
 A. inhibiting activity in high frequencies
 B. inhibiting activity in low frequencies
 C. inhibiting high amplitudes in the raw signal
 D. all of the above
 E. both A & C

Correct answers for Midterm #2
5--D
6--A
7--B
8--B
9--B
10--B
11--A
12--A
13--C
14--A
15--C
16--B
17--A
18--A
20--A
21--B
23--E

FINAL  Psy 547 Brainwaves (Kaiser) 

12. Endogenous components of an ERP occur at what time frame?
 A. 0 to 100 ms
 B. 100 to 500 ms
 C. 500 ms or longer
 D. both A & B
 E. both B & C

13. Endogenous event-related potentials depend largely on
 A. behavioral and psychological processes related to the event
 B. physical parameters of the stimulus
 C. behavioral and psychological processes unrelated to the event
 D. metabolism

14. In brain-computer interfaces, which signal is not controlled through
 training (i.e., it is an intrinsic signal used for BCIs):
 A. p300
 B. mu rhythm (or SMR rhythm)
 C. slow cortical potentials
 D. action potentials

15. In brain-computer interfaces, habituation is often a problem with
 A. instrinic signals
 B. self-regulated signals
 C. extrinsic signals

17. Using current technology, most brain-computer interfaces typically allow
 locked-in patients to communicate at a rate of about:
 A. 5 words an hour
 B. 1 word a minute
 C. 1 word a second
 D. 5 phonemes a second

18. In current brain-computer interfaces, a locked-in patient mentally writes a
 letter to a friend or mentally rotates a complex block figure to generate a
 code (e.g., the letter "B"). The computer is examining what element the most
 for this code generation. In other words, each task produces preferential
 activation of specific _______. 
 A. electrode sites.
 B. frequency bands.
 C. phase-coherence relationships.
 D. event-related potentials.

19. In the ______ paradigm, a subject faces an environment where a certain
 stimulus is repeated in monotonous fashion. Once in a while a standard
 stimulus is replaced by a deviant one. For example, the standard stimulus
 could be a tone of 1000 Hz in frequency and the deviant stimulus a tone of
 1500 Hz in frequency. 
 A. oddball
 B. event-related
 C. desynchronization
 D. arousal

23. In the event-related desynchronization paradigm, maximum deactivation occurs
 around _____ ms after stimulus presentation
 A. 100
 B. 500
 C. 1250
 D. 2500

30. Mean spectral activity captures steady state (macrostate) activity in EEG. To
 capture general dynamics of an EEG (microstate), one might analyze:
 A. standard deviation
 B. slope
 C. median
 D. all of the above
 E. both A & B

Correct Answers for Final
12--E
13--A
14--A
15--A
17--B
18--A
19--A
23--C
30--E

EEG signature and phenomenology of alpha/theta neurofeedback training versus mock feedback. : Alpha-theta neurofeedback facilitates production of higher within-session theta/alpha ratios than do noncontingent feedback relaxation. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12557453

Effects of stimulant medications on EEG of children with ADHD Inattentive type. : Stimulant medications appear to act to increase cortical arousal in children with ADHD, normalizing their EEG. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12568943

EEG activity in girls with ADHD. : Girls with ADHD exhibit abnormalities in their EEGs, with far less variance in their EEG profiles than boys. There may be distinct groups of girls with ADHD who are not being referred for clinical treatment. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12559240

Bursts as a unit of neural information: selective communication via resonance. : They posit that frequency preference might occur at the level of individual synapses, providing effective mechanisms for selective communication between neurons. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12591219

LORETA findings in depression and effects of antidepressant drugs. : ERP-tomography identified changes in brain areas predominantly involved in depression and in antidepressant action. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12575474

fMRI study of Asperger syndrome. : No focal brain abnormalities for Asperger Syndrome were found. However the mesencephalon (tectum and tegmentum of the brainstem) were reduced. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12585818

MRI in body dysmorphic disorder. : Body dysmorphic disorder exhibits a leftward shift in caudate asymmetry and greater total white matter compared to controls, consistent with an OCD model for this condition. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12589879

Neural correlates of clinical symptoms in OCD : Behavioral and PET data show increased activity in right orbitofrontal cortex and decreased activity at left parieto-occipital in OCD. Metabolism in right hippocampus and parietal regions correlates with severity of symptoms. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12589881

Neurobiology of autism: new pieces of the puzzle. : Abnormalities in cortical minicolumnar structure may underlie autism and result in altered thalamocortical connections, cortical disinhibition, and dysfunctional arousal-modulation. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12583844

FMRI evidence for an organization of prefrontal cortex : Prefrontal cortex functional organization by both process and type of information. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12571116

Temporary and permanent signs of interhemispheric disconnection after TBI : The transient nature of most symptoms of interhemispheric disconnection suggests a relatively wide dispersion of fibers with different functions through the callosal body. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12559156

Limbic-striatal memory systems and drug addiction. : The amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate and medial prefrontal cortex are all involved in drug-seeking as well as drug-taking behavior, including the propensity to relapse. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?form=6&db=m&uid=12559840

Thom Hartmann proposes that ADHD emerged as a successful attentional strategy for hunter-gatherers 40,000 years ago. Other mental disorders deserve similar evolutionary consideration. In fact, in just the last five years, evolutionary hypotheses have been proposed for a significant fraction of the DSM-IV, ranging from depression (Nesse, 2000) and anxiety (Marks & Nesse, 1994) to eating disorders (Abed, 1998), OCD (Abed & de Pauw, 2000) and antisocial personality disorder (Mealey, 1997).

Abed & de Pauw (1998) argue that obsessions and compulsions served to generate risk scenarios without actions -- a Cro-Magnon virtual reality simulator -- which would lead to more risk avoidance behavior in the future. That is why this "maladaptation" was not weeded out of the gene pool. For eating disorders, Abed (1998) offers a sexual competition hypothesis gone extreme: modern society has overactivated the female intra-sexual competition in select women.

Nesse (1998), who is a leading voice in the dawning subfield of evolutionary psychiatry, makes a strong case that understanding emotional disorders requires understanding the evolutionary origins and functions of normal emotions. We must be cognizant of the fact that natural selection designs us towards maximal reproductive success, not happiness (despite what Thomas Jefferson promised us all in the Declaration of Independence -- though then again, he promised only to keep government out of our hair while we pursued happiness, with no implicit guarantee). According to Nesse, negative emotions such as anxiety and anhedonia are not disorders, but are evolved defenses like pain, defenses that are triggered when relationship strategies fail. When pursuit of a major goal is likely to result in danger, bodily damage, or, worst, wasted effort, it is better to be pessimistic and lose motivation (Nesse, 2000). Back down, chill, flee -- to fight (or mate) another day.

How natural selection has shaped the mechanisms underlying addiction is of particular interest to evolutionary psychiatrists and psychologists, given the intractability of this family of disorders. What are the evolutionary underpinnings of excessive alcohol consumption, for instance? How do evolved biological mechanisms (e.g., dopaminergic systems), ontogeny or development (e.g., attachment), and phylogeny (dominance, submission, social dependence) interact? The journal Addiction dedicated a recent issue to this topic, vol 97 No 4, 2002. Humans coevolved with psychotropic plants and other intoxicants, which is evident in the chemical adaptations that have evolved in humans (and other mammals) to metabolize psychotropic plants and in the structure of plant defensive chemicals that have evolved to mimic our neurotransmitters. How can this knowledge assist us in treating such devastating conditions? And still we mustn't lose sight of possible shortcomings to evolutionary models of psychopathology (Leckman & Mayes, 1998)

An evolutionary approach is not the final answer to understanding and treating psychopathology, of course, but it may be a fruitful avenue of pursuit for therapies, and for years to come. I suspect neurotherapy and other operant conditioning techniques might find a niche here.

References

The Maladapted Mind: Classic Readings in Evolutionary Psychopathology
by Simon Baron-Cohen --www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/086377461X/top100

Abed, R. T. (1998) The sexual competition hypothesis for eating disorders. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 71, 525-547.

Abed & de Pauw (1998) An evolutionary hypothesis for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a psychological immune system ? Behavioural Neurology, 11(4):245-250

Leckman, J. E. & Mayes, L. C. (1998) Understanding developmental psychopathology: how useful are evolutionary accounts? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 1011-1020

Marks, I. M. & Nesse, R. M. (1994) Fear and fitness: an evolutionary analysis of anxiety disorders. Ethology and Sociobiology, 15, 247-261.

Mealey, L. (1997) The sociobiology of sociopathy: an integrated evolutionary model. In The Maladapted Mind : Classic Readings in Evolutionary Psychopathology (ed. S. Baron-Cohen), pp. 133-188. Hove: Psychology Press.

McGuire, M. & Troisi, A. (1998) Darwinian Psychiatry. New York : Oxford University Press.

Nesse, R. M. (2000) Is depression an adaptation? Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 14-20.

Nesse, R. M. (1998). Emotional disorders in evolutionary perspective. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 71 ,397-415