Additional Benefits
Benefits of Neurotherapy with Brain Injury – Concussion – Stroke
In cases of TBI, neurofeedback is probably better than any medication or supplement. – Richard Brown, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY
Anyone who has suffered a stroke knows the devastating, life altering changes that occur. Often movement will be restricted or lost all together on one side, speech may be impacted or lost entirely, and the functioning of the brain feels frustratingly compromised. Physical therapy, speech therapy, psychotherapy and occupational therapy play a role. However, after 2 years fewer gains are typically made (and fewer expected). Enter neurotherapy.
When the brain suffers damage, often slower brainwaves—delta and theta—rush to the site of the injury to begin repairing. These are the brainwaves babies, toddlers and youth spend much time in while their brains are developing because their brains are developing. These slow waves are the waves of angiogenesis, neuroplasticity, and neurogenesis. Thus, it makes perfect sense that the brain would produce these waves when trying to regenerate damaged tissue.
However, the patterns of delta and theta become locked, entrenched, and habitual, preventing growth out of the stroke/TBI disabled state. The use of neurotherapy, pulsed electromagnetic frequency, and neurofeedback can create profound shifts in your ability to recuperate and recover from your injury.
With neurotherapy, we can target train specific areas of the brain that relate to speech (for example, Broca’s or Wernicke’s area) or movement (such as the sensory motor strip). By reinforcing the frequencies and patterns we want to see the brain generate, we can help ease you back into your normal ways of being.
A clenched and unusable hand may become operational again. An easy gait returns to replace a stiff stagger. Fluid speech begins first in word finding, then sentence completion, into full conversation.
A caveat: the level of recovery that can be achieved is not predictable and the willingness, hope, patience and cooperation of the patient is essential to success. Overall, neurotherapy has been successfully applied to patients with mild traumatic brain injury. Hundreds of case studies have been presented at conferences, published in academic journals and, most importantly, undertaken for the ultimate benefit of those involved.
- Ayers, M. E. (1981). A report on a study of the utilization of electroencephalography for the treatment of cerebral vascular lesion syndromes. Chapter in L. Taylor, M. E. Ayers, & C. Tom (Eds.), Electromyometric Biofeedback Therapy. Los Angeles: Biofeedback and Advanced Therapy Institute, 244–257.
- Ayers, M. E. (1987). Electroencephalic neurofeedback and closed head injury of 250 individuals. Head Injury Frontiers. National Head Injury Foundation, 380–392.
- Ayers, M. E. (1991). A controlled study of EEG neurofeedback training and clinical psychotherapy for right hemispheric closed head injury. Paper presented at the National Head Injury Foundation, Los Angeles, 1991.
- Ayers, M. E. (1995a). A controlled study of EEG neurofeedback and physical therapy with pediatric stroke, age seven months to age fifteen, occurring prior to birth. Biofeedback & Self-Regulation, 20(3), 318.
- Ayers, M. E. (1995b). EEG neurofeedback to bring individuals out of level 2 coma. Biofeedback & Self-Regulation, 20(3), 304–305.
- Ayers, M. E. (1999). Assessing and treating open head trauma, coma, and stroke using real-time digital EEG neurofeedback. Chapter in J. R. Evans & A. Abarbanel (Eds.), Introduction to Quantitative EEG and Neurofeedback. New York: Academic Press, 203–222.
- Ayers, M. E. (2004). Neurofeedback for cerebral palsy. Journal of Neurotherapy, 8(2), 9394.
- Bachers, A. (2004). Neurofeedback with cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Journal of Neurotherapy, 8(2), 95–96.
- Bearden, T. S., Cassisi, J. E., & Pineda, M. (2003). Neurofeedback training for a patient with thalamic and cortical infarctions. Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback, 28(3), 241–253.
- Bounias, M., Laibow, R. E., Bonaly, A., & Stubblebine, A. N. (2002). EEGneurobiofeedback treatment of patients with brain injury: Part 1: Typological classification of clinical syndromes. Journal of Neurotherapy, 5(4), 23–44.
- Bounias, M., Laibow, R. E., Stubbelbine, A. N., Sandground, H., & Bonaly, A. (2002). EEGneurobiofeedback treatment of patients with brain injury Part 4: Duration of treatments as a function of both the initial load of clinical symptoms and the rate of rehabilitation. Journal of Neurotherapy, 6(1), 23–38.
- Byers, A. P. (1995). Neurofeedback therapy for a mild head injury. Journal of Neurotherapy, 1(1), 22–37.
- Cannon, K. B., Sherlin, L., & Lyle, R. R. (2010). Neurofeedback efficacy in the treatment of a 43-year-old female stroke victim: a case study. Journal of Neurotherapy, 14(2), 107–121.
- Doppelmayr, M., Nosko, H., Pecherstorfer, T., & Fink, A. (2007). An attempt to increase cognitive performance after stroke with neurofeedback. Biofeedback, 35(4), 126–130.
- Duff, J. (2004). The usefulness of quantitative EEG (QEEG) and neurotherapy in the assessment and treatment of post-concussion syndrome. Clinical EEG & Neuroscience, 35(4), 198–209.
- Hammond, D. C. (2005). Neurofeedback to improve physical balance, incontinence, and swallowing. Journal of Neurotherapy, 9(1), 27–48.
- Hammond, D. C. (2007). Can LENS neurofeedback treat anosmia resulting from a head injury? Journal of Neurotherapy, 11(1), 57–62.
- Hoffman, D. A., Stockdale, S., & Van Egren, L. (1996a). Symptom changes in the treatment of mild traumatic brain injury using EEG neurofeedback [Abstract]. Clinical Electroencephalography, 27(3), 164.
- Hoffman, D. A., Stockdale, S., & Van Egren, L. (1996b). EEG neurofeedback in the treatment of mild traumatic brain injury [Abstract]. Clinical Electroencephalography, 27(2), 6.
- Keller, I. (2001). Neurofeedback therapy of attention deficits in patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotherapy, 5(1-2), 19–32.
- Laibow, R E., Stubblebine, A. N., Sandground, H.,& Bounias, M. (2002). EEG neurobiofeedback treatment of patients with brain injury: Part 2: Changes in EEG parameters versus rehabilitation. Journal of Neurotherapy, 5(4), 45–71
- Nelson, D., & Esty, M. (2012). Neurotherapy of traumatic brain injury/posttrumatic stress symptoms in oef/oif veterans. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 24(2), 237-240.
- Putnam, J. A., (2002). EEG biofeedback on a female stroke patient with depression: A case study. Journal of Neurotherapy, 5(3), 27–38.
- Rozelle, G. R., & Budzynski, T. H. (1995). Neurotherapy for stroke rehabilitation: A single case study. Biofeedback & Self-Regulation, 20(3), 211–228.
- Schoenberger, N. E., Shiflett, S. C., Esty, M. L., Ochs, L., & Matheis, R. J. (2001). Flexyx neurotherapy system in the treatment of traumatic brain injury: An initial evaluation. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 16(3), 260–274.
- Thatcher, R. W. (2000). EEG operant conditioning (biofeedback) and traumatic brain injury. Clinical Electroencephalography, 31(1), 38–44.
- Thornton, K. (2000). Improvement/rehabilitation of memory functioning with neurotherapy/QEEG biofeedback. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 15(6), 12851296.
- Thornton, K. (2002) The improvement/rehabilitation of auditory memory functioning with EEG biofeedback. Neurorehabilitation, 17(1), 69–81
- Thornton, K. E., & Carmody, D. P. (2005). Electroencephalogram biofeedback for reading disability and traumatic brain injury. Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 14(1), 137–162.
- Thornton, K. E., & Carmody, D. P. (2008). Efficacy of traumatic brain injury rehabilitation: Interventions of QEEG-guided biofeedback, computers, strategies, and medications. Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback, 33(2), 101–124.
- Tinius, T. P., & Tinius, K. A. (2001). Changes after EEG biofeedback and cognitive retraining in adults with mild traumatic brain injury and attention deficit disorder. Journal of Neurotherapy, 4(2), 27–44.
- Walker, J. E. (2007). A neurologist’s experience with QEEG-guided neurofeedback following brain injury. Chapter in J. R. Evans (Ed.), Handbook of Neurofeedback. Binghampton, NY: Haworth Medical Press, 353–361.
- Wing, K. (2001). Effect of neurofeedback on motor recovery of a patient with brain injury: A case study and its implications for stroke rehabilitation. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 8(3), 45–53.
- Yoo, S. S., & Jolesz, F. A. (2002). Functional MRI for neurofeedback: feasibility study on a hand motor task. Neuroreport, 13, 1377–1381.
