In 1990 George Bush Snr as President of the U.S.A. proclaimed the following decade – the ‘Decade of the Brain’. Subsequently significant money and attention has been devoted to the function, structure and complexity of the human brain and an ‘International Brain Awareness Week’ now runs in March each year. Last year more than 75 countries participated in this awareness week. Bruce Mackie (former Lifeline Auckland CEO) was invited to write briefly to introduce his work in brain training or neurofeedback.

Increasingly the neurosciences are deepening our understanding of psychopathologies. Their perspective describes the common mechanisms that underlie our psychodynamic, cognitive and behavioural therapies. We now know from imaging studies that psychological states have physiological correlates.

Biofeedback is a well established form of therapy commonly used with heart, lung and muscle to inform a client about change in their functioning. As a person watches information about their breathing or heart rate or muscle tension, they can see how change happens and quickly learn to modify the consequence.

Neurofeedback works by placing electrodes on the scalp to collect minute bioelectrical activity on the cortex, feeding it through amplifiers and filters, and then converting it to a game which a person is able to play by altering their brain activity. The process is completely non invasive. The learning model is operant conditioning in which individuals teach themselves more efficient and regulated neural activity.

Until quite recently the human brain was viewed as a static entity – now it is seen as an organ continually built and rebuilt by somebody’s experience. Thus when a person is depressed, anxious, suffering from concussion, has an addiction or any other disorder of brain function, neurofeedback can provide information for the brain to learn and change itself. Clearly this medium can be used with a wide range of difficulties as well as improving the operation of high performers in art, business and sport.

I have been attending training for neurofeedback practitioners in Australia and have developed a private practice in which this is the principle modality. The practice is not advertised, simply relying on word of mouth. It has responded to a wide range of difficulties with significantly positive results.

For more information on neurofeedback the following site has several useful videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6XeCwFQrCA&feature=channel