Book Review: A Symphony in the Brain
(A Symphony in the Brain by Jim Robbins)
I would have overlooked this book easily were it not for the recommendation of Dr. Pytwq. Bio-feedback, the distant ancestor to Neurofeedback got a bad name for itself back in the 1970’s. During the wide lapel days of disco and designer drugs, bio-feedback was the thinking fro’s key to unlocking the mysteries of the brain. Had it instead attracted a following of geeks, it may not have gotten the bad reputation that it did.
Fast forward 20 years…
A few pioneers took the concept of bio-feedback seriously and applied it with astounding results. Margaret Ayers, along with Sue and Siegfried Othmer are credited with birthing the concept of neurofeedback from the labs of academia to the general public. Following powerful personal experience, both Ayers and the Othmers set out to provide this technology to the public. The book describes several case studies of miraculous results in bringing people out of their various states of mental slumber. Unfortunately they had a tough climb out of the shadows of bio-feedbacks’ ill repute.
The concept of neurofeedback is simple. Identify portions of the brain that are not functioning optimally, and perform exercises that regenerate those neural pathways. Unlike body building where specific muscles can be targeted by certain calisthenics, the brain requires technological assistance to help identify poorly performing areas. A device known as an electroencephalogram or EEG is used to monitor wave frequencies of various portions of the brain. Medical science has proven that the brain functions on electrical impulses so it stands to reason that a sensitive device could monitor those signals.
A huge difference between the bio-feedback of the 70’s and neuro-feedback of the 90’s is not only the sensitivity of the monitoring instruments, but also the increased knowledge of the brain. Everything from Epilepsy to simply desiring more clarity of thought can now be identified by electrical frequencies in certain parts of the brain with an EEG device.
Armed with information about cranial activity, exercises can be administered to stimulate areas with diminished electrical frequencies. Neurofeedback is essentially administered by software that monitors this information and guides the brain through exercises that stimulate and re-condition the dormant neural pathways into new patterns.
As I have stated before, I believe the brain is an organ rather than a muscle. It can be abused rather than toned from over-use. However, in this new light I need to reconsider my understanding. perhaps the brain is neither an organ nor a muscle, but a body component that can be strengthened or abused. Perhaps incorrect encoding, or neglected neural pathways of youth carry into adulthood. (Accepting that I’m not a neural scientist, I just need some Fischer-Price analogies to make sense of my new personal discovery.)
The medical community is still skeptical of the practice only because scientific studies have not yet been done. At least I don’t think so, the book holds a copyright date of 2000 so perhaps some studies have been performed in the past decade. Regardless, the anecdotal evidence is nothing short of miraculous. And even if there was a placebo effect, the results are reported to be permanent. Reportedly 90% of neurofeedback recipients have reported a permanent recovery from ADD and Depression. I have to conclude that there is some merit in the practice.
The book was a page-turner for me, probably because of the relevance of the subject. ADD and Depression were both addressed throughout the book and Robbins writes very well to a non-academic audience. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about neurofeedback.
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Just when I had reconciled my future to medication, along comes the promise of a cure. I still need to determine if my insurance will cover any part of the therapy but I intend on starting my due diligence this week with a phone call to my Dr’s referral. When the book was published it was reported that insurance rarely covered the treatment, but having 10 years to gather data, I think perhaps insurance companies might find a cure to be less expensive than years of high-cost pharma. I’m so jazzed about the possibilities that I would probably be willing to pay for the therapy myself.
In: Depression · Tagged with: EEG, Jim Robbins, Margaret Ayers, Neurofeedback, Sue and Siegfried Othmer