EEG Neurofeedback Services have been covered in the media with appearances on Radio Scotland, BBC Three Counties Radio and in the newspapers. More recently we have also featured in Channel 4's Cutting Edge series. The newspaper articles reproduced here are:

EEG Neurofeedback Services in The Sunday Times

Would you love to be able to turn on a switch inside your head to make you think clearly, act decisively and make sound judgments? It is not such a far-fetched idea. In Japan, company executives are routinely given computerised neurofeedback sessions which train their brain waves to conform to patterns associated with success. Now the technique is available in the UK.

Nicola Wright, 50, is a health service manager from Watford. In a darkened room, she is playing a computer game - watching images of islands and volcanoes. Every so often, for no apparent reason, there is a gentle bleep and her score increases. After 10 minutes, a volcano explodes in a bright shower of sparks. She is winning. However, unlike other computer games, it is not her manual dexterity that is scoring points, but her brain waves.

Wright does not know how she is doing it, only that the "game" has been programmed to respond every time her brain waves form into certain patterns. The patterns aimed for vary depending on whether you want to improve decision-making, excel at sports or play the piano. Gradually, as Wright succeeds in generating more pyrotechnics from the volcano, her brain is motivated to produce the desired pattern more often, and so she learns, unconsciously, how to "switch" herself into her desired state.

"All we're doing is showing Nicola what her brain is doing. She's the one who makes the changes," says Wright's practitioner, Dr Surinder Kaur, a psychologist.

The technology is simple. Two small pads stuck onto the scalp with a waxy substance pick up the minute electrical signals generated by the brain, and an amplifier magnifies the signals and feeds them into two linked PCs. On the screen of Kaur's computer, the electrical signals are split into different frequencies, each separately named - the so- called brain waves. At Wright's monitor, the brain-wave data has been rearranged into a computer game.

But how can an erupting volcano help you in the office? Kaur explains: "Different parts of the brain's surface, or cortex, are associated with different tasks. Decision- making uses the frontal areas. The patterns of the brain waves are also important." For example, researchers in the United States have reported that the activity of beta waves (fast) is linked with cognitive activity, while an increase in theta wave activity (slow) could make you drowsy and prone to errors.

"If a person wanted to improve a management skill," says Kaur, "I would examine electrical signals produced by their brain and look for any imbalance in the wave patterns at points known to be linked with, say, decision-making. The goals of the game would be tailored so that, as the game progresses, the trainee's brain learns how to correct that imbalance."

A typical course might be 20 sessions of 30 to 40 minutes each. "It doesn't work overnight. It's a bit like learning to ride a bike. You won't be able to do it immediately, but once you have, you'll recall it years later," she says. "The effects, like a poem learnt in childhood, tend to stay with you."

Two years ago, Kaur set up the first full-time neuro feedback practice in the UK. She has successfully treated conditions such as epilepsy, chronic pain and attention deficit disorder. She is one of a few western specialists to explore neurofeedback's potential to help normal, healthy executives to improve their performance at work.

Dr Jacobus Empson, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Hull and the author of the academic text, Brainwaves, says it is possible to change your brain's wave patterns, but that the results may be overrated. "People could fall into the trap of expecting neurofeedback to do things it can't. And it's not necessarily the best way to learn something. If you want to learn to relax, for example, there are lots of simple relaxation techniques that are effective."

Kaur, however, argues that neurofeedback is useful because you can measure the results. "It is the only direct training technique which allows you to correct brain patterns in a measurable way," she says. "You can tell someone to relax, but how else could you measure how relaxed they really are?"

Wright certainly feels neurofeedback was right for her. She works more efficiently, sleeps better and, since starting treatment in November, no longer takes blood-pressure tablets.

"I used to find myself exhausted at the end of the day and I woke frequently in the night. After the very first neurofeedback session, I noticed an unfamiliar feeling, like a box was opening inside me, and my thoughts were really clear. As the sessions went on, I learnt to recognise this state and can now turn it on when I need it. It's had an enormous effect on my work. I'm more efficient, and my job seems to take up less emotional energy. As a result, I feel more confident, and people have more confidence in me. What's more, my sleep patterns have improved dramatically."

Text © Mandy Payne,
First printed in The Sunday Times

Training your brain through mind games

By Carol Feltham (St Albans Observer 19.08.1998)

A St Albans doctor say's her treatment is the "medicine of the future", reports Caroline Feltham.

IMAGINE what it would feel like to walk into a doctor's surgery, have treatment and walk out feeling as if a lightbulb had been switched on in your head.

Suddenly, you would be able to think clearly, make sound judgements and act decisively. No fuss, no panic, no stress.

It all sounds too good to be true. But one doctor in St Albans offers treatment that claims to do just that. She calls it "the medicine of the future".

Originally pioneered to help stroke victims, epileptics, people in pain and those with attention deficit disorders, EEG Neurofeedback treatment can also help stressed professionals and managers to improve their performance at work and lower their blood pressure.

So what is this wonder treatment? How does it work and where can we get it?

EEG Neurofeedback is a learning process that helps a person to alter their brainwaves.

When information about a person's brainwave characteristics is fed back to them, they can learn to change them for the better.

Here in St Albans, Dr Surinder Kaur's practice is helping people of all ages to do just that.

Two years ago, Dr Kaur set up her practice in St Albans - the first full-time Neurofeedback practice in the country.

Of the treatment, she says: "It allows a person to manage their own mental and physical states. Once a brain has been trained to go into a particular mental state, for example like riding a bike or walking, the process is there in the brain."

One example of a client affected for the better is a man who said he was in poor health and felt stressed, nervous and claimed: "I was unable to believe I would ever be able to cope with a job or mixing with people."

But even after one day's treatment, he noticed dramatic results.

He said: "It made me feel clear-headed and calm - like a breath of fresh air. As the days went on, my personality changed for the better. I became more relaxed and confident."

Another patient called Laura, had attention deficit disorder, underachieved at school and was bullied. Now, a year after finishing her treatment, she has been given achievement awards for four school subjects and has made friends with her peers.

Yet another satisfied customer, Nicky Argent, was treated for high blood pressure. She was so impressed that she gave up her job to work for Dr Kaur as her assistant.

How Neurofeedback works is simple.

First of all, an initial EEG - a picture of the patient's brain activity or electroencephalogram, is taken, along with a detailed description of symptoms and family history, which takes about three hours.

Clients are trained for 45 minutes by the practitioner. Follow-up training sessions last about 45 minutes and can be as many as three times a week, if necessary.

To start the treatment proper, two small pads are stuck on to the patient's scalp with a paste. These pads pick up tiny electrical signals generated by the brain, and an amplifier magnifies the signals, feeding them into computers.

Brainwave data is then rearranged into a video game, which is played by the client. This can be in the form of a maze, road, packman game or island scenery.

The game moves faster or slower according to activity in different parts of the brain. As the sessions progress, the game's goals are adjusted.

The idea is that the brain responds to the feedback it is given and learns new brainwave patterns, or types of behaviour.

According to Dr Kaur, patients who have brain injuries as a result of concussion, whiplash or strokes, make great leaps forward.

They are less tired, irritable, confused and depressed. Their memory improves and pain is reduced.

For those with attention deficit disorder, symptoms of hyperactivity decrease.

So why does it work so well? According to Dr Kaur: "The brain is amazingly adaptable. It can also learn to improve its own performance, if it is given information about what changes to make.

"When the brain learns how to manage itself, it continues to do so. The treatment is absolutely fantastic, we feel the benefit as much as our patients."

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