Presents - Western Association of Biofeedback and Neuroscience

Presents
Pre-Conference Issue
Transformative Technology
November 6-8th, 2015
Avenue of the Arts Wyndham Hotel, Costa Mesa, CA
Details Inside!
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BIOFEEDBACK SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA | Fall 2015 ~ VOL. 31, No. 2
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From the President
EXECUTIVE BOARD
ALI HASHEMIAN, PHD
President, Biofeedback Society of California
GARY SCHUMMER, PHD, BCB, BCN
President-Elect, Biofeedback Society of California
Education Committee Chair
JAY GUNKELMAN, QEEGD
Past President
BOARD MEMBERS
JULIE MADSEN, PSYD
Continuing Education Chair
JOHN C. LEMAY, MA, MFT, BCB
STEVE KASSEL, MA, MFT, BCN, BCB
RICHARD HARVEY, PHD
NICHOLAS DOGRIS, PHD, BCN, QEEGD
SIEGFRIED OTHMER, PhD
ROBERT N. GROVE, PHD
ROBERT GUILES, MA, BCB
Student Committee Chair
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
TIFF THOMPSON, MA, BCN, QEEG
DIPLOMATE
Direct all correspondence and inquiries, including
commercial advertising information and classified
ads, to:
Biofeedback Society of California
1108 De La Vina St., Santa Barbara CA 93101
Phone: (805) 453-6190
Fax: (949) 544-0439
biofeedbackcalifornia@gmail.com
www.biofeedbackcalifornia.org
I
t’s so hard to believe that the year is more than half over
already! Didn’t we just celebrate Christmas a couple of
weeks ago? Maybe the technology that connects us all in
an instant is also making the time go by faster.
Your board has been hard at work with lots of exciting
changes. We, after much deliberation, voted to expand
formally beyond California to include neighboring states
to increase both membership and regional conference
attendance. Our name was changed to Western Association for Biofeedback and Neuroscience. Also, we are now
finalizing the revised association bylaws which needed to
be modified, and at the same time updated to bring to regulatory compliance. All of these
changes and modification will be presented to the full membership for final vote and ratification.
We also have an exciting meeting coming up in Costa Mesa this year. Our hotel is the
beautiful Avenue of the Arts Wyndham Hotel located in Costa Mesa, a block or two from
the South Coast Plaza, one of the largest shopping malls on the West Coast. We are also
about 5 miles away from the Orange County Airport (SNA), with complimentary hotel
shuttle available. With room rate of $109.00 which includes free internet, and a parking
rate of only $5.00, this is one of the best values in our recent history at a prestigious property. We have a great line-up of presenters already committed, with more being added
every day. This is a once-a-year opportunity to keep abreast of the changes in our field
and network with your friends, colleagues, and yes—your competitors. There is no other
networking like that where you can meet face-to-face, exchange ideas, and break bread. So
mark your calendar and plan to attend, encourage your friends and associates to come too!
Newport Beach, Disneyland and some of the country’s best golfing are only minutes away.
Lastly, the board elections are coming up and we need new board members. This is
your opportunity to help the field move forward and to contribute. Please nominate yourself or anyone else you think might be suitable or interested in being a volunteer board
member. It’s a one year term and takes about five to ten hours of your time monthly.
Looking forward to seeing you in Costa Mesa. u
Ali Hashemian, PhD
CALIFORNIA BIOFEEDBACK
EDITOR:
Tiff Thompson, MA, BCN, QEEGD
California Biofeedback is the official publication of
The Biofeedback Society of California. Opinions
expressed herein are those of the respective
authors and do not necessarily reflect the official
view of the BSC. The BSC is not responsible for
the products or programs of private companies
advertised herein.
California Biofeedback is published three times a
year and will consider all materials pertaining to
the practice and/or promotion of biofeedback in
healthcare in California. Send all correspondence to:
Biofeedback Society of California
1108 De La Vina St., Santa Barbara CA 93101
biofeedbackcalifornia@gmail.com
Presents
Join us this year at our 41st Annual Conference,
where the Biofeedback Society of California
transforms into the Western Association of
Biofeedback and Neuroscience!
A yearly subscription to California Biofeedback is
available for $35.00. Please send your check to the
Executive Office listed above.
Friday, November
6th through Sunday, November 8th, in Costa Mesa!
California Biofeedback — Fall 2015
PUBLISHER: Biofeedback Society of California
2
From the Executive Director
G
ety.
reetings BSC Members!
A few important items are underway, as our organization expands and shifts to a regional soci-
Firstly, we’re reaching out to new members in other states, focusing first upon Nevada, Arizona,
Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska. Do you have friends or colleagues in these states
who would like the support of a regional organization? Membership is reasonable, at $125 for newbies
and $95 for renewals. Now is an important time to join with colleagues who have the best interests of
the field at heart. In my estimation, we are about to see both an explosion of new psychophysiological
technologies, as well as debates and strife over issues concerning licensing, psychophysiological education,
and certification. I hope you will join us in these important times.
In addition to membership, if you would like to be in a position that allows greater influence over societal and industry-wide decisions and policy, nominate yourself for a board member position. A few long-time and loyal board members
are stepping down this fall and we’re looking to fill a few spots. We will miss the presence of Jay Gunkelman, Julie Madsen, John Lemay
and Robert Grove who have been quite instrumental to the BSC over the years. u
Tiff Thompson, MA, BCN, QEEG Diplomate
v
v
Table of Contents
A
s your elected BSC student
liaison, I have been given the
task to generate student interest
and promote the field for future
biofeedback practitioners. With
the recent expansion of our corporation, our committee has worked
diligently to create an abundance
of professional development opportunities for students to explore.
Not only will you learn from the
top experts in the field, but you will
gain invaluable experience connecting with seasoned professionals who
can help mentor you through networking and career development.
Annual conferences are held each year giving students advantages to
attend through travel scholarships, reduced registrations fees, and
student-lead biofeedback presentations. Biofeedback professionals
are eager for your contributions and invested in your future in the
field. Your desire to become a student member can lead to unique
connections and a more satisfying journey through your graduate
studies.
As a BSC student member for the past 4 years, I have gained
skills and practical experience outside the classroom. The BSC has
supported my career endeavors and provided me with professional
development opportunities that has continued to cultivate my fields
of interest. As a result, I have collaborated with leading experts in
the field which has yielded access to key resources that would not
have been made possible without my student membership. Take advantage of our networking opportunities while learning about new
innovative biofeedback equipment and trends. Whether you are just
starting out or furthering your education, BSC offers a variety of
benefits to you as a BSC student member to meet your needs. Join us
and become a student member today! u
From the President��������������������������������������2
From the Executive Director ����������������������3
From the Student Liaison����������������������������3
v
v
California Biofeedback — Fall 2015
The Mentoring Program and Beyond:
Part 1 of 2
Gary J. Schummer, PhD����������������������������5
Virtual Reality
Siegfried Othmer, PhD������������������������������6
Q & A with Hanno Kirk
by Tiff Thompson����������������������������������������7
Biofeedback at the Crossroad
George von Bozzay ������������������������������������8
3
From the Student Liaison
Robert Guiles, MA, BCB
Register at www.biofeedbackneuroscience.com
November 4th-8th, 2015, Costa Mesa, California
Wyndham Avenue of the Arts Hotel
Thurs. Nov. 5th
Friday. Nov. 6
Sat. Nov. 7
Sun. Nov.8
REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION
Erik Peper
Stephen Sideroff
The Freeze Response, School Performance, and
Redesigning the Stress Response For Optimal Resilience
our Reponse to Agggression
8am-9am
8am-9am
Siegfried Othmer
Theoretical Model for Infra-Low Frequency Training
9:00am-10:15am
Richard Gervirtz
The effect of slow diaphragmatic breathing on
heart beat event related potentials (HEPs)
9am-10am
Break - visit our vendors
Deborah Livermore, MarvinJay Tomas,
Sabrina Williams, &
Jessie Woodford
Sea Level or Machu Picchu:
Does your ANS care?
10:30am-11:45am
Lynette Louise
The Interplay between Autism,
Tics, Neurofeedback, Trauma
and Chelation
10:30am-11:45am
Barry Sterman &
Jay Gunkelman
1Barry Sterman &
Lunch Banquet Cynthia Kerson
day
Professional
Cynthia Kerson
Raw
EEG
Interpretation
3-day
Members Meeting
3-day
Course
12pm-­‐1:30pm
NFB Certification Course NFB Certification Course Frank DeGregorio
full day with lunch break full day with lunch break General Introduction to full day with lunch break
Biofeedback Peripherals
Christine Palmquist
Workshop
Robin Arnott
Brain Brightening with AVE for
full day with lunch break
Engineering Peak Experience
Memory Enhancement in Middlewith Videogames
aged and Elderly
1:30pm-2:30pm
1:30pm-2:30pm
Juan Acosta-Urquidi
QEEG Studies of Meditation and the
Acute Effects of Visionary Tryptamines
10am-11am
Break - visit our vendors
Scott Makeig
Toward High Resolution EEG Imaging
and Feedback
11:15am - 12:15pm
Jay Gunkelman
EEG TBD
12:15pm - 1:30pm
Victoria Ibric
Michael Linden
Neuro-Rehabilitation
QEEG Guided Based
Effectiveness Study of the
Treatment for Combinations of
Neurodynamic Activator(TM) as a
ADHD, Anxiety and Autism
standalone device
Spectrum Disorder
2:30pm-3:45pm
2:30pm-3:45pm
Break - visit our vendors
Rohan Dixit
Wearable HRV
Biofeedback
4pm-5pm
Scheherazade S. St. Martin
Stimulation Technologies
4pm-5pm
Break -­‐ visit our vendors
Break - visit our vendors
Sue Othmer
Nicholas Dogris
NeuroField Cross Frequency Coupling:
The New Horizon in Neurofeedback
5:30pm-7pm
In Conversation with the Brain:The Evolving Theory and Practice of
Neurofeedback, from Operant Conditioning to Self-Regulation
5:30pm-7pm
Dinner on your own
7pm-­‐8pm
Goodbye Biofeedback Society of California,
Hello Western Association for Biofeedback
and Neuroscience!
Dinner
REGISTRATION HOURS
Friday: 8:00am -­‐ 5:30pm
Saturday: 7:30am -­‐ 9:00am
Sunday: 7:30am -­‐ 9:00am
7pm-9pm
Student Party!
9pm On
HOTEL INFORMATION
WYNDHAM AVENUE OF THE ARTS HOTEL
3350 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 751-­‐5100
California Biofeedback — Fall 2015
Presidential Reception & Cocktail Party
8pm-­‐10pm
4
The Mentoring Program and Beyond:
Part 1 of 2
Gary J. Schummer, PhD
I
n the next issue of the newsletter, I will share more details
about a mentoring program we are developing, in this issue we
will examine some “big picture” issues that inspire and support
such a program. No matter if we define ourselves as clinicians or
researchers, we are, first and foremost, scientists. This means we
are, by nature, curious and quite willing to admit we do not know
everything about any subject. This is evident if you attend a scientific workshop or read a study in a scientific journal, the speaker
or author will go out of their way to qualify their conclusions and
state that more research needs to be done. While this may look
like fence sitting or modesty, it is so much more. On a personal
level, when an individual acknowledges not knowing everything,
he or she adopts an attitude of a learner, this removes sociocultural
barriers to growth. On a larger scale, scientific inquiry points us
toward an ever more accurate understanding of our world, allowing our civilization to expand our knowledge base with each new
generation. These considerations inspire the building of a mentoring program and explain why it is better to define oneself as a
California Biofeedback — Fall 2015
In 2010, a study1 found that only 19 (.89%)
out of over 2,100 clinicians surveyed had ever
used biofeedback with clients and most would
not know to refer patients for treatment.
5
learner, rather than an expert. The human tendency is to place experts on pedestals, in turn, experts pretend to have all the answers
and, once exalted, they have been known to halt or even reverse
human progress. To take on the façade of an expert, a person will
let go of their learning attitude and, along with it, the ability to
integrate new scientific discoveries diminishes.
Although our field has been around for 50+ years and was
a born of scientific inquiry, the lack of funding for research and
institutional support has taken a toll. For example, clinically
our field lacks an agreed upon curriculum delineating stages for
proficiency as well as standards-of-care that other therapeutic
interventions take for granted. The NIMH is only now funding
studies in, what they call, “novel and innovative approaches to
treating children with AD/HD.” Granted this will be a landmark study, however, it will validate research Joel Lubar did in the
mid-1970s. Many biofeedback clinicians continue to feel cut off
and misunderstood by colleagues whose practice is in the more
traditional types of interventions. In 2010, a study1 found that
only 19 (.89%) out of over 2,100 clinicians surveyed had ever
used biofeedback with clients and most would not know to refer
patients for treatment. The study’s authors concluded, not that
biofeedback has been tried and found deficient, rather, it has not
been tried. The scarcity of experts causes us to be more dependent
on learning from one another and actually fosters an attitude of
a learner. Our openness and need to learn from one another are
the raw material that predicts success for a mentorship program.
The program will utilize advances in internet commu-
nications and software development that has made it easier to
connect mentors with mentees to
facilitate professional development
and support those who are new
to the field. Because we envision
this program on a national scale,
BSC is working with AAPB to
discern the optimal software platform. The time and cost of various options are being evaluated
and we hope to obtain support from all the regional and national
organizations. The program has ambitious goals and we believe
that every clinician and researcher in our field could benefit from
participation. Beyond individual development, we hope to scale
the program so it might become a center for excellence for both
clinicians and researchers.
Although this is very preliminary, what is being discussed is
that the mentorship program would be one of the operations of a
multi-dimensional communications platform that would also be
home for a vetted repository for data and research. For example,
we have discussed helping clinicians standardize their data collection in order to facilitate outcome research that, when added to
the database, would allow the comparison of various treatment
approaches. This would allow us to consistently improve the
quality of services we provide. With the availability of data that is
correlated with functional improvements, students and researchers could address questions about which we have only theorized.
Even though this is an ambitious plan, it is a project that is very
doable if it becomes a shared vision in our members and professional societies. The benefits of a program like this can only serve
to support and accelerate the growth of our field. Of course, an
ambitious program like this is best implemented in stages, and the
mentoring program is a good place to begin. I will share more
specifics about this program in our next issue, but I wanted our
members to be aware of the “big picture” because it looks very
promising, but, of course, more investigation is necessary. u
Gary J. Schummer, PhD
Cook, JM, et. al. (2010). What do psychotherapists really do
in practice? An Internet study of over 2,000 practitioners. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 47(2), 260-267
1
Virtual Reality
D
evelopments in the virtual reality sphere were another highlight of the latest Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Matters were raised to a higher level of visibility even before the
conference, when Facebook pumped $2B into Oculus. A billion
here, a billion there; pretty soon you are talking about real money.
As it happens, we took a look at an Oculus system a while back
to evaluate its suitability for neurofeedback. It wasn’t long before
each of us felt just a little woozy from the experience, and opted for
going back to maneuver in the real rather than the virtual world.
Of course we don’t actually experience the real world. We live
in the world that our brain constructs for us, and that world in turn
emerges out of the brain’s experience, which consists largely of the
neuronal dance and of its neuro-chemical milieu. In the words of
Walter Freeman, “the only knowledge that the rabbit could have
of the world outside itself is what it had made in its own brain.”
[(Ref.) Walter Freeman, Societies of Brains, P.2] So we are actually
living in a state of virtual reality already, even without the help of
Oculus. And that virtual reality world emerges out of a neuronal
dance that encodes some amalgamation of present sensory input
with prior experience. There is no witness of the outside world that
has not been sluiced through the filter of prior experience.
When such a brain experiences Oculus, it does not take long
for it to notice a discrepancy between the presented information
and what ought to be there in a perfect world. The latter is the
brain’s construct, its projection forward of its interpretation of
reality. If that discrepancy persists, the brain may even become
disregulated and plunge into wooziness or nausea. The challenge
to the Oculus development is substantial because our detection
threshold for the above discrepancy is low indeed. We know this
from other examples.
Nausea turns out to be a big problem among astronauts, even
though the deviations from expectations are surely small in the
space environment. There are only occasional firings of the thrusters to reorient the ship. Stasis becomes the expectation. Of course
the zero-g environment can cause problems as well, so a better example may be an earth-bound situation. Those who undergo long
flights in the belly of a B-52 tend to get nauseous also. Here the
motions of the ship are also small, but that is not of much help.
Even small deviations can upset the brain’s calculus, and if truth be
told, the small deviations can be even more troublesome than the
large ones. In a large excursion, the brain recalibrates its expectations. Small excursions, on the other hand, do not alter the expectation of stasis. They register as a discrepancy from expectations.
Our sensitivity to these discrepancies constitutes some of the
best evidence we have of how our brains come to terms with the
environment. The instantaneous reality is always played off against
our expectations, and the latter is entirely constructed out of what
the brain already holds to be true. This process works so exquisitely
well that Oculus has to meet a very high bar indeed in order to fool
us with a virtual reality model over the long haul. The challenge is
summed up in the word “presence,” the felt sense of realism in the
experience.
Historically the chief source of the problem has been processing-related delays as the next image to be projected is calculated in
a context-sensitive manner. Even with modern computing horsepower at our disposal, apparently that problem has not yet been
fully resolved. There
are inevitably delays in
catching up to reality,
and apparently these are
still detectable by the
brain. The other problem is the accuracy with
which head movements
are determined.
When we think
about it, we realize that
the brain has those very
same problems to contend with in its own
virtual reality. There is
finite accuracy in the
brain’s determination of
head position, and there
are propagation delays
in the processing of the
sensory information. In fact, those problems are far more substantial in the ‘real’ world of the brain than in the virtual world of
Oculus. So why aren’t we nauseous all the time, one might wonder?
Why aren’t we always a few hundred milliseconds late because of all
those processing delays? It is because the brain does one more piece
of magic, which is to compensate for those delays and to project
things forward to the present moment.
The brain has to do time-base correction in order to recreate
the simultaneity of an “event” out of signal streams with differential
processing delays. It also has to do time-shifting in order to give us
the experience of living in the present moment. And that is why we
can sometimes actually hit a fastball.
Finally, our explanation of the experience with Oculus may
also serve to explain infra-low frequency neurofeedback. At the
outset, the brain must ‘discover’ the connection between the slow
cortical potential unfolding on the screen and its own internal
state. As soon as that recognition takes place, the brain assumes
responsibility for that signal and projects it forward in time. The
subsequent discrepancy between the actual trajectory and the expectation for that trajectory must then be minimized, and that attempt to reach convergence is the essence of the training. In the real
world, reaching closure is a never-ending proposition for as long as
the signal is available, so the brain remains continuously engaged
on the challenge. This job description accounts for the fact that the
brain does not get bored with the task—although it may well get
fatigued by it! u
Siegfried Othmer, PhD
California Biofeedback — Fall 2015
Siegfried Othmer, PhD
6
Q & A with Hanno Kirk
by Tiff Thompson
Author of the new book “Restoring the Brain:
Neurofeedback as an Integrative Approach”
H
anno Kirk took some time to chat about the book he has
recently edited: Restoring the Brain: Neurofeedback as an
Integrative Approach. Released just last month, it covers both the
history of neurofeedback and the process of neurofeedback from
a myriad of perspectives. Of particular interest, this book proposes that infralow, right now, is the most effective way of doing
neurofeedback. Chapter authors include Siegfried Othmer, David
Kaiser, Nora Gedgaudas, Kurt Woeller, Kelly Faust, and others.
The book was requested of Kirk by a Taylor and Francis acquisition editor, after hearing a presentation by the author on
neurofeedback at the Integrative Medicine and Mental Health
conference in 2013. “When opportunity comes knocking, you
grasp it,” noted Kirk. What follows is our conversation about his
process.
Q: What was it like working with a myriad of authors and
personalities?
A: It was like herding cats. Now I can look back at it and laugh,
although there were times when I got the heebie jeebies. But,
most of the authors responded very well to my deadline pressures
and they all produced really superb stuff.
Q: What are some of the major takeaways of the book?
A: One of the major takeaways is that neurofeedback exists in
the context of what else is going on in the body. You cannot just
rely on biofeedback to address every problem, you may need
to look at biomedical issues that can impact brain functioning.
Another takeaway was to provide an understandable overview
of neurofeedback and show how it fits into the larger context of
integrative medicine.
Q: How do you hope this will impact the neurofeedback
California Biofeedback — Fall 2015
community and health care practitioner community at large?
A: One goal of the book’s broad integrative approach is
for community at large to look at factors that impact brain
functioning that are outside the immediate purview of the brain
(i.e. gut issues and other bio-medical factors that impact how the
brain functions). I think the neurofeedback community at large
will embrace this book, even if there are differences in approaches.
7
Q: What was the biggest difficulty in writing this book?
A: The biggest difficulty was making sure that there was a
common thread relating to neurofeedback throughout the
chapters. For example, Nora Gedgaudas’s chapter on nutrition
differed from the other chapters. This bestselling author came
to be a neurofeedback practitioner because it lifted her lifelong
depression. In the book, she devotes most of her chapter to how
the presence or absence of key nutrients and environmental
toxins impact brain functioning and the body’s immune system.
Another author had never written an academic paper, and needed
coaching on how to put her rich clinical experience into narrative
form.
Q: What was the
greatest reward of
writing this book?
A: One satisfaction was
getting this book out to
alert the neurofeedback
community to
recognize that if the
usual training protocols
do not work, one should
look at other aspects of
the pathology, such
as biomedical issues.
Another satisfaction lies
in the ability to present
evidence to the larger
health community that
neurofeedback is a very
effective modality for
treating a wide range
of conditions such as autism, ADHD and other behavioral
disorders, PTSD, seizures, and most mood disorders.
Q: Would you consider this book indispensable? And if so, why?
A: I think for people who are using the low frequency approach,
this will be a really good reference book. Two reviews have already
gone out that say that this is indispensable for neurofeedback
practitioners for different reasons. I hope the larger medical and
mental health community will come to regard neurofeedback as a
valuable adjunct to their own practice. We would certainly hope
that the VA will consider the chapters on the successful use of
neurofeedback for veterans with PTSD, and start using it within
their system.
Q: Explain to me, briefly, why and how and infralow
neurofeedback works?
A: Those are really two separate questions. Let me first explain
the why.
In chapter 3, David Kaiser, presents a lot of recent research
on the role of astrocytes and glial cells, which make up 90% of
the volume of our cortex. Far from being passive entities, providing mere structural support for the neural networks and filling up
space, glia have a host of important functions. Of primary interest to neurofeedback is the messaging performed by astrocytes.
Astrocytes, which operate at these infra low frequencies, help to
determine the ultradian rhythms of the brain and body. Indeed,
most rhythms of the brain are modulated with roughly two hour
periodicities. Through the release of ATP, the astrocytes control
the hemodynamics of the brain, i.e. the instantaneous activation
of blood flow to the neural networks.
So David Kaiser’s chapter provides the scientific basis for understanding why, when we train at these very low frequencies, we
are affecting state regulation of the brain. What makes ILF neurofeedback so effective is the incredible interconnectivity of neural
Continued on Page 9
Biofeedback at the Crossroad
George von Bozzay
e are at the most important turning point since biofeedback’s
and apps for the continuous, wireless, real-time online measurement of physiologic variables, biofeedback is at the place for acceptance by the general public. If only it could’ve been 45 years ago,
it would already be in the mainstream in health medicine and the
use by the general public.
Yet now is the time, and
it would be unfortunate if
biofeedback did not play a
major part in this revolutionary development.
In the years that the
biofeedback community
struggled with identity and split between research/experimental (go
slow) and applied/clinical
(go fast), we paid very little attention to the public
perception, or lack of, regarding this modality. As
a professional group we
missed our opportunities
to lobby in Washington
and become part of covered medical procedures; we missed our
opportunity to form liaisons, mergers, and confederations with
other groups such as the Society of Behavioral Medicine to become
stronger, more diverse, and even more multidisciplinary. We failed
to educate the general public about the incredible potential of
this exciting modality. We even failed to get new and potentially
interested members from medicine, psychology and physiology to
improve the demographics of biofeedback practitioners.
Soon, very soon, the general public is going to become aware
of, interested in, and used to physiologic monitoring on a day -today basis through the many wearables and apps that are becoming
available to them. Interestingly, many developers are not sure how
to use these approaches correctly or even how to avoid misuse via
artifact recognition and the like. Whereas those of us in the biofeedback community have the expertise and the experience of how
to effectively monitor physiologic signals not just in the lab, but
with every day people. We also have the understanding of how to
convert those physiologic signals to a useful understanding for our
clients/patients/subjects, as well as being able to eliminate sources
of error an artifact.
Thus, the biofeedback community is on the cusp of the kind
of critical mass that biofeedback has been needing for its many
years. We should not ignore or fail to engage the developers, professionals, and public with our expertise.
To do this we may need to make several changes.
•Change the name of our practice from biofeedback to something more global and encompassing, but not complicated and
confusing (or raise the public and developer consciousness about
our field and its name so that it’s identifiable and understandable).
•Make our services and knowledge available to developers and
administrators of companies that are now releasing wearables and
apps and work with them to better their understanding of how
they can be artifact free and usable for self-regulation.
•Engage and educate each other through the professional societies, equipment companies, and elsewhere in this revolution of
wearables and apps that are just beginning to become relevant to
our work. u
George von Bozzay, PhD
California Biofeedback — Fall 2015
W45 years of existence. With the development of wearables
8
Become the Next Board Member of the Western
Association of Biofeedback & Neuroscience
Help shape the new face of the Biofeedback Society of California! As we become the Western Association of
Biofeedback and Neuroscience we are looking for fresh faces and new ideas to help us regionalize and spread the
practice of biofeedback and neurofeedback far and wide! Join us, as we join together to lift the field we share.
What it Takes:
• Professional experience & knowledge in the fields of neurofeedback or biofeedback
• 5-10 hours of monthly time commitment
• Willingness to collaborate with other like-minded professionals
If you are interested, please contact: biofeedbackneuroscience@gmail.com
California Biofeedback — Fall 2015
Q & A with Hanno Kirk
Continued from Page 7
9
networks; stabilizing or changing the arousal patterns of a targeted
area of the brain will tend to have a global influence on state regulation throughout the brain.
own discretion. The process is highly frequency-specific, which imposes a substantial burden on the clinician for ongoing parameter
optimization.
Regarding the question of how infra-low frequency training
works, the bandpass filter of the Neuroamp developed specifically
for the Cygnet system selects for activity that is associated with one
or another of our basic regulatory rhythms, and the brain responds
to the dynamics of that activity. Even low-frequency regulatory activity has to respond at the speed of life. The resulting fluctuations
can be picked up with sufficient sensitivity for the brain to notice
them. In this role, the brain is functioning as a change detector,
which it is exquisitely organized to do. The changes detected relate
to the brain’s undertakings, and thus are correlated with them.
This means that once the process is underway, the brain comes to
it with expectations for the signal. It is looking for corroboration
of its expectations. The ever-present discrepancy that necessarily
exists between the actual signal and the brain’s expectation for the
signal provides grist for the training process. The brain by its very
nature continually seeks closure between its own reality and the
observation. The attempt to reach closure engages the brain’s regulatory mechanisms and learning occurs. Since there is no imposed
direction in this process, it is a matter of the brain exercising its
Q: How do you contend with the argument that you cannot train
Infralow potentials with an AC coupled amplifier?
A: All AC amplifiers are DC amplifiers that have been designed
to be AC-amplifiers. All the work in the EEG field has been done
either with such AC-coupled amplifiers or with DC amplifiers
that have been made to emulate AC-amplifiers. Cygnet and
the NeuroAmp fall in the latter category. In practice, one is not
interested in the DC value of the signal, so the DC “pedestal” is
usually rejected either in the analog or the digital domain. One is
only interested in change, and the filter parameters can be selected
such that any frequency of interest is passed by the filter. u
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California Biofeedback — Fall 2015