Cognition/Learning

FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) has a profound impact on both the child and the family. In this pilot study, NeurOptimal® was provided for both child & family members. Standard measures and FMRI were used to assess results.

Background. Many cancer survivors continue to experience ongoing symptoms, such as fatigue and cognitive impairment, which are poorly managed and have few effective, evidence-based treatment options. Neurofeedback is a noninvasive, drug-free form of brain training that may alleviate long-term symptoms reported by cancer patients. Objective. The purpose of this systematic review of the literature was to describe the effectiveness and safety of neurofeedback for managing fatigue and cognitive impairment. Methods. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. A comprehensive search of 5 databases was conducted: Medline, CINAHL, AMED, PsycInfo, and Embase. Randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials, controlled before and after studies, cohort, case control studies, and descriptive studies were included in this review. Results. Twenty-seven relevant studies were included in the critical appraisals. The quality of most studies was poor to moderate based on the JBI critical appraisal checklists. Seventeen studies were deemed of sufficient quality to be included in the review: 10 experimental studies and 7 descriptive studies. Of these, only 2 were rated as high-quality studies and the remaining were rated as moderate quality. All 17 included studies reported positive results for at least one fatigue or cognitive outcome in a variety of populations, including 1 study with breast cancer survivors. Neurofeedback interventions were well tolerated with only 3 studies reporting any side effects. Conclusions. Despite issues with methodological quality, the overall positive findings and few reported side effects suggest neurofeedback could be helpful in alleviating fatigue and cognitive impairment. Currently, there is insufficient evidence that neurofeedback is an effective therapy for management of these symptoms in cancer survivors, however, these promising results support the need for further research with this patient population. More information about which neurofeedback technologies, approaches, and protocols could be successfully used with cancer survivors and with minimal side effects is needed. This research will have significance to nurses and physicians in oncology and primary care settings who provide follow-up care and counseling to cancer survivors experiencing debilitating symptoms in order to provide information and education related to evidence-based therapy options.

Frequently used treaatments for autism focus on treating and ameliorating the symptoms- particularily the behavioral and social deficits- of the people with austism or austisic spectrum disorders. Neurocognitive processing, by contrast, is an emerging treatment methodolgy combining neurofeedback and cognitive rehabilitatiioin therapy that targets brain dysregultation as a core deficit in autism (DeLong 2002). Returning the brain to a regulated state reduces stress and supports optimal conditions for learning.

ABSTRACT Conventional treatment for individuals with histories of sexual offending has typically involved the facilitation of cognitive-behavioral interventions. Recent research related to this form of intervention has raised concerns about its effectiveness. Neurofeedback has been found to be a beneficial form of treatment for a range of clinical presentations internationally. Despite this, its use in the UK has thus far been limited. Based on the theoretical literature related to sexual offending, as well as findings that Neurofeedback can be beneficial for people who experience problems resulting from trauma, emotional instability, harmful behaviors toward others, those with developmental disorders, and for those who have struggled to engage with and/or benefit from talking therapies. Neurofeedback was carried out with an individual in a UK-based secure mental health setting. This individual, referred to as John in the current study, presented to services with an Autism Spectrum Condition, mild Intellectual Disability and a diagnosis of pedophilia, as well as a history of sexual offending against children and vulnerable adults. John had engaged in many treatment programs over many years with little evidence of significant benefit. Psychometric measures as well as qualitative feedback was used to evaluate any change experienced by John following Neurofeedback and the use of the Reliable Change Index revealed significant improvements in relation to depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive type patterns of responding, child sexual arousal, sexual compulsivity, and sexual preoccupation. Whilst our findings are modest they do provide tentative support for the use of Neurofeedback for people with similar presenting difficulties to John and those in similar circumstances. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

A trio of case studies, protocols and progress a cognitive rehabilitation clinic focusing on the use of neurofeedback and assistive therapies to promote increased neuroactivity and processing in all people: 1. 24 year old boy with Concussive Syndrome 2. 68 year old woman with primary ischemic stroke 3. 30 month old girl with a rare chromosomal disorder

Neurofeedback therapy (NFT) has been used within a number of populations however it has not been applied or thoroughly examined as a form of cognitive rehabilitation within a stroke population. Objectives for this systematic review included: i) identifying how NFT is utilized to treat cognitive deficits following stroke, ii) examining the strength and quality of evidence to support the use of NFT as a form of cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT) and iii) providing recommendations for future investigations. Searches were conducted using OVID (Medline, Health Star, Embase + Embase Classic) and PubMed databases. Additional searches were completed using the Cochrane Reviews library database, Google Scholar, the University of Toronto online library catalogue, ClinicalTrials.gov website and select journals. Searches were completed Feb/March 2015 and updated in June/July/Aug 2015. Eight studies were eligible for inclusion in this review. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they: i) were specific to a stroke population, ii) delivered CRT via a NFT protocol, iii) included participants who were affected by a cognitive deficit(s) following stroke (i.e. memory loss, loss of executive function, speech impairment etc.). NFT protocols were highly specific and varied within each study. The majority of studies identified improvements in participant cognitive deficits following the initiation of therapy. Reviewers assessed study quality using the Downs and Black Checklist for Measuring Study Quality tool; limited study quality and strength of evidence restricted generalizability of conclusions regarding the use of this therapy to the greater stroke population. Progression in this field requires further inquiry to strengthen methodology quality and study design. Future investigations should aim to standardize NFT protocols in an effort to understand the dose-response relationship between NFT and improvements in functional outcome. Future investigations should also place a large emphasis on long-term participant follow-up.

We have evaluated whether NeurOptimal® training could modulate brain activities at pre (PRE) and post-training (POST) during 10 NeurOptimal® (NO) sessions in healthy participants with (n=13) and without Origanum majorana (n=13) stimulation. This essential oil has been impregnated on their nasal filters during all training sessions in (n=26, healthy volunteers; 13 participants that were stimulated with Origanum majorana stimulated with this essential oil as compare with 13 participants without exposure to this odor). Divergence (DIV) reflects the efficacy of NO training on cerebral activity in healthy volunteers with//without Origanum majorana essential oil stimulation during all NO learning sessions in a dental clinic. DIV is the difference of total brain activity reached at Prelearning (PRE) minus Post-training (POST) values. As consequence of NO overtraining, Origanum majorana induces fluctuation on brain activity in these healthy participants. In fact, higher divergences suggest the information has not been integrated at that specific learning session yet. Conversely, negative divergences or values close to zero indicate the information is being integrated at certain moment during NO training. In addition, Origanum majorana stimulation reduces VAS (Visual Analog Scale) scores after NeurOptimal® training as compare to participants non expose to this odor. Thus, Origanum majorana essential oil could induce desired changes on cerebral activity and also reduces variations on brain activities

The immediate purpose of this article is to describe the burden school-based SLPs are encountering with the caseload vs workload model and to provide insight into how accessing technology can reduce workload demands. The aim of this article is to enable school-based SLPs to see (1) how easy technology is to implement as a data collection tool (2) how the benefits of accessing a technology based data collection tool outweigh more traditional systems and save time, (3) how one technology based tool can be used to collect and graph data simultaneously and (4) the importance of having easy access to visual representations of data for parent communication

ABSTRACT Operant conditioning of the electroencephalographic rhythm (EEG biofeedback) is argued to be an effective method for treating children with ADHD. This study was designed to evaluate whether this method, compared to methylphenidate, achieves an equally effective outcome. Participants were 39 children aged between 7 – 12 years. Thirteen children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were trained to enhance the amplitude of the beta1 activity (15 – 18 Hz) and decrease the amplitude of the theta activity (4 – 8 Hz), and 13 of which were treated with methylphenidate alone. Thirteen healthy children did not receive intervention. Several behavioral, neuropsychological and experimental tests were administered before and after intervention. While behavioral measures were improved by both types of method, methylphenidate was significantly more effective than EEG biofeedback. Response inhibition was improved only EEG biofeedback. Both EEG biofeedback and methylphenidate were associated with improvements on the variability and accuracy measures of computerized tests. Intellectual ability increased also by both methods. Although averaged effect size for methylphenidate seems to be greater than for EEG biofeedback, the difference was not significant. In conjunction with other studies, these findings demonstrate that EEG biofeedback can significantly improve several behavioral and cognitive functions in children with ADHD, and it might be an alternative treatment for non-responders or incomplete responders to medication as well as for those their parents favor a non-pharmacological treatment