Z Score Neurofeedback

Clinical Applications

1st Edition - September 18, 2014
Editors: Robert W. Thatcher, Joel F. Lubar
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 1 0 0 3 8 - 7
Hardback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 1 2 9 1 - 8
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 1 4 6 4 - 6

Neurofeedback is utilized by over 10,000 clinicians worldwide with new techniques and uses being found regularly. Z Score Neurofeedback is a new technique using a normative da… Read more

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Neurofeedback is utilized by over 10,000 clinicians worldwide with new techniques and uses being found regularly. Z Score Neurofeedback is a new technique using a normative database to identify and target a specific individual’s area of dysregulation allowing for faster and more effective treatment. The book describes how to perform z Score Neurofeedback, as well as research indicating its effectiveness for a variety of disorders including pain, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, PTSD, ADHD, TBI, headache, frontal lobe disorders, or for cognitive enhancement. Suitable for clinicians as well as researchers this book is a one stop shop for those looking to understand and use this new technique.

Preface
List of Contributors
Chapter 1. History and Technical Foundations of Z Score EEG Biofeedback
- Introduction
- First Use of Gaussian Probabilities to Identify “Dysregulation” in the Brain
- Application of Gaussian Probability Distributions to Instantaneous Z Score Biofeedback and Why JTFA Z Scores Are Smaller than FFT Z Scores
- Simplification and Standardization
- Individualized EEG Biofeedback Protocols
- Implementation of the Z Score Biofeedback
- JTFA Complex Demodulation Computations
- Z Scores and QEEG Normative Databases
- Standardization by Amplifier Matching and QEEG Normative Databases
- Age Groupings of the Instantaneous Z Score Normative Population
- Sampling from the Same Population of Measures of the Human Brain
- Appendix
- References
Chapter 2. Network Connectivity and LORETA Z Score Biofeedback
- Neurotopology
- LORETA Linkage Between Structure and Function
- Cross-Modal Validation of LORETA
- LORETA Symptom Checklist
- Intrinsic Connectivity Networks
- sLORETA and LORETA Z Scores and the Cross-Spectrum
- Network Nodes and Connections
- Structural, Functional, and Effective Connectivity
- References
Chapter 3. Optimal Procedures in Z-Score Neurofeedback: Strategies for Maximizing Learning for Surface and LORETA Neurofeedback
- Schedules of Reinforcement
- Learning Curves
- Contingency of Feedback
- Types of Feedback
- Thresholding
- Number of Parameters Trained
- Use of Rounds for Training
- Transfer of Training
- Training Phase Shift and Phase Lock Durations
- Overview
- Studies Supporting Z-Score-Based Neurofeedback
- References
Chapter 4. Surface and LORETA Neurofeedback in the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
- Surface and LORETA Neurofeedback of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Surface and LORETA Neurofeedback of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
- The Study
- Ten Case Studies
- Conclusion
- References
Chapter 5. Z-score LORETA Neurofeedback as a Potential Therapy in Depression/Anxiety and Cognitive Dysfunction
- Special Notes
- Acknowledgment
- References
Chapter 6. LORETA Z-Score Neurofeedback in Chronic Pain and Headaches
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgment
- References
Chapter 7. Treating Executive Functioning Disorders Using LORETA Z-Scored EEG Biofeedback
- Introduction
- The Domains of Executive Dysfunction
- The Assessment of Executive Functioning Disorder Patients
- Executive Dysfunction Case Studies
- Conclusion
- References
Chapter 8. Combining LORETA Z-Score Neurofeedback with Heart Rate Variability Training
- Introduction
- Assessment
- Goal of Training HRV
- Vagal Control of HRV
- Goal of Training HRV and Why We Combine It with NFB
- Summary and Conclusion
- References
Chapter 9. Treating Anxiety Disorders Using Z-Scored EEG Neurofeedback
- Introduction
- The Initial Assessment of Anxiety Disorder Patients
- The Brain’s Anxiety Network
- qeeg Markers of Anxiety Disorders
- Anxiety Disorder Case Studies
- Conclusion
- References
Chapter 10. Therapy of Seizures and Epilepsy with Z-Score LORETA Neurofeedback
- Introduction
- The Etiology of Epilepsy
- The Clinical Picture of Epilepsy
- Diagnostic Considerations
- Treatment of Epilepsy
- Summary
- Acknowledgment
- References
Chapter 11. LORETA Neurofeedback in Alcohol Use Disorders: A Case Study
- Introduction
- Ethanol’s Effects on Brain Function
- Case Presentation
- Conclusion
- References
Chapter 12. LORETA and SPECT Scans: A Correlational Case Series
- Introduction to the Clinical Use of SPECT Scans
- Clinical Indications for Brain SPECT Scans
- Review of the Literature
- How to Interpret the 3D Figure 12.10
- Case Studies
- Cases
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Summary of Tabular Findings
- Table of Figures
- References
- Appendix
Chapter 13. Brainsurfer and Brain Computer Interface Z-Score Biofeedback
- Conscious Versus Unconscious Operant Conditioning is Neurophysiologically the Same
- References
Chapter 14. LORETA Neurofeedback in College Students with ADHD
- Challenges in Treating ADHD in College-Aged Populations
- Case Studies
- Conclusion
- References
Chapter 15. 19-Channel Z-Score Training for Learning Disorders and Executive Functioning
- References
Index

Robert W. Thatcher

Dr. Thatcher received a Ph.D. in psychology with a major in biopsychology from the University of Waterloo in 1970 and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Oregon, 1966. He completed postdoctoral fellowships in neurobiology and neurophysiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1971-72 before joining the faculty of New York Medical College.

From 1993 to 2001 Dr. Thatcher was also the EEG and MRI principal investigator for the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration Head Injury Program (DVHIP).He joined the National Institutes of Health in 1991 as the program manager for the integration of 128 channel EEG with MRI and PET. Prior to this, he was professor of psychiatry and director of the QEEG service at Shock Trauma, University of Maryland. He was also an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine from 1977 to 1979. Prior to moving to NYU he was an assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry and Physiology, New York Medical College 1973-1977.

From 1993-2006 Dr. Thatcher was the director of the NeuroImaging Laboratory at the Bay Pines VA Medical Center, Bay Pines, Florida, and was an adjunct professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of South Florida. He also has served on the National Institutes of Health Scientific Advisory Committee for the NIH Human Brain Map Project.

Dr. Thatcher's professional affiliations include being on the medical advisory board of Brainscope, Inc and a board member of the American Board of Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, a National Institute of Health Scientific advisory board member and an executive board member of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society. He is involved in collaborative research with several major medical centers as well ongoing clinical applications of qEEG and EEG biofeedback as part of the Resilience Program of the US Army at Fort Campbell. He has been the recipient of the Hans Berger Award of Merit (Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, Neurofeedback Division, May 16, 2008) and the Life Time Achievement Award for work in the scientific specialty of QEEG (American Board of Certification of Quantitative Electroencephalography).

Robert W. Thatcher, Ph.D., is currently the President/CEO of Applied Neuroscience, Inc. and the Director of Applied Neuroscience Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida. Dr. Thatcher is certified as an expert in both conventional electroencephalography and quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), has read over 20,000 EEGs, and has written or supervised the writing of over 10,000 clinical EEG reports. He has extensive mathematical and programming experience as well as organizational leadership skills He is the author of over 200 publications, including seven books.

Affiliations and expertise

University of South Florida, Tampa, U.S.A.

Joel F. Lubar

Dr. Joel Lubar received his B.S. and Ph.D. from the Division of the Biological Sciences and Department of Biopsychology at the University of Chicago. He has published more than 100 papers, numerous book chapters, as well as nine books in the areas of Neuroscience and Applied Psychophysiology. He has been a Regional Editor for the Journal Physiology and Behavior, and an Associate Editor for Biofeedback and Self Regulation.

He has held the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester. In 1967 he became an Associate Professor and then a Full Professor at the University of Tennessee in 1971. Dr. Lubar was the past president of AABP(Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback) and was the president of ISNR(International Society for Neurofeedback and Research. He has been the president of the Academy of Certified Neurotherapist which now offers specialty certifications in EEG Biofeedback under the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA). He has also been the president of the EEG Division of the AAPB. He has served on the BCIA Board of Directors, and as a member of the executive board of the AAPB. Society. He was the first President of the Biofeedback Society of Tennessee. Since 1979 he has been co-director of the Southeastern Neurofeedback l Institute, in Knoxville and now in Pompano Beach, Florida. Dr. Lubar has presented his research at many workshops in Europe, South America, Canada, Israel, Australia, Japan and to many State and National meetings of Biofeedback Organizations.

Dr. Lubar was responsible for developing the use of EEG Biofeedback (Neurofeedback) as a treatment modality for children, adolescents, and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, starting with his controlled studies in mid-1970. This application of Neurofeedback is now becoming widespread in clinics and schools throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel, Europe and Mexico. Currently, more than 1500 health care organizations are using the EEG biofeedback protocols that Dr. Lubar has developed. Dr. Lubar was involved in developing neurofeedback for LORETA (Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography). In a 1992 publication, in Pediatric Neurology, he and his colleagues showed, for the first time, that children with the inattentive form of ADD (without hyperactivity), differ significantly in terms of quantitative EEG patterns, from matched control non-ADD children. He also has conducted and published research on the use of Neurofeedback for seizure disorders.

Affiliations and expertise

Southeastern Neurofeedback Institute, Pompano Beach, FL, USA

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