What is neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is a way of watching what your brain is doing right now, and learning how to change it. It’s a bit like training a muscle at the gym, except the muscle is your brain, and the workout happens by paying attention in a certain way.

We use a small piece of equipment that reads a signal coming from your brain. The signal shows up on a computer screen. As you watch, you learn how to make it stronger. When the signal is stronger, it means your brain is working better.

Who might it help?

Neurofeedback can help people who often feel:

• worried or anxious
• sad or flat
• like they can’t concentrate
• like they can’t sit still
• angry a lot of the time
• like they forget things they wish they didn’t
• like they can’t stop thinking about something
• like they get overwhelmed easily

It’s also used for migraine headaches and to help people recover after a concussion.

Two kinds of neurofeedback

There are two main kinds. The older kind uses lots of small wires taped to your head. It reads the electricity your brain makes. That kind is called EEG.

The kind Gerry uses is called pIR HEG. It doesn’t use wires. Instead, a small headband with two tiny sensors picks up heat. That’s right, heat coming out of your forehead.

Why heat?

Here’s the interesting bit. When any part of your brain gets busy, it uses more fuel. Using more fuel makes more heat. Think of a bicycle wheel, when you pedal harder, the wheel gets warmer.

The front part of your brain, just behind your forehead, is called the prefrontal cortex (or PFC for short). It’s the “thinking and planning” part. When your PFC is switched on and working well, more heat comes out of your forehead. When it goes quiet, less heat comes out.

Because your forehead isn’t covered in hair or thick skin, the heat comes out easily, and the sensor picks it up in less than a second.

What happens in a session

You sit comfortably and wear the headband. You watch a movie you’ve chosen.

Here’s the clever part. When the movie shows scenes that make you feel a bit worried or on edge, your PFC quietens down, that’s how brains work under stress. The sensor sees the heat drop, and the movie pauses.

You then see a thermometer appear on the left side of the screen. Your job is to bring the temperature back up. You do this by paying attention in a particular way and by relaxing your body. Gerry will teach you how to do this. When you get it right, the temperature rises and the movie starts playing again.

Every time this happens, you’re training your PFC to stay switched on. Over many sessions, your brain gets better at keeping this “thinking part” switched on.

The pictures we take

Gerry also uses an infrared camera. It’s a bit like a normal camera, but it “sees” heat instead of light. The picture shows your forehead in different colours, depending on how much heat is coming out.

• If someone’s PFC is working well, the picture is bright and even.
• If someone’s PFC is having trouble, there are darker patches, those are cooler spots where the brain is less busy.

We take one picture at the beginning of your neurofeedback training, and at later stages in the training. Comparing them over time shows how you’re doing.

Why does this work?

When something scary or stressful happens, your body switches into “alarm mode.” Your heart beats faster. Your breathing speeds up. Your muscles get ready to run or fight.

At the same time, the thinking part (PFC) turns down. That’s on purpose, alarm mode is meant to be quick, with no time for careful thinking, just action.

The problem is that many people spend too much time in alarm mode. Their PFC is often turned down, even when there’s no real danger. When that happens, it’s hard to concentrate, to feel calm, to sleep well, to get along with people, or to remember things easily.

Neurofeedback trains the PFC to come back online. When the thinking part is back in charge, the alarm system settles down, and life feels easier.

Does it really work?

Yes. A researcher called Dr Christine Tyrrell Baker did a study of 66 people who used this exact kind of neurofeedback (pIR HEG). She measured how they were feeling before they started, and again after 5, 10, and 15 sessions.

After just 5 sessions, most people were less anxious, less sad, and felt more able to cope. After 10 or 15 sessions, the changes were even bigger. The research was published in a medical journal in 2023.

More questions?

You can  book a New Inquiry 30-minute Zoom appointment to chat with Gerry, and ask questions before you decide. Neurofeedback sessions happen in person at the Grief Centre, 97 Birkenhead Avenue, Birkenhead, Auckland.