Traumatic Brain Injury

The Dubin Clinic

Los Angeles Neurofeedback Treatment

TBI Treatment with Neurofeedback

THE DUBIN CLINIC | LOS ANGELES, CA

Miraculous Recovery from TBI with LENS Neurofeedback

Along with helping anxiety, depression and PTSD through relaxing the nervous system and allowing the brain to get out of frozen patterns, traumatic brain Injury (TBI) is of particular interest to The Dubin Clinic for Direct Neurofeedback. Traumatic injury to the brain is an area where no treatment has been reliably helpful. It has been our experience that Direct Neurofeedback, by allowing the brain to relax and reorganize itself, can be helpful, at times dramatically so. Our experience has been similar to those reported to us by other clinicians using Direct Neurofeedback.

Because TBI has been so much in the news the last few years, with the issues of concussions, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with blast injuries, and the search for effective treatments, that The Dubin Clinic for Direct Neurofeedback did a formal, self-funded IRB approved study looking at the effect of giving 20 sessions of Direct Neurofeedback to 10 former NFL players

All ten had multiple symptoms typically seen in post concussion syndrome. Pre and Post treatment evaluations were performed. This included symptom questionnaires, brain maps (qEEG), cognitive testing and balance. Results were very impressive. All 10 showed clinically and statistically very significant improvement in their symptoms. Most resistant to treatments was short-term memory. However, one player, Kermit Alexander, even showed very significant improvement with dementia.

Strong and consistent improvements were also seen in the brain maps. General but inconsistent improvements were seen in cognitive and balance testing. Anecdotally, we have seen equally dramatic improvements from veterans, people who were involved in car accidents, professional boxing (including one 3 time world welter weight champion) and a former world champion in mixed martial arts (MMA). Although obviously this is just scratching the surface of research needed to more definitively demonstrate the effectiveness of this Direct Neurofeedback. That all ten former NFL players improved is notable.

Schedule Your First Appointment by Calling (323) 543-7463 Today!

EEG Biofeedback for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

By Kirtley E. Thornton, PhD & Dennis P. Carmody, PhD

This article was edited by Dr. David Dubin for accessibility.

Prevalence and Costs

An estimated 5.3 million Americans currently live with disabilities that resulted from traumatic brain injury (TBI). Each year, 1.5 million Americans (2% of the population) sustain a TBI, with a new case added every 21 seconds. This leads to 80,000 new cases of long-term disability and 50,000 deaths. The leading causes are car accidents (44%) and falls (26%). The costs in the US are estimated at $48.3 billion a year.

Commonly reported cognitive and psychological consequences include difficulties with ‘‘orientation/concentration, overload-breakdown of comprehension, reasoning and problem solving, organizational skills, rate of processing, rate of performance, perseveration (a tendency to repeat a response or activity after it has proven ineffective), staying on task/topic, initiation/motivation, generalization, agitation, fatigue, stress and memory.

Efficacy of Standard Intervention Programs

The research literature on memory improvement in patients with brain injury generally has found minimal to mixed results for several intervention approaches.

Memory is not improved by simple, repetitive practice or by repetitive recall drills. Specific techniques, such as visualization, method of loci, and cognitive strategies, have shown different degrees of effectiveness. Researchers generally agree that the subject does not continue the use of the strategy after treatment ends. Significant improvements from internal memory aids, such as imagery instructions, are used less than external memory aids, but patients on their own generally use neither.

More recent reviews of the literature report similar mixed to negative conclusions on the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation therapy for memory and other areas of cognition and behavior. In their exhaustive review, Carney et al concluded that ‘‘specific forms of cognitive rehabilitation reduce memory failures (notebook training/electronic cueing devices—results didn’t hold 6 months post treatment) and anxiety, and improve self-concept and interpersonal relationships for persons with TBI.’’ A recent Defense and Veteran’s Head Injury program study did not find any significant improvement on their measures as a result of cognitive rehabilitation (compared with control group) in patients with moderate to severe TBI.

In conclusion, no definitive scientific evidence indicates that cognitive rehabilitation leads to sustained improvements in memory.

Efficacy of Electroencephalographic Biofeedback with TBI

In a single case study, Byers [59] found that with 31 sessions of EEG biofeedback a patient who had mild TBI improved cognitive flexibility and executive function. Hoffman et al used EEG biofeedback techniques on 14 patients with TBI and reported that approximately 60% of the patients with mild TBI showed improvement in self-reported symptoms or cognitive performance after 40 sessions. The degree of improvement noted ranged from 23% to 62%.

TBI Research and clinical reports show greater improvements with EEG biofeedback.

The authors also noted significant normalization of the EEG in subjects who showed clinical improvement. A subsequent open trial case series with 14 patients showed significant improvement after five to ten sessions in self-report checklists.

Keller demonstrated with a group of 12 patients with TBI that ten sessions of EEG biofeedback improved attentional abilities (in 8 patients) and were superior to ten 30-minute sessions using two standard software computerized attention-training programs [64,65].

Walker et al studied 26 patients with MTBI within 3 to 70 days of injury. EEG biofeedback treatment protocols applied until the patient reported significant improvement or until 40 sessions were completed. Significant and substantial improvements on a global improvement self-rating scale were reported by 88% of the patients. All patients were able to return to work.

Summary

The evidence accumulated to date indicates that few standard intervention demonstrate efficacy. Research and clinical reports show greater improvements with EEG biofeedback. The results of studies indicate that neurofeedback shows significant promise.

Neurofeedback TBI Treatment Feedback & Information

For more information on how Direct Neurofeedback & LENS Neurofeedback can help in your TBI treatment plan, please contact The Dubin Clinic in Los Angeles, CA.

(323) 543-7463 or [email protected]

Direct Neurofeedback is not a specific treatment for any one disorder. It is an adjunct to mainstream medicine and not meant to replace it.