Neurofeedback – new form of neurotherapy setup and development exploitation brain exploitation

We live in a popular knowledge world where brain sciences hold the undisputed leadership. The field that has spent the most and is developing the fastest in recent years is undoubtedly the field known as “neuroscience” or “neuroscience”. Brain science, our most important source of information on human behavior, seems to have brought us very close to deciphering the biological codes that have guided our behavior for thousands of years. Not only are scientists deepening their studies on this subject with an ever greater appetite and curiosity, but many people who are curious to learn new things and who are not professionally engaged in science are increasingly demanding to learn more.

As in every era, the expectation that scientific knowledge will solve all our problems is still very high. But we often forget that science is a fragile and fallible field of activity. Especially when we are faced with a fundamental problem such as the human brain and behavior, the problem-solving methods of science do not allow us to progress very quickly. The answers we find generate thousands of new questions, and at every step we are more and more amazed at the complexity of the mystery before us. At least, this is the sentiment of scientists actively working in this field.

Of course, as always, there is another side of the coin. While the information produced in the field of neuroscience allows us to produce new ideas in many fields from our daily life to our education, from our social relations to our personal success, the use of scientific knowledge and diplomas for purposes other than their intended purpose is on our agenda as always. Today, the information that not only those who produce information, but also charlatans and swindlers apply the most, undoubtedly comes from the field of brain sciences.

The period we live in is also called the “neuromania” period by some. Because today, whatever subject you deal with, you can come across a new version that is derived by adding “neuro” to the beginning. Neuroeconomics, neuromarketing, neuroeducation, neurolaw, neuroergonomics, neuroarchitecture, neuroaesthetics and many more are proliferating every day. While some of them turn into fields of science where important and in-depth research is conducted, others turn into just fancy and empty terms. The biggest drawback of this is that it provides a suitable framework for “neuro-exploiters”, that is, opportunists who try to gain profit with piecemeal information suitable to hearsay and to deceive people from afar.

Types of neuro-exploiters

Trainings, practices, speeches and counseling programs of many people with a variety of educational background, from personal developers to life counselors, from coaches to personal or corporate counselors, under the headings of “Brain and …” We’re starting to see it set up. Especially in our country, where we raise our young people with a very weak culture about the production and scope of scientific knowledge, there is a mental environment very suitable for such abuses.

Neuro-healers!

Many people who have not studied in any field of life sciences, let alone biology or medicine, can claim that they are selling applications that can improve people’s lives by using the concepts-knowledge of “brain” and neuroscience today.

It is not possible to keep track of the number of people in the market with cool names such as life coaching, neuro-consulting, mentoring and the like.

Although I am not originally a biologist, I have spent almost all of my life researching and training in neurosciences in different fields, I still consider myself an apprentice. I regret that people think they can find “healing” in a person they listen to as an understandable “teacher” on TV and in public training.

If you use and abuse this belief, you can easily make a lot of money. Unfortunately, legal measures to control, monitor and prevent such practices and claims in our country are very slow and lagging behind. Meanwhile, a very attractive environment is offered to many opportunists who are malicious and trade human health.

What happened to biofeedback and neurofeedback

Instrumental brain training technologies have been used all over the world since the 1980s, especially as a result of research groups originating from the USA. Biological signals recorded from the body through various methods with many different types and approaches are frequently used to correct various disorders and improve performance. We call the methods “biofeedback” or “biological feedback”, which basically aims to visualize the signals received from the body and return the data in various forms to the person from whom the data was taken, and thus to provide various improvements in the physiological parameters of the person “like looking in a mirror”.

For example, therapies aiming to reduce people’s stress levels by visually informing the person about our heart rhythm or changes in this rhythm (HRV), which we cannot normally hear without an instrument, are one of such biological feedback methods. If the changes you show the person and take as a basis for correction, this method is called “neurofeedback” or “neural feedback”

Electro-encephalography, which makes it possible to print the electrical activities in the brain from the scalp ( The EEG technique is a very old technique that was discovered in the early twentieth century. No matter how good your recording devices are with this technique, the electrical signals from the brain alone do not give much information. For this reason, especially since the 1980s, when personal computers began to become widespread, with the development of new software and analysis technologies that can analyze these complex signals, the information we can obtain from EEG recordings has increased tremendously.

. Thanks to these methods, we can obtain decisive and distinctive clues about various mental states of individuals, such as depression, anxiety, obsessions, attention and concentration. When we visualize these analysis results in various ways and display them with a software suitable for the person, it is possible to improve mental acuity and improve mental acuity at different rates during repetitive sessions, especially in many situations that reduce mental performance.

In the USA, neural feedback has been used as a part of standard training for many years, from the NASA astronaut training program to the training of soldiers. It has been successfully applied for years in many areas around the world, especially in areas such as increasing sports performance, attention deficit and depression.

But as with any useful technique, unfortunately, those trying to profit from the misuse of these sophisticated methods have been present from the very beginning. Unfortunately, neural feedback applications, which entered our country in the 90s, have started to be used as a tool for an under-the-counter hope-mongering, unfortunately, mostly in incompetent hands. Especially due to such uncontrolled practices, the response of various health professional associations was not delayed, and neural feedback, which can be a very useful and potential adjunctive therapy technique, unfortunately quickly gained a bad reputation. The rapid increase in academic studies published in this field in recent years has not been late to bring the subject back to the attention of researchers and healthcare professionals. But again, unfortunately, as always, vigilantes who want to profit from this trend are starting to pop up.

Although methods such as neural feedback are highly beneficial for many ailments and mental performance problems, they are not a panacea for miracle cures. In particular, diagnosis and treatment protocols can be used as supportive in certain situations. Moreover, applying a method such as neural feedback requires serious theoretical background and experience. During the application of the method, it is the most important requirement that the unique characteristics of each client or patient are taken into account, and that the individuals are constantly monitored during the applications and that the treatment protocols are constantly adjusted according to the individual. Just as not every drug works for every patient, a standard brain training procedure can only work for a very limited number of people. In many cases, neural feedback can even do more harm than good, if possible special circumstances (psychosis, anxiety, etc.) are not taken into account.

Let’s expand on the subject a little more;

Neurofeedback In the late 1950s and early 60s, Dr. Joe Kamiya at the University of Chicago and Dr. It started with the work of Barry Sterman.

Kamiya was studying consciousness and discovered that using a simple reward system, people could learn to alter their brain activity. This was the first EEG neurofeedback training.

Along similar lines, Dr. Sterman conducted an experiment to see if cats could increase their sensory motor rhythm (SMR). With a simple COMPUTER they always gave a food pellet they got correctly and quickly learned to control their brain waves for treatment cats.

A few years later he was doing an experiment for NASA, again using cats in his lab. This time, they were testing the effects of exposure to Lunar Lander fuel. For most cats, there was a linear progression of brain instability as levels of toxic fumes increased; first drowsiness, then headache, then hallucinations, seizures, and eventually death.

However, some cats did appear to be immune. Sterman had realized several years ago that the immune cats were the same cats he had used in the SMR brain training experiment. SMR training had given these cats ultra-stable brains. Sterman attributed like to like; Can this method, which is effective in cats, be effective in my epilepsy patient with a low SMR wave? He then went on to train SMR in humans to control epilepsy; 60% of their cases reduced their seizure level by 20-100% and the results continued.

As a result, NASA trained lunar astronauts to control the SMR rhythms of their brains. Fifty years later, neurofeedback is still part of the astronaut training program.

In the mid-1970s, neurofeedback caught the attention of media monkeys-cheaters as a form of aid for spiritual growth, and so male-female differences began to circulate in the land between science and religion. Two people attended the conferences, each in a white lab coat and somewhat orange robes.

It soon gained a dubious reputation as a spiritual tool like Neurofeedback, Meditation or Yoga and the like. Thus, taking into account the extreme prejudices of the time, it became a popular choice for researchers who, with the capitalist logic, sold even the stone, whose career was uncertain, who went into this business by selling the bracelet on his wife’s arm.

Neurofeedback did not fit the (now defunct) medical view of how the brain works. Although empirical data proved that neurofeedback worked, it could not work under the scientific beliefs of the time. Thus, neurofeedback was accepted as ‘scary’ drugs. It was reset by psychiatrists, whose name is big and small, who gave drugs called Child Cocaine, such as RITALIN, to 4-year-olds for ADHD disease (!) that they invented by buying cars and summer houses from pharmaceutical companies.

On the fringes of science, the work continued. Neurofeedback was applied to attention deficit disorders in the late 80’s and various psychological and central nervous system-based conditions throughout the 90’s.

In the last decade, the medical landscape of the brain has completely changed and the principles of neuroplasticity have been universally accepted.

Neuroscience has come to acknowledge the relationship between the central nervous system, the autoimmune system, and emotional, physical, and mental health. Indeed, he recognized that the brain can change at any age and that we create new neurons throughout life.

The natural mechanisms underlying Neurofeedback are now emerging. Neurofeedback is still foreign to most GPs. Many hold a view of the old reputation of traditional medicine and have not remained research-oriented. The old views are pushing these doctors hard, especially with competing methods that lie outside their area of ​​expertise.

Brainwave monitoring is no longer ‘experimental’. It is common practice in scientific studies to evaluate how people’s brains function under a variety of illness, stress, and mental challenges.

Humans use a variety of tools to communicate with machines: keyboards, mice, joysticks, cameras, microphones. etc. All these commanding tools function thanks to the user’s brain controlling the muscular system. However, in some cases this communication is not possible. For example, neuron diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), one of the motor neuron diseases, brain stem trauma, brain or spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophies and multiple sclerosis prevent people’s voluntary movements. Only from ALS, 30,000 in the USA, 2,000 in the world. Nearly 000 patients are affected. Every year, around 5,000 patients are registered. (STEPHAN HAWKING, VICE OF KOÇ HOLDING YÖN.KR. Chairman SUNA KIRAÇ, FENERBAHÇELİ FOOTBALLER SEDAT BALKANLI FAMOUS PATIENTS)

Scientific evidence of Neurofeedback method (980708) A
affects only motor neurons; It does not harm the patient’s cognitive functions. Memory, intelligence and personality are preserved. Patients can see, hear, smell and interpret tactile stimuli. If a technology that can directly interpret the neural activity in the patient’s brain can be developed, it may be possible for the patient to communicate with the vehicles and people around him. In other words, the main purpose here is to be able to control computers without the need for another intermediate layer (such as the muscular system) by using direct thoughts. In this respect, such a control mechanism can basically be thought of as an empowering technology in machine X human interaction.

What makes BCI possible is our ability to record the signals produced by the brain and subject them to pattern analysis and classification. Two types of communication take place in the brain, electrical and chemical. Both types of communication have “visible” effects and it is possible to detect them with some devices. What is important for BCI is the electrical communication in the brain. Triggering action potentials in the brain and their transmission along axons lead to detectable physical activity on the skull surface. It is difficult to set up a practical, working BCI system without an EEG.

Normally, when people are awake and not doing anything, their brains emit α EEG signals. These waves are in the frequency range of 8-12 Hz. The μ rhythms are in the same range and show themselves as minor changes in the α waves. The important point here is that μ rhythms are “α waves” that occur when a person concentrates on something in a way that slightly activates their somatosensory or motor cortex.

β-rhythms are in the range of 18-25 Hz, which are associated with voluntary movement and active focus. Studies have shown that people can control μ rhythms in the 8-12 Hz range and β rhythms in the 18-25 Hz range, and thus they can move a cursor on the screen as they wish. By comparing real and imagined movements and using principal component analysis (PCA – Principle Component Analysis). The rhythms have been analyzed and it has been determined that both real and imagined movements are associated with μ and β rhythm desynchronizations.

BBA-NEUROFEEDBACK RELATIONSHIP, one of the thoughts that directs ALS researchers is to control computers without the need for another intermediate layer (such as the muscle system) by using direct thoughts, a new idea that follows this is to eliminate these intermediate layers and give the brain amplified over computers. FEEDBACK is the UPDATING of the NERVOUS NETWORK MODELS of the brain, that is, the regulation of the functioning of the brain. This is called NEURO-BIO FEEDBACK.

Humans and other living things have some basic biological mechanisms for adaptation to the environment. It breathes automatically. When blood sugar drops, sugar is automatically released into the blood. This automatic adaptation process is called the homeostatic mechanism. The function of this mechanism maintains the physiological balance in humans. In addition, human innate reflexes provide survival, that is, survival. However, hemostatic mechanisms and reflexes are insufficient to meet all requirements and adapt to the environment under all conditions.
Learning is a continuous change in human abilities that is not a result of the growth process. Learning is the process that produces a product (what is learned). People are constantly learning from the beginning of their lives. The world of cognitive information becomes more complex and more dynamic over time.

In order to survive, the organism has to be active in adapting to the environment and meet its needs in variable environments. He has to learn which elements in his environment are positive for his survival, which are hindering his life, and which are neutral. This provides the necessary environment for a holistic development by helping to maintain the physiological balance in cognitive learning. The holistic use of both physiological and social aspects of learning in this way is important in terms of revealing the necessary role that learning plays in human survival. A similar situation applies to human cognitive development. According to the “Information Processing Theory”, in order to store information in the memory of the individual, it is necessary to go through a number of processes such as attention, perception and coding.

According to this theory, there are three types of memory in humans. These are (1) Sensory Recording, (2) Short-Term Memory, and (3) Long-Term Memory. When the processing process of a computer is examined, it is seen that hardware such as RAM (Random Access Memory), CPU (Central Processing Unit), and Hard Disk (Hard Disk) are organized in a structure similar to the human cognitive system.
While biologists considered intelligence as the ability to adapt to the environment, educators evaluated it as learning, psychologists as understanding relationships, and computer scientists as the ability to process information. Because of these different definitions of intelligence, it cannot be fit into a universal definition since intelligence is an abstract and open-ended concept just like the soul, subconscious mind, mind, and thinking.

The brain consists of a mass of nerve cells (neurons) that are in complex relationships with each other. In the most general sense, the brain is a control center of activities. Human intelligence provides the creation of reactions by interpreting the stimuli received by the senses and the control of these reactions. The fact that there are too many unknowns under the tiny structure of the brain causes studies in the field of neuroscience, which includes many disciplines, to intensify. In the simplest terms, there are 100 billion nerve cells with one trillion connections in a 1 cm3 region of the brain. Between these 100 billion nerve cells, there is 10 million x billion impulse transmissions per second. As can be understood from just this much information, the human brain has a system that is too complex and superior to be compared to any computer.

The main purpose of intelligence research is to understand the principles of human information processing and to unravel the working mechanisms of biological nervous systems. Computers have an important place in both the research and development of these mechanisms.

The brain thinks in two ways;

1. Fast, automatic, unconscious 2. Slow, analytical, probing, discreet…
The indispensable correlation between these two compartments of the brain is “prediction neurons”. Wolfram Schultz’s “Prediction Neurons”, which he found as a result of Dopamine Experiments, cause an increase in the amount of dopamine in the brain according to reward.

Dopamine neurons constantly produce patterns based on experience. The brain compares predictions with reality; if the expectation and prediction are met, the amount of dopamine increases and the person is happy. In case of wrong predictions, a strong stimulus is emitted from the Anterior Cingulate to the brain. The Anterior Cingulate both stimulates consciousness, keeps it alert, and sends a warning to the Hypothalamus, which regulates vital aspects of bodily functions. Dopamine neurons in the anterior cingulate use data from new events to regulate old predictions and expectations, internalize life lessons and update the NERVE NETWORK MODELS of the BRAIN. If this region cannot fulfill its function for some reason, the individual cannot use negative reinforcement in learning and repeats the same mistakes constantly because he has difficulty in learning from his mistakes.

The patterns in the EEG reflect emotional and cognitive states and predict whether people are paying attention or even what their emotions might be. Today, to accurately describe a condition, you have to explain its effect on the brain.

This research allows neurotherapists to target a broad spectrum. Thanks to advances in computer software and brainwave monitoring equipment, neurofeedback practitioners now have affordable precision tools. With 50 years of independent development behind it, the methods have become extremely sophisticated and highly effective.

Brain wave training has a half-century beginning in the conventional medicine of neurofeedback. Today, neurofeedback is used by professional sports teams, Olympic athletes and businessmen for peak performance.

Is being a doctor enough to be a “neuro” specialist?

Medical school graduation in our country is a topic that needs to be discussed separately. Almost anyone with the phrase “doctor” at the beginning of their name can almost automatically have the right to speak like an expert on the brain and behavior. When we forget that medical education is a technical field that requires specialization, this may seem natural to us, but as strange as it is that a heart or digestive system specialist normally makes medical diagnoses about the brain and undertakes treatments, people who do not have training in fields such as psychiatry, psychology or clinical neuroscience can only have a “medical degree”. It is equally strange that he pontificates (without any additional work) on issues such as brain and mental health because he is Of course, not only physicians, but if you ask me, people from all professions can acquire and share a knowledge of neuroscience at a level that will answer people’s questions with a serious study for a sufficient period of time (even if only everyone did this!). But “neuro-judgment” on issues that directly concern people’s health has unfortunately become a behavior disorder and abuse that we see more and more frequently.

How do you recognize neuro-exploiters?

After telling you this much, I would like to offer you some short tips so that you can distinguish these types of opportunists from real healers and scientists:

A neuro-exploiter does not talk much about his field of education. He usually likes to embellish every topic with concepts and terms from the brain sciences.

Neuro-exploiters love to talk like they’re doing something brand new on the commonplace topics people have the most trouble with. They like to make promises as if they have a magic wand on issues such as relationships, childhood problems, family communication, sexual functions, social communication problems, male-female relationships, healthy life, attention and concentration. When you hear weird-sounding concepts like neurocommunication, neuro-counseling, neuro-coaching, it’s extra helpful to pay extra attention to who’s saying them.

Neuro-exploiters generally take it as their duty to talk about their “clients”, “patients”, “people they counsel” at every opportunity. They invoke a lot of language patterns we know (and have often been shown to be useless) as “hypnotic language patterns”, which you’ll find galore in standard self-help books and should now taste stale. The purpose is clear: covert or overt advertising.

Neuro-exploiters often do not disclose the details of their methods. Because these are “trade secrets”. There are also those who say that if they do, their ideas will be stolen; it is true; because this is the only way they can succeed in selling the simple interview and guidance techniques that almost anyone who reads two lines of books can use as something new.

Neuro-exploiters are very keen on working with or starting companies that contain terms like healthcare, consulting, or coaching at every opportunity. Because a corporate structure in the background, a suitable website and a few phrases will bring you enough customers.

Neuro-exploiters most exploit people’s hopes of healing. For this reason, they like to make promises on issues such as hyperactivity, attention deficit, depression, self-confidence and anxiety, most of which occur within normal limits, which can pass with simple techniques or on their own, rather than severe pathological conditions. These people, who are so “experts” in neuroscience, are free from serious pathological conditions; For example, they should be asked why they stay away from subjects such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, severe depression, sleep disorders or developmental disorders.

One of the most important results of neuroscience knowledge is that it shows that many of the daily problems related to the brain and mind can actually be corrected with relatively simple, inexpensive and no expert guidance applications that each person can apply on their own. However, neuro-exploiters have no problem delivering such information to “mortals in line”. They prefer to distract people with their empty promises by advertising their miraculous(!) applications that they can only get paid for later in their fancy presentations and trainings.

You can’t usually find scientific sources of information and claims made by neuro-exploiters. They like to make up many stories and sensational claims compiled from the internet and decorate them with the delicacy of the art of rhetoric, and they like to write scientific-looking advertising speeches and write articles. While such methods of telling stories, lecturing, and attracting attention to scientific knowledge are perfectly acceptable, when the business turns into “healing people for money”, scientific-looking narration can turn into one of the most effective fraud tools you’ll ever see.

A significant part of neuro-exploiters are people who spent the previous periods of their lives doing completely different jobs, could not keep up with most of them, or who exhausted the virtual opportunities they created and entered the “neuro-exploitation” business as the last act. Researching the backgrounds of people you’ve heard about brain and mental health promises and how long they’ve been using their alleged “successful methods” can be a good starting point to get the facts. . have you applied it for your children? Ve sonuç ne oldu?

Hele hele özel konuşmalarında hasta veya danışanlarından “müşteri”; işyerleri yahut kliniklerinden “dükkan”; çalışma arkadaşlarından “ortak” diye bahsetmelerine şahit olursanız, bir nöro-sömürücü ile karşı karşıya olma ihtimaliniz oldukça yüksektir.