Back when I took my first classes in how to do neurofeedback, my instructors made sure that we knew the history of neurofeedback. We were taught that, like so many scientific advances, NASA had an indirect hand in moving forward UCLA neuroscientist Dr. Barry Sterman’s research using cats and, later, a research assistant to discover that biofeedback for the brain worked. We learned that Dr. Margaret Ayers, a Beverly Hills psychologist, worked with Dr. Sterman to bring brain training to a few of her clients. We learned that Siegried and Sue Othmer, parents of one of Dr. Ayers’ neurofeedback clients, were so impressed with what neurofeedback did for their deeply distressed child that they pushed to bring neurofeedback to the broader public. (There was also a great deal of drama involved in this process, and still today, people remain upset that so-called “laypersons” like the Othmers could get away with offering neurofeedback.)

What often gets lost in the big-picture story is the Othmers’ son, Brian. He had so many problems in his short life, and neurofeedback played a significant role in alleviating some of his troubles. One can read an overview of his story in the book A Symphony in the Brain, but that book is getting old and is not read by as many people as it was when it first came out.

So, I was pleased earlier this week to stumble across Brian’s story on Siegfried Othmer’s EEGInfo site. I do what I do in many respects because of Brian’s journey; all neurofeedback practitioners owe the entire Othmer family a debt of gratitude. All Siegfried and Sue Othmer had to go on at the time was trial and error. And hope. Their courage, and Brian’s, took neurofeedback out of a UCLA neuroscience lab and brought it to the world.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to read his story, which you may find here. That link takes one to the EEGInfo newsletter page, and as new newsletters get published, older issues slide down. If you are reading this post in the future, please scroll down in time to the 24 August 2024 edition.