Electricity is present throughout our bodies.  Using an EEG signal to measure and train the brain’s electrical energy patterns can improve our functioning in life, which can be a pretty amazing, and we are forever indebted to the neuroscientists at UCLA who figured out back in the late 1960s that biofeedback for the brain using electrical signals really works.

However, it is also a challenge to train certain parts of the brain, because to be effective, it is important to narrow the EEG signal so that what is trained really is the brain’s electricity and not electricity seeping in from someplace else in the body.  This is especially challenging when one wants to train the part of the brain underneath the forehead, called the pre-frontal cortex, because the electrical activity that comes from blinking one’s eyes is powerful and interferes with trying to train the brain’s electrical patterns.

Two different neurofeedback practitioners independently figured out a solution to the problem of training at the front of the head, where eyeblink interference is such a problem.  One, the late Hershel Toomim, PhD, along with his wife Marjorie, found that using near-infrared light (nIR) in a headband and providing biofeedback that rewards oxygenation levels in the pre-frontal cortex resulted in shifts in brain function that allowed the pre-frontal cortex to self-regulate, resulting in increased ability to do all the things the pre-frontal cortex does, such as focus and emotional control.

Another, Jeffrey Carmen, PhD, experimented with passive-infrared light (pIR) and developed a similar process of looking at metabolic activity.  Dr. Carmen found that his system was especially good for working with migraines.

Both devices are referred to as hemoencephalography, or HEG for short.  Although there is only a small amount of peer-reviewed literature on the effectiveness of either type of HEG, users around the world have found that both HEG devices are effective at getting around the problem of training the front of the brain and produce good results.  Moreover, use of pIR suggests that HEG may affect complex energy systems throughout the brain and not just in the pre-frontal cortex.

I have worked with both nIR and pIR biofeedback for the brain devices for over a decade.  Despite the intimidating-sounding name, HEG devices are straightforward and simple to use.  In addition, they are non-invasive; infrared light is simply a type of light that the human eye is unable to see.  And, most practitioners who know about HEG like the results they get by using them with their clients.  I especially like pIR HEG for calming and relaxing brains that over-respond to the world around them.

I don’t always take the time to pull out my HEG devices and show them to potential trainees during initial consultations, so if you’re interested in seeing how they work, be sure to ask.

 

 

 

*If you are interested in reading more about HEG, check out the book New Developments in Blood Flow Hemoencephalography, by Tim Tinius, PhD.