Different Types of Neurotherapy

We’ve seen a growing emphasis on the importance of mental health and a plethora of new therapy options available. Neurotherapy is one of these fast-growing therapies meant to treat a variety of mental health and behavioral disorders. Few therapists are certified and qualified in neurotherapy, let alone all the variations of it. What exactly are these variations and what do they treat?

Conditioning Your Brain

Neurotherapy, also referred to as neurofeedback, or neurofeedback therapy, is a form of therapy that uses operant conditioning and real-time biofeedback to train the brain to function in a more desirable way. Operant conditioning uses positive and negative reinforcement, or rewards and punishments, in order to get the desired result. 

For example, when people train a dog, they may give the dog a treat when he sits on command as a positive reinforcement or a reward. They may also take the dog’s bone away when he pees on the floor as a negative reinforcement or a punishment. 

Using Biofeedback to Control Your Reactions

Biofeedback is a mind-body method used to gather and present data about a person’s physiological state. Brainwaves, heart rate, muscle tension, and body temperature are just some of the involuntary physical responses that can be registered through biofeedback. These responses can be recognized and then voluntarily altered through neurotherapy.    

There are different ways to measure physical responses, and different ways to present those responses back to the individual. The most common form of neurotherapy is called electroencephalogram, or EEG. The therapist attaches small electrodes to the client that measure brain activity.  They’ll sit in front of a screen that changes based on their brain activity. 

When the client responds to a triggering stimulus in a negative way, the light on the screen will dim (a “punishment”). When they respond desirably, the light on the screen will get brighter (a “reward”).

Creating Muscle Memory

With practice and repetition in the neurotherapy sessions, it is possible to unlearn one response and practice a new one. Athletes practice a skill over and over again to commit it to muscle memory. Neurotherapy does the same for your brain—you’ll train to automatically display the desired reaction to things that used to be triggers.

What Does Neurotherapy Treat?

Because neurofeedback therapy is essentially “rewiring” the brain in order to improve the way it functions, it can be beneficial in treating many types of disorders, both mental and physical. It’s used to treat mood and cognitive disorders, PTSD, addiction, sleep disorders, and epilepsy. Neurotherapy can even aid in rehabilitation after a traumatic brain injury or stroke. 

Types of Neurotherapy

While the overall concept is the same, there are various types of neurotherapy that can be used for different types of struggles. Each one uses feedback based on brain reactivity from stimuli.

1. Frequency/Power Neurofeedback

Frequency/power neurofeedback is the most common and simple type of neurotherapy used today. It detects brainwave frequency and amplitude through the use of 2-4 electrodes attached to the client’s head.

Frequency refers to how fast the brain waves oscillate, or how frequently they repeat. Amplitude is the distance the brainwave travels from resting, which refers to the power of the brainwave. 

This type of neurotherapy collects data about the frequency and power of the brain waves in particular areas of the brain in order to activate or inhibit certain brain waves in those locations. The brain waves it targets are those active with insomnia, anxiety, and ADHD.

2. Slow Cortical Potential Neurofeedback (SCP_NF)

The outer layer or the human brain is the cerebral cortex.  It’s littered with neurons and their messaging pathways. SCP stands for “slow cortical potential”. According to the National Library of Medicine, this refers to the “shifts in the cortical electrical activity lasting several hundred milliseconds to several seconds.” SCP regulates the likelihood of neurons firing, and improves the direction of slow electrical activity in the cerebral cortex. This approach is used in the treatment of migraines, ADHD, and epilepsy.    ‍

3. Low-Energy Neurofeedback System (LENS)

LENS is different from other neurotherapies as it is passive, rebalances the entire brain rather than a specific site, and requires no conscious effort from the client. A small, low magnetic energy signal is emitted to the scalp where activity is low. It disrupts the old maladapted neural connectivity and helps to reset it to function in a more desirable way. 

The signal produced has a similar frequency to what your brain naturally produces. It’s perfectly timed to affect the reactivity volume of the natural brain waves and stimulate a more optimal biochemical change.

This type of neurotherapy is quicker than other neurofeedback and just as effective in treating disorders such as anxiety and depression, insomnia and restless leg syndrome, anger control, fibromyalgia, low energy, and traumatic brain Injury. 

4. Hemoencephalography (HEG) Neurofeedback 

This is a rarer type of neurotherapy that monitors the blood flow in the brain. It is an effective approach to treat migraines. 

5. Live Z-Score Feedback 

Z-score training takes data about brain wave function of individuals around the same age and the gender of the client who do not suffer from any kind of disorder. The database of information consisting of the typical brain waves is used as a baseline to compare and strive for. 

Operant conditioning is used to train the client to get closer and closer to the brain activity of this baseline data until they have had enough repetition that it becomes their own response as well. It is a common form of neurotherapy used to treat insomnia. 

6. Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA)

LORETA requires a full cap of 19 electrodes to monitor the brain activity in order to take that information from the surface EEG and turn it into 3D images. This allows for the healthcare provider and client to see and treat areas not seen by one EEG alone. 

Sometimes, behavioral and mental disorders are due over or under communication between certain areas of the brain. LORETA neurotherapy is able to identify and correct this by using a full electrode cap to monitor coherence, power, and phase within the client’s brain. 

Coherence refers to the amount of communication between different regions of the brain. Power is the strength of the brain wave, or amount of activity. Phase refers to the different brain wave phases. Monitoring these aspects of brain activity are helpful in the understanding and treatment of disorders such as depression, addiction, and OCD.

7. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

fMRI maps the inner workings of the brain and uses this information in order to control region-specific activity in the brain. The client learns to self-regulate brain activity based on real-time feedback from deep subcortical areas while in the scanner.

The Potential of Neurotherapy 

Dysregulated brain wave activity is associated with many issues and disorders people face. In an ideal state, the brain would have perfect timing and synchronicity, but that is not always the case. Brain activity can be too fast or too slow, and the brain can over communicate or under communicate. When this happens, it affects the way a person thinks or functions. 

Neurotherapy is a non-invasive alternative to pharmaceuticals that monitors and rewires brain activity in order to balance out the brain waves and bring them to the desired state. This harmonization of brain activity can help people heal and go on to live healthier and higher quality lives.

Neurotherapy at Sequoia

Sequoia Behavioral Health has trained and compassionate therapists experienced in implementing neurofeedback therapy. We’re ready to help others battle their mental, behavioral, or addiction concerns and come out on the other side triumphant. Reach out today to see how Sequoia Behavioral Health can help you or a loved one take the first step to a better life.