Guest guest Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Kirk, One way to separate them is by the waveform itself on the Oscilloscope display. The alpha wave will usually look very much like a sine wave, very regular. SMR is almost always seen in bursts or " spindles " which come and go. You should always train SMR with eyes open, so alpha spikes should not be happening, or if they are you may want to train down that activity. The main way I tell the difference is by watching the client: SMR will produce a kind of slumping in the chair, loss of muscle tone, and frequently a kind of sleepiness. Alpha, especially that high, shouldn't result in either of those findings. Pete > > From: " Kirk Little " <KDLittle@...> > Date: 2006/02/05 Sun AM 07:20:53 EST > < > > Subject: SMR vs High Alpha > > Could someone help me understand how one can descriminate between a " true " SMR wave and an Alpha wave. I ask because when I am training my own SMR at Cz, I watch the power spectrum using the CSA while listening to reward tones, and notice that I oftentimes get very steep, high amplitude spikes at about 11+Hz - sometimes a little lower, sometimes a little higher, but just enough below 12Hz to not trigger the reward. > > I know some advise tuning down the reward frequency from 12-15, but I naturally have a high Peak Alpha of close to 11.0Hz depending upon head location and I'm not sure if that would not be the correct approach. > > I have been using Chebyshev IIR filter in BioExplorer, if that helps potential advisors. > > thanks in advance for any help. > Kirk > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 7, 2006 Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 Pete, I am not experienced enough yet to be able to read the raw wave form. When I separate out the waves on the Oscilloscope, e.g. 8-12, 12-15, the 8-12 waves also come in spindles that look very much like the 12-15 waves - except on occasion, the Alpha wave goes on for longer and is less spindly. The trainee is me, and when I train 12-15, I don't feel relaxed and limp - I'm not sure what I would look like from someone else...I'll ask my wife. If I close my eyes for a minute during SMR training, I notice that the alpha waves double in amplitute, and are a little lower in frequency over-all, in the 8,9,10 range, and with eyes open, much flatter, and higher with spikes at 11 and 12. Should I try lowering the reward to 11-14, or 11-15? When I was at a conference with Lubar, he said SMR is always 12-15, so I'm not sure what to do. Kirk SMR vs High Alpha> > Could someone help me understand how one can descriminate between a "true" SMR wave and an Alpha wave. I ask because when I am training my own SMR at Cz, I watch the power spectrum using the CSA while listening to reward tones, and notice that I oftentimes get very steep, high amplitude spikes at about 11+Hz - sometimes a little lower, sometimes a little higher, but just enough below 12Hz to not trigger the reward. > > I know some advise tuning down the reward frequency from 12-15, but I naturally have a high Peak Alpha of close to 11.0Hz depending upon head location and I'm not sure if that would not be the correct approach. > > I have been using Chebyshev IIR filter in BioExplorer, if that helps potential advisors. > > thanks in advance for any help. > Kirk > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 7, 2006 Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 Hi Kirk I'm wondering what inhibits you use. Mark SMR vs High Alpha> > Could someone help me understand how one can descriminate between a "true" SMR wave and an Alpha wave. I ask because when I am training my own SMR at Cz, I watch the power spectrum using the CSA while listening to reward tones, and notice that I oftentimes get very steep, high amplitude spikes at about 11+Hz - sometimes a little lower, sometimes a little higher, but just enough below 12Hz to not trigger the reward. > > I know some advise tuning down the reward frequency from 12-15, but I naturally have a high Peak Alpha of close to 11.0Hz depending upon head location and I'm not sure if that would not be the correct approach. > > I have been using Chebyshev IIR filter in BioExplorer, if that helps potential advisors. > > thanks in advance for any help. > Kirk > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 Mark, I was inhibiting only 3-8Hz and above 25Hz until Pete's reply, and now all below 12 (but my machine in being repaired, so I'm in Neurofeedback withdrawal at the moment). I'm stubbornly independent, and like to play around with things, learn them by doing it with a semi trial and error approach. One of Pete's SMR designs is a percentage, but I wanted to inhibit theta and hi beta at the same time. kirk SMR vs High Alpha> > Could someone help me understand how one can descriminate between a "true" SMR wave and an Alpha wave. I ask because when I am training my own SMR at Cz, I watch the power spectrum using the CSA while listening to reward tones, and notice that I oftentimes get very steep, high amplitude spikes at about 11+Hz - sometimes a little lower, sometimes a little higher, but just enough below 12Hz to not trigger the reward. > > I know some advise tuning down the reward frequency from 12-15, but I naturally have a high Peak Alpha of close to 11.0Hz depending upon head location and I'm not sure if that would not be the correct approach. > > I have been using Chebyshev IIR filter in BioExplorer, if that helps potential advisors. > > thanks in advance for any help. > Kirk > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.