Brain Injury Example

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Does anyone on the list have experience treating Brain Injuries with NFB? Anyone interested in learning more about using NFB to treat Brain Injuries?

I thought maybe my misfortune with Brain Injuries/ Car Accidents might be a valuable learning example to anyone out there that is interested in learning more about Brain Injuries and using NFB to treat them. NFB is really the only treatment available to treat what they call Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (there is really nothing mild about it, it just means you're not in a coma and can speak; even if you're functioning at a retarded level, it is still termed "Mild"). I would like to see more people with Brain Injuries being able to be helped with NFB, so if anyone is interested in benefiting from experience, here is my story:

I had a Brain Injury from a car accident in 1995. It took four years to get a diagnosis of Brain Injury (even though my speed of processing was rated at 70 - the level of a retarded person) and I was told there was nothing I could do about it. I found neurofeedback by accident and got significant improvement as a result. Then in 2003, I was rear-ended while stopped in traffic and everything got set off again. I again got very good results using NFB and got my own neurofeedback equipment. Then in July of 2006 I was rear-ended while stopped at a red light. This time I am not getting very good results using NFB (and my insurance company has refused to pay any of my medical bills, so I am not able to get a lot of professional help experimenting with different NFB protocols).

The first accident was front/back injuries. The second was on the left side (left head, left jaw, left neck & shoulder). This last was on the right side (right head, right jaw, right neck & shoulder). After the first two injuries I thought I understood brain injuries, but this one is completely different. This accident seems like it was the least severe of the three, and yet it seems to be having worse effects. I don't know if it the difference between right and left brain injuries, the cumulative effect of the injuries (maybe using the right side to compensate for the left side injuries, and then having the compensation side taken away), or the fact that I am older now (49), but I'm having a very hard time recovering from this one.

I am having almost constant migraine-level headaches (along with brain involvement, there is also torn and displaced disks in the TMJ, and digestive problems adding to the headaches). I've had extremely bad depression (which I never had before) to the point of not wanting to live anymore (I'm now taking SAM-e, a natural anti-depressant that is helping) and am having difficulty getting anything at all done.

Here is the results of a QEEG I had done recently. I haven't done any of these recommendations yet, but am going to start this week. Please let me know if anyone is interested in getting anymore info about this.

(My goal when/as I recover from this latest accident is to start a non-profit company called Transpire, with a mission to "Transform and Inspire the Care and Treatment of Brain Injuries, TMJ, and Fibromyalgia" - it's time that brain injury treatment in the most technologically advanced country in the world came out of the dark ages).

Clinical Research Correlations:

1. Possible Traumatic Brain Injury

a. Thatcher Traumatic Brain Injury Discriminant Analysis and Severity Index:

Positive for a Traumatic Brain Injury at 80% level of probability, likely of a mild level of severity as compared to

a sample of Veteran's Administration head trauma rehab patients

(rating of 2.75 out of 10; mild is from 0 to 3.5)

b. Reduced Alpha

c. Significant frontal & posterior hypocoherence

d. Significant asymmetries

2. Possible Anxiety, irritability, moodiness, sleep disturbance, alcohol/drug/CNS depressant use/abuse

a. Elevated Beta

b. Reduced Alpha

3. Possible Major Depressive Disorder, moodiness, irritability, negativity

a. Elevated central Theta & Beta

b. F3 - F4 hypocoherence

c. F7 Theta

4. Possible auditory processing deficits (T3/T5)/memory deficits

a. Elevated T3, T4, T5, T6 Theta & Beta

b. T5 - T6 hypocoherence

c. T3 - T4 hypercoherence

5. Possible reading and/or spelling underachievement/learning disabilities

a. Elevated T5, O1, O2 & P3 Theta & Beta

b. T5 - T6, O1 - O2 hypocoherence

6. Possible math/visual spatial processing deficits

a. Elevated parietal Theta & Beta

Note: EMG is present at FP1 & F3

Neurotherapy recommendations:

1. Uptrain Eyes Closed Alpha 8 - 12 hz, inhibit 0 - 7 & 13 - 32 hz

a. OZ ***

2. Downtrain Eyes Closed

a. OZ 0 - 7 hz

b. T5/P3 0 - 7 hz

c. T6/P4 0 - 7 hz

d. CPZ 0 - 7 hz

e. F7 3 - 7 hz

f. FZ 3 - 7 hz

g. Maintain a left lower than right frontal asymmetry F7 < F8, C3 < C4

3. Downtrain Eyes Closed 13 - 32 hz

a. F3/C3 *

b. OZ

c. T6/P4 *

d. CZ

e. FZ

f. T5/P3

g. F4 *

h. Maintain a left greater than right frontal asymmetry F3 > F4, C3 > C4

* Chose priorities and sequencing of interventions based on what is creating the most distress for the patient. When you have achieved a 15 - 20 % drop in baseline microvolts move to a new site. Sites with asterisks may warrant a higher priority in training.

(Hope I haven't taken up too much bandwidth for those of you not interested in this topic)

Kathleen

Kathleen Mancini

mancini@...