Many medical experts agree that the most difficult aspect of treating an illness, condition or injury is getting to the root of the problem. Am I depressed or just anxious? Why can’t I get help for my son’s ADHD problems? What’s wrong with my bright daughter who is struggling so with math? These are questions that have perplexed even the most astute medical minds for years. Diagnosing such conditions becomes even more difficult when symptoms overlap.
A diagnostic tool now available at Alternatives: A Center for Conscious Health, has taken much of the guesswork from pinpointing the cause of serious issues. Brain mapping, otherwise known as qEEG (quantitative electroencephalogram), is a procedure that collects and processes a detailed analysis of the brain, which is used to develop targeted protocols that can dramatically improve problems such as depression, anxiety and ADHD.
Brain mapping is the first step in a type of neurotherapy that has been available at Alternatives for more than two years and is working wonders for so many patients of all ages, according to Jamie Moore, RN, Neurotherapy Clinician at Alternatives. The system incorporates elaborate video games, learning activities, and a variety of tools implemented by the practitioner in a reward-based system.
A simple, quick and painless process, brain mapping helps detect where in the brain the problem originates and allows Moore to design a plan to retrain the brain. Nineteen electrodes are attached to the head of a patient. qEEG data is then collected with the eyes closed and with the eyes open. The patient may also read or work math problems so that the brain can be evaluated while working on a difficult task. The brain waves that result on the computer screen help Moore detect where the problem is located and identify what it is.
“Brain mapping allows me to see what the brain is doing in both relaxed and active states. If children have a problem with math, we ask them to do math equations while hooked up to the system and see what areas of the brain respond or don’t. Sometimes we will ask them to read or recall stressful situations during the brain mapping to help pinpoint the areas of activity and imbalance. The difference between anxiety and depression can be difficult to diagnose, but brain mapping can detect that, which is very important. A person could be taking anti-depressants and not be depressed at all but anxious.”
A program can then be developed to literally re-train specific areas of the brain by encouraging the brain to learn new patterns or break old ones to improve a patient’s problems.
At Alternatives, the diagnostic tool has been particularly effective in diagnosing such conditions as depression, anxiety, ADHD and learning disabilities. But the uses of brain mapping are widespread. Even those with sports injuries can be helped. “We did a brain mapping on an eighth-grader who was functionally illiterate in math and in the 10 percentile in the U.S,” Moore said. “After following a series of treatments, he now ranks in the 50th percentile. That same student recently suffered a concussion in football, which resulted in changes in the brain. Because he had a baseline qEEG from one year ago, we were able to compare the old qEEG with the new brain mapping post concussion. That analysis revealed that he had suffered a mild traumatic brain injury. It was recommended that he not play full contact football for one season so that his brain could heal. Without a baseline brain mapping, we would have never known the extent of the damage that had occurred. He might have also continued playing football, resulting in further damage. He is now back at Alternatives for further treatment.”
For Moore, the work is gratifying because the results are so positive. One study of qEEG revealed that in five cases of patients suffering from brain injuries or conditions, memory improvements ranged from 68 percent to 181 percent (http://chp-neurotherapy.com/pdfs/JHTR15-6-07001-013.pdf).
Moore has seen those same positive results. “We’ve seen improvement in nearly everyone who has tried this program.”
No comments:
Post a Comment