This week marks the end of another phase of my biofeedback journey. This week my LORETA neurofeedback treatments came to an end. Although I'm relieved I won't have to travel to Mississauga anymore, I will miss seeing the people, saying hello, discussing my progress, talking brains. I am now happily embarking on a ten-day staycation…
Category: Brain Health
Writings on brain injuries, remedies, and interesting tidbits, from the perspective of one who suffered a closed head injury and didn’t lose consciousness. Mild brain injuries are injuries too.
Beta Spikes and Grisly Scenes During LORETA Neurofeedback
The same week we began stimulation of my Wernicke’s area, we saw beta spikes for the first time during my LORETA neurofeedback session. It began right with the first screen. And it wasn’t just a spike of five or six standard deviations from the norm, it was an off-the-chart spike. My trainer spoke to Andrea…
The Days That Test
I think ongoing, never-ending family stress is retarding the effectiveness of the new tDCS stimulation and LORETA neurofeedback. On the other hand, even though I just wanted to sit on the subway train and read tweets in a zoned-out state, my brain (or mind, and what is the mind anyway?) let me do that for…
Gamma Brainwave Biofeedback: Wernicke’s, Cats, and Reading
OK, this is a bit freaky, but the words on my iPod playing into my ears are so . . . so clear. They’re reaching out and pulling me into understanding. It’s almost overwhelming to hear the words clearly enunciated instead of in my usual blurry way, like they’re making me hear them as clear…
LORETA #16 — I Need a Nap
I walked in to the ADD Centre and saw a familiar face I haven't seen in six years: my old trainer. Cool! Last time I saw her, she and I were working on me getting a ball to roll across a gorilla’s arm, over the shoulders, and across the other arm, from my left to…
Adding tDCS Back to Gamma Brainwave Biofeedback
Two new things in this week’s gamma brainwave biofeedback session: tDCS and a 3-minute assessment at Wernicke's area to determine if we should do tDCS at that location to improve my receptive language (e.g., reading). These were not so easy to do. My poor trainer, none of the electrode placements are in standard spots, spots…
More LORETA Notes with a Touch of Gamma
Gamma training didn't work as well as usual. It didn't help that my heart rate was way up there (let's pretend we didn't see those 130+ figures shall we, and why didn't rest while I was thankfully waiting for my appointment to start drop it? Scary to think maybe it did.), probably because I stupidly…
A Hot Day at Gamma Brain Training
My skin was so hot, my trainer was sure the temperature sensor would melt. Well, maybe a slight exaggeration. She did think it was going to show a much-higher temp than usual. I didn't. I was right, but I didn't know why, especially since my skin was prickling painfully from the heat waving out of…
LORETA After A Record-Breaking Storm
I broke the 190 barrier! Woot! Phew. Every so often, my LORETA neurofeedback trainer mentions that when I reach 190 consistently for each five-minute screen, they'll drop the z-score from its current 2.1 to 1.9 or thereabouts. In other words, reaching 190 consistently means I am ready to train at a harder level. At the…