Neuro-Therapy Clinic, Inc | Mental Health Providers | Referenced-EEG

AD/HD:
Stands for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. A disorder characterized by the inability to pay attention, increased distractibility, sometimes including hyperactive and or impulsive behaviors. Usually sub-divided into 3 categories, AD/HD predominantly Inattentive, AD/HD predominately Hyperactive/Impulsive, AD/HD combined.

Brainwaves:
The electrical signals your brain produces, as measured by the EEG. They are called brainwaves because the signals actually look like waves.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:
A specific type of therapy where you focus on the thoughts and behaviors that are a part of the problems that you are experiencing. For example, in depression, you may focus on the thoughts that you have around a negative experience and actively work to stop the negative thoughts and replace them with more positive, functional thoughts.

Therapy:
Treatment for various problems in coping, adjusting, or dealing with mental health issues, where you are able to talk about what you are experiencing and develop, with the support of your therapist, an understanding of your problems, and potential solutions.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI):
A patient with mild traumatic brain injury is a person who has had a traumatically induced physiological disruption of brain function, as manifested by a least one of the following:

any period of loss of consciousness;
any loss of memory for events immediately before or after the accident;
any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident (e.g., feeling dazed, disoriented or confused); and
focal neurological deficit(s) that may or may not be transient; but where the severity of the injury does not exceed the following: - posttraumatic amnesia (PTA) not greater than 24 hours. - after 30 minutes, an initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 13-15; and - loss of consciousness of approximately 30 minutes or less.

This definition includes:

the head being struck,
the head striking an object, and
the brain undergoing an acceleration/deceleration movement (i.e., whiplash) without direct external trauma to the head.

It excludes stroke, anoxia, tumor, encephalitis, etc. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalogram, or routine neurological evaluations may be normal. Due to the lack of medical emergency, or the realities of certain medical systems, some patients may not have the above factors medically documented in the acute stage. In such cases, it is appropriate to consider symptomatology that, when linked to a traumatic head injury, can suggest the existence of a mild traumatic brain injury.

Neurofeedback:
Neurofeedback starts with a Quantitative EEG (QEEG) which records a patient’s brainwaves, much like an EKG does for the heart. If it is clinically appropriate a QEEG will be collected and our clinical staff will review your test results with you to determine if neurofeedback is a possible treatment option for you.

Neurofeedback involves retraining irregular brainwaves into a more normal pattern, with treatment based on the results of the QEEG testing. The retraining process involves placing sensors on the scalp that give both auditory and visual feedback to you while you look at a computer display with colorful images which are paired with sounds. Controlling the computer display with your brain teaches you to produce the brainwaves that are associated with being attentive and still. As your brain masters the game, the training parameters are made more difficult.

By completing repeated and higher levels of difficulty, you can successfully reshape your brainwaves over time and, with enough practice, you can learn to do this without the computer feedback. This process is similar to what the brain does when a person learns to walk, run or ride a bicycle.

Retraining the brain using neurofeedback is a natural, low risk, highly effective treatment option that has successfully improved patients’ symptoms.

Quantitative Electroencephalograph (QEEG):
One of the analytical methods that sets the Neuro-Therapy Clinic, Inc. apart from other practices is the use of Quantitative EEG, or QEEG technology to help us learn the unique manner in which each brain functions.

Through the use of one of the most advanced tools developed in psychiatry over the last 50 years, treatment is no longer a guessing game. We are now able to accurately evaluate and understand in an objective fashion both the structure and function of each brain, and to see how behaviors are affected. This allows us to be more precise in our interventions and to obtain better results.

A QEEG (also called a Digital EEG) is a computerized data collection of the electricity the brain produces (brainwaves). The testing is non-invasive and only collects brainwaves—no electricity is ever put into the brain. This data can be helpful in finding the nature of attentional or learning problems since many patients are misdiagnosed based only on their symptoms.

Not only is this test helpful diagnostically, it can also help direct treatment decisions—whether through correct medication choices or other non-pharmacological treatments.

PEER Online™:
Like neurofeedback, PEER Online starts with a Quantitative EEG, or QEEG. A QEEG records a patient’s brainwaves, much like an EKG does for the heart.

Using PEER Online, the Neuro-Therapy Clinic, Inc. is able to learn which medications have been effective, and which have not been effective for our peers in treating patients with similar brain patterns. We use the data to help us identify the medications most likely to achieve a positive outcome for individual patients, based on your unique neurophysiology. The Neuro-Therapy Clinic can determine if a PEER Outcome Report is appropriate for you.