Neurofeedback, also known as Biofeedback, is a type of complementary and alternative medicine called mind-body therapy. It's designed to enable you — in mind-over-matter fashion — to use your thoughts and will to control your body.

Neurofeedback is based on the idea, confirmed by scientific studies, that people have the innate potential to influence with their minds many of the automatic, involuntary functions of their bodies.

To help you develop this ability, a neurofeedback specialist uses signals from special monitoring equipment to teach you to control certain body functions and their responses, such as:

• Brain activity
• Blood pressure
• Muscle tension
• Heart rate
• Skin temperature
• Sweat gland activity

You can use neurofeedback to help treat many physical and mental health problems when you've learned to recognize and control these functions and responses.

NEUROFEEDBACK RELIEVES STRESS-RELATED CONDITIONS

Neurofeedback can be particularly useful in treating stress-related conditions, and clinical trials are evaluating it in the treatment of many other conditions, including:

• Asthma
• Headaches
• Hot flashes
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy
• Irregular heartbeats (cardiac arrhythmias)
• Chronic low back pain
• Chronic constipation
• High blood pressure
• Incontinence
• Epilepsy

WHAT TO EXPECT WITH NEUROFEEDBACK

A typical neurofeedback session lasts 30 to 60 minutes. The length and number of sessions will be determined by your condition and how quickly you learn to control your physical responses.

During your session, the neurofeedback practitioner will apply electrical sensors to different parts of your body. These sensors will monitor your body's physiological response to stress — for instance, your muscle contraction during a tension headache — then feed the information back to you via cues such as a beeping sound or a flashing light.

The feedback will allow you to begin to associate your body's response — in this case, headache pain — with certain physical functions, such as your muscles tensing. Once you begin to recognize that your headache is a result of tense muscles, the next step is to learn how to invoke positive physical changes in your body, such as relaxing those specific muscles, when your body is physically or mentally stressed.

Your eventual goal will be to produce these responses on your own, outside the therapist's office and without the help of technology.

NEUROFEEDBACK MAY BE RIGHT FOR YOU

Neurofeedback is generally considered safe. However, neurofeedback can potentially interfere with some medications, such as insulin, so patients with diabetes should exercise extra caution. Talk to Dr. McGill to see whether neurofeedback therapy is an appropriate treatment for you.

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