WHAT IS NeurOptimal® NEUROFEEDBACK?
NeurOptimal® is a specialized and advanced non-linear neurofeedback technology and the world’s first and only Dynamical Neurofeedback® system. The focus of NeurOptimal® neurofeedback training is rebalancing the central nervous system and restoring the brain’s flexibility, resilience, and stability.
You’ve probably noticed when you walk by a mirror you can’t help but make a few adjustments to pretty yourself up?
Without a mirror we can’t see ourselves. With the information we receive from the mirror we automatically make shifts based on the feedback our reflection is showing us. Without a mirror we can’t see where we might be out of sorts. our brain also needs a mirror. This is how NeurOptimal® works.
NeurOptimal® does not “push” the brain in any way, it simply and efficiently provides the brain with information through specialized auditory and visual feedback about its own activity in real-time, much like holding up a mirror so the brain can see itself.
The brain then uses this new information to organically self-correct and re-organize itself, allowing it to function more efficiently.
By giving information to the brain about what it is doing in the present moment, the brain activates its own healing wisdom, knowing the most appropriate corrections to make. Without new information, the brain just keeps doing what it has always done. When the brain optimizes itself, the person is generally less symptomatic and able to live life in a more optimal way. Because NeurOptimal® allows the brain to make its own changes, it is safe, non-invasive, and has no known side effects.
How Does it Work?
NeurOptimal® neurofeedback works through a “feedback loop.” From the sensors placed on the scalp the NeurOptimal® system monitors the brain for sudden shifts or instability in its electrical activity at a rate of 256 times per second. Through a proprietary set of mathematical algorithms, the NeurOptimal® system then analyzes the brain’s activity and mirrors back the information in the form of “feedback” presented as very brief pauses in the audio portion of the training. Since the brain is wired to detect change, the feedback triggers an orienting response, waking the brain up to itself in the present moment. Moment by moment the brain is adaptively interacting with itself.
Upon receiving the feedback (new information) the central nervous system (CNS) is alerted to the change, and because of the brain’s neuroplasticity, naturally makes its very own instinctual adjustments. This alert gives the brain an opportunity to move away from discomfort, resetting old outdated survival response patterns that have become habituated.
By training the brain to see itself in the present moment it naturally begins to reorganize itself and heightens its ability to decide what to do next, instead of continuing down the same automatic, often maladaptive, pathway. The result is effortless release of old patterns and a transformation towards optimization.
What happens in a session?
People of all ages find NeurOptimal® brain training to be a very relaxing and enjoyable experience.
During a NeurOptimal® session, 5 small EEG sensors are placed on the head and ears, attached with special conductive paste, which allows the system to monitor and analyze the brain’s cortical activity. While sitting or lying back in a comfortable chair, the system plays music and beautiful fractal images are projected on a screen.
Most everyone finds NeurOptimal® brain training to be a very relaxing and enjoyable experience. There is no conscious action required because the direct communication occurring between the system and the brain is doing all the work. It is not necessary to be working out anything with your mind during a session and as a result, it is not unusual for people to feel so relaxed that they fall asleep and take a nice enjoyable nap.
By the end of a NeurOptimal® neurofeedback session it is common to feel very calm, clear and refreshed.
Children and teens enjoy the option to watch movies or listen to their favorite music, and even do homework, while they are training. These options usually eliminate any barrier of resistance to NeurOptimal® brain training for youth of any age. In fact, children often feel so good after a session that their parents report their children start to ask, “When can I do NeurOptimal®?”