Medical Studies have shown that it is possible to re-wire our brains, to re-program them to function better, to react differently. It is possible to increase/decrease electrical activity in certain areas of the brain, to change brain chemicals, to create new neurons and paths in the brain. These changes to our brain can bring greater joy, improve memory, decrease anxiety and depression and improve our lives in many ways. There are many ways to re-wire our brains. Among the tools for achieving greater relaxation are Meditation, Positive Affirmations, Listening to Relaxing Music,Prayer, etc.
Below are some resources for learning more about how these and other tools can retrain our brains to function more effectively and improve our lives.
MEDITATION CAN PHYSICALLY CHANGE YOUR BRAIN
NEUROPLASTICITY
NEUROFEEDBACK
Below are some resources for learning more about how these and other tools can retrain our brains to function more effectively and improve our lives.
MEDITATION CAN PHYSICALLY CHANGE YOUR BRAIN
Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, has led experiments in cooperation with the Dalai Lama on effects of meditation on the brain. His results suggest that long-term, or short-term practice of meditation results in different levels of activity in brain regions associated with such qualities as attention, anxiety, depression, fear,anger, the ability of the body to heal itself, and so on. These functional changes may be caused by changes in the physical structure of the brain.
NEUROPLASTICITY
Brain Plasticity is the brain's ability to change—physically, functionally, and chemically—throughout life. As you would imagine, this flexibility plays an incredibly important role in our brain development (or decline) and in shaping our distinct personalities. Often, people think of childhood and young adulthood as a time of brain growth—the young person constantly learns new things, embarks on new adventures, shows an inquisitive and explorative spirit. Conversely, older adulthood is often seen as a time of cognitive decline, with people becoming more forgetful, less inclined to seek new experiences, more "set in their ways".
But what recent research has shown is that under the right circumstances, the power of brain plasticity can help adult minds grow. Although certain brain machinery tends to decline with age, there are steps people can take to tap into plasticity and reinvigorate that machinery. We just have to keep our brains fit.
NEUROFEEDBACK
Neurofeedback, is a kind of biofeedback for the brain, which practitioners say can address a host of neurological ills — among them attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, depression and anxiety — by allowing patients to alter their own brain waves through practice and repetition.
Brain cells communicate with one another, in part, through a constant storm of electrical impulses. Their patterns show up on an electroencephalogram, or EEG, as brain waves with different frequencies.
Neurofeedback practitioners say people have problems when their brain wave frequencies aren’t suited for the task at hand, or when parts of the brain aren’t communicating adequately with other parts. These issues, they say, can be represented on a “brain map,” the initial EEG readings that serve as a guide for treatment. Subsequently, a clinician will help a patient learn to slow down or speed up those brain waves, through a process known as operant conditioning. The brain begins by generating fairly random patterns, while the computer software responds with encouragement whenever the activity meets the target.
Dr. Norman Doidge, a psychiatrist at the Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research at Columbia and the author of “The Brain That Changes Itself” (Viking, 2007), said he considered neurofeedback “a powerful stabilizer of the brain.”
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Neurofeedback is direct training of brain function, by which the brain learns to function more efficiently. We observe the brain in action from moment to moment. We show that information back to the person. And we reward the brain for changing its own activity to more appropriate patterns. This is a gradual learning process. It applies to any aspect of brain function that we can measure. Neurofeedback addresses problems of brain disregulation. These happen to be numerous. They include the anxiety-depression spectrum, attention deficits, behavior disorders, various sleep disorders, headaches and migraines, PMS and emotional disturbances.
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We apply electrodes to the scalp to listen in on brainwave activity. We process the signal by computer, and we extract information about certain key brainwave frequencies. (All brainwave frequencies are equal, but some are more equal than others...) We show the ebb and flow of this activity back to the person, who attempts to change the activity level. Some frequencies we wish to promote. Others we wish to diminish. We present this information to the person in the form of a video game. The person is effectively playing the video game with his or her brain. Eventually the brainwave activity is "shaped" toward more desirable, more regulated performance. The frequencies we target, and the specific locations on the scalp where we listen in on the brain, are specific to the conditions we are trying to address, and specific to the individual.
http://www.eeginfo.com/what-is-neurofeedback.php
http://www.isnr.org/neurofeedback-info/WhatIsNeurofeedbackUpdate.pdf