Biofeedback Foundation of Europe

Swallowing to Live

2009-10-28T09:56:00.009-04:00

Surface Electromyography Making Progress in Dysphagia Rehabilitation

Dr. Catriona Steele, Senior Scientist and Director of the Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Laboratory at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, was the invited presenter to the SLP (Speech Language Pathology) group at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on October 22, 2009. Dr. Steele demonstrated the latest techniques and EMG technology that she uses.

Dr. Steele is an Associate Professor in the Graduate Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto. Over the past 6 years she has received particular recognition for her research on tongue movements in swallowing and has developed a reputation as an expert on the use of texture modifications as an intervention for dysphagia. Dr. Steele is known across Canada and internationally as an outspoken advocate of evidence-based practice by speech-language pathologists. Dr. Steele currently serves as Coordinator of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association's Special Interest Division 13 (Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders). She is Past President of the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists and a past board member of the Dysphagia Research Society.

To learn more about this topic, visit the BFE Library and download Dr. Steele's latest methodology:

http://www.bfe.org/library/Methodology%20-%20%20Dysphagia%20FINAL%2014%20Sept%202009.pdf

MIND OVER BODY

2009-09-17T16:53:00.031-04:00

Biofeedback Lab Helps Eliminate Anxiety, Fear, Pain

March 3, 2009 (by Mimi Ko Cruz)

(Reprinted with permission from CSUF website.)

When 2nd Lt. Jacob Gonzales first boarded an Army CH-47 Chinook, he got sick with nausea.

With a history of motion sickness, the officer said he had to figure out a way to control it to be an effective leader. “When you’re in charge of soldiers, it’s not good for them to see their leader vomiting in front of them,” he said from Fort Sill in Oklahoma, where he is awaiting deployment to Afghanistan.

Last year, while completing his psychology degree, Gonzales signed up for Maureen Haney’s biofeedback class, where he learned to control motion sickness.

“After I learned about biofeedback and techniques for concentrating, breathing and relaxing, I was able to use it, and it worked,” Gonzales said. “I also use it when I’m running five miles a day. It helps me with the pain so I’m able to push through to the end.”

Haney, lecturer in health science and director of the university's Psychophysiology Lab, said biofeedback is a learning process in which people are taught to improve their health and performance by observing signals generated by their own bodies. Her students learn to use biofeedback equipment and skills — such as deep breathing, relaxation, autogenics (self-hypnosis of the central and autonomic nervous system) and visualization — for changing physiological functions.

Biofeedback involves measuring brain waves, blood pressure, heart rate variability, skin temperature, sweat glands and muscle tension via sensors, or electrodes, placed on the skin, Haney said. The information is conveyed through computerized graphs and charts on state-of-the-art biofeedback equipment made up of Thought Technology's Infinity units and EmWave units by HeartMath.

Biofeedback therapy is used by such agencies as NASA, the military, hospitals and alternative medicine clinics.

“It’s very intensive training,” Haney said about the process. Her classes, Health psychophysiology I and Health Psychophysiology II, and a related research lab were created in 2006 and 17, mostly undergrads, have enrolled. The students this semester include a couple of registered nurses, a psychology major, two health science majors, two kinesiology majors and a graduate student majoring in gerontology.

“You can learn to self-regulate with biofeedback by using your mind,” Haney said. “It’s not a quick fix, but you can train yourself to control physiological responses to such things as anxiety, anger, pain or stressful conditions or situations.”

Director's Drive

Haney, who has scoliosis, should know.

She employed what she knew about biofeedback therapy after undergoing two painful surgeries.

"I had a 12-inch steel rod inserted in my back along my spine and segments of seven ribs were removed in 1978," Haney recalled. "Spinal segmentation was not as advanced then, so remaining in bed for three months, post surgery, in a body cast was required. In 1992, I slipped, fell and the rod was dislodged and I had another surgery.

"I requested minimal pain medication after my first 13-hour surgery but never activated the patient-controlled analgesia pump, following my second surgery," she added. "The initial surgery was especially difficult. My first thought was to quickly request pain medication. Fortunately, I was able to refocus and utilize self-regulation skills that allowed me to deal with the intensity of the post-surgical pain."

The experience, she said, "makes me passionate about the power of the mind to regulate physiology."

That explains why she pursues biofeedback research and is a strong advocate for it. She said plans are underway for clinical trials ranging from heart rate variability biofeedback for various medical conditions to resilience training for military personnel. The studies will involve collaboration with multiple agencies.

"The field has many possibilities and opportunities," Haney said, adding that interest in complementary medicine continues to grow and career options in biofeedback are expanding.

From Training to Workforce

Lee Zambrana, one of Haney’s first biofeedback students, completed his bachelor’s degree in psychology last semester and recently landed a job in St. Jude Medical Center’s Chronic Pain Program as a biofeedback specialist. He now is planning on taking the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America exam for national certification.

Haney’s “classes really prepared me for my job,” Zambrana said. “The demand for biofeedback therapy is on the rise with patients seeking alternative methods for dealing with pain.”

Indeed, said Haney, who offers biofeedback services to community members, ranging from those with general stress disorders to individuals dealing with fibromyalgia, through her lab’s Energy Management Training Program. The program consists of six sessions and costs $100.

Military Aid

For the university’s Army ROTC cadets, the lab offers its Performance Enhancement/Resilience Training Program. Cadets in the program are given a psychophysiological stress profile and biofeedback training sessions designed to modulate stress reactivity and promote automatic nervous system flexibility.

“It is a skills building program that fosters the development of emotional and physiological self-control,” Haney said.

Having biofeedback training available on campus benefits the students, as well as the community, said Roberta E. Rikli, dean of the College of Health and Human Development.

"We offer this great service that helps people with their stress issues, while teaching our students how to use the equipment and preparing them for specialized jobs in the field," she said.

"We're one of the few schools in the country that provides the biofeedback certification program, thanks to Maureen's hard work setting up and offering the courses and the lab," Shari McMahan, professor and chair of health science and director of the university's Center for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles and Obesity Prevention.

Maureen Haney joined Cal State Fullerton as a lecturer in health science in 1988. In 2006, she became the director of the newly created Psychophysiology Lab.

Previously, Haney worked as director of research, education and marketing at St. Jude Heritage Health Foundation in Fullerton, director of psychology and biofeedback at Fullerton Internal Medicine Center, a behavior education counselor for Nutri/System Weight Control Center in Huntington Beach and a research associate with the Veteran's Administration Medical Center in Long Beach.

She is a certified biofeedback practitioner and a certified stress management educator.

Haney, who received her master's in clinical psychology from Cal State Long Beach and her bachelor's in psychology from the College of New Jersey, has made presentations on her biofeedback research nationwide. Her most recent talk was delivered at the War-Related Illness and Injury Study Center in East Orange, N.J.

Abhinav Bindra wins India's first ever individual Olympic Gold Medal

2008-09-22T11:06:00.002-04:00

Timothy Harkness Sports Psychologist

I first mentioned the "G-word" to Abhinav after a training session at my house in South Africa in early July. I don't often talk about results to clients, but we had just completed an advanced respiration session (using a technique I had learnt from Bruno Demichelis from AC Milan) that demonstrated such a close link between control of heart-rate and shooting outcome, that I finally began to feel that we had cracked the code of shooting success, and a gold medal was a possibility.

As a sports psychologist, disappointment and failure is part of the job. I have been greenside at the British Open and watched a client's putt slide past the hole, causing him to miss the cut, and I have commiserated with a sprinter who ran fractions of a second too slow to make it into the Olympic team. I've even worked with a hockey team who missed every single shot in a penalty shootout - and were the only team with a sports psychologist at the tournament!

Obviously there are successes also, but in any career, being part of an Olympic gold medal team is a highlight. I do want to say though, that for 10 years as a sports psychologist, I have been saying that character counts more than results, and when I think of Abhinav, it is his character that I admire rather than his gold medal. Talent, hard work and good planning gives you a chance, and from there, sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. This one went our way.

Abhinav and I were introduced in December 2007, and began working together in South Africa in February 2008. Our Olympic plan was formulated at a kitchen table in my mother's house. The team grew to include a doctor, chiropractor, physiotherapist, dietician and two shooting coaches in addition to myself. Looking back, I would say the crucial ingredients were a combination of bloody mindedness and flexibility.

Abhinav is an athlete who will stop at nothing to achieve success - one of the two or three most determined athletes I have ever met. So it was a privilege to work with someone who would implement whatever he was asked to do. As someone who grew up in the 80s watching the A-Team, I have to say that I love it when a plan comes together.

In 2006, PGA teaching professional John Dickson and I began to formulate a theory of how and why emotional states impede technical skill execution. We called this theory psykinetics. It draws upon evolutionary psychology, sensory integration and psychophysiology, and once you're talking psychophysiology, you need to be practicing with biofeedback.

I use a FlexComp Infiniti hardware system with BioGraph 4.0 software. Shooting is a peculiar sport because of the lack of movement, and air rifle is the most precise and exacting of the shooting sports. I chose the FlexComp because it allowed me to seamlessly move between training modalities and multimodalities, and the BioGraph software because of its ability to measure and provide feedback. The system plus my laptop is small enough to pack into a Pelican carry case, which is useful for travelling.

The psychophysiological requirements of shooting include:

Controlled breathing and heart-rate
No excess tension in muscles
No fluctuation between sympathetic/parasympathetic states during triggering (shooters can shoot in sympathetic or parasympathetic, but don't want to be surprised by which state they are in)
No interior monologue
Sharp focus and good reactions to trigger at the moment when the sight image is correct.

Abhinav and I started with the biofeedback slowly. I believe breathing is the best place to start a biofeedback programme, then skin conductivity and temperature control. We distinguished between training 'in the chair' and while shooting. Looking back, I would have started even slower, and with more time in the chair. But something that worked well for us was my consultative approach. Abhinav was already a world champion when he came to see me, and has the highest degree of body awareness that I have come across in an athlete. So I was able to get a wealth of information from him, and continually adapt the programme to the requirements of the time.

In the end, Abhinav accumulated over 150 hours of training on the various modalities. We found that the sport was too subtle for EMG and SC, but EEG and HRV gave useful information. Shooters hold their breath during triggering, and need to learn how to have a controlled parasympathetic response just before triggering, even though they may feel short of air. In the EEG, we found alpha training at T3 useful, and after lots of experimenting, ended up mainly rewarding 15-18 at Cz and squashing 26-30. We also trained Pz and Oz. The balance was to find a state that had him muscularly relaxed, but still allowed him the sharpness of reaction to trigger at the right moment.

I came to feel that with biofeedback, you do not train the athlete to execute the skill; you train the athlete to prepare to execute the skill. I.e. you should be training for the state prior to skill execution (3-5 seconds before) rather than the state of skill execution. Skill execution itself is short, subtle and instinctive, and difficult to describe or quantify … and really is best left alone. Rather train the athlete to lay the foundation for skill execution.

Importantly, we did an extensive QEEG study, and discovered amongst other things, a T3 alpha ERD with triggering. Given that we were investigating an elite athlete, a researcher may have concluded that this ERD was appropriate, but Abhinav's interpretation of the data was that he was still shooting suboptimally, and wanted an alpha ERS at triggering. It is useful to note that even elite athletes often have lots of room for improvements in their cognitive and neurological processes.

We did neurofeedback training 'in the chair' and while shooting.

The other modality that was powerful was EKG + respiration. The best predictor of a bad shot was heart rate and breathing being out of phase. We trained this in the chair and while shooting also. In the chair, Abhinav would breathe at 2.5 - 3.5 breaths per minute, or would breathe at about 8 breaths per minute, and then breath-hold for 40 seconds, while controlling his heart rate.

While I am an experienced sports psychologist, I am relatively new to biofeedback. It is a strange experience sending a biofeedback trained athlete into a competition, because there's much less to do at the competition venue. You don't need the inspirational little comments, or the relaxing jokes, because the athlete has the tools to do the job, and you can pretty much leave him to get on with it.

It was a privilege working with Abhinav, because of the quality of the feedback I got from him, and also because of the generosity of his sponsor, which allowed us undivided time together in 5 countries and 3 continents. I am a much, much better sports psychologist now than when I started working with him just 6 months ago. Sometimes learning so fast is scary because it makes you realize how much you don't know, but my father always used to say, "You've got to know what you don't know", and it's exciting to be in a field where there is so much to learn.

WORKSHOPS,DISTANCE LEARNING OFFER CREDITS,TRAINING OPTIONS

2008-06-16T19:08:00.000-04:00

“Just as surgery and pharmaceuticals were important to medicine in the 19^th & 20^th century, Behavioral Medicine will take its place in the 21^st century and biofeedback is an important component of Behavioral Medicine.” Dr. John Basmajian, Member of the Order of Canada

Montreal, Canada – One of the World’s Leading Sport Psychologists that trained Canada’s top Olympic athletes will be teaching a workshop in Montreal on June 26^th & 27^th. Clinicians, psychologists, students and educators will learn about new software & specialized equipment using biofeedback & neurofeedback. This instrumentation is the same as those used in the MindRoom of AC Milan, the reigning Champions League team. It has also been used, for some time, by the Dutch Special Forces to screen and train SWAT Team recruits.

Montreal Workshops June 26^th & 27^th

The seminar will take place at the University of Quebec at the downtown Montreal Campus. The first workshop will be led by the internationally-recognized sports psychologist and York University professor, Dr. Vietta (Sue) Wilson.

http://www.bfe.org/workshop.html#PEAK

Her workshop will describe assessment and training techniques for peak performance and provide participants with the skills to utilize in their professional settings. Specific workshop content will include how to use the latest psychophysiological assessment and training technology for high performance and rapid recovery. Mental skill training techniques such as imagery, specific goal setting, intention, and attention will be discussed.

“EXECUTIVE STRESS” WORKSHOP

Another workshop will be taught in French by Drs. Nicolina Pavlov, PhD, and Ray Pavlov, MD, PhD. Its focus will be the use of EEG biofeedback (neurofeedback) as the central component of a systematic stress program for leaders in business, industry and sports. This workshop focuses on how to improve performance and productivity and includes guidelines for individuals and groups. Both workshops have accreditation by the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America.

LEARN FROM THE BEST – International Research and Educational Project

Along with workshops in North America throughout the summer and fall 2008, there has been an explosion in distance-learning involving 30 on-line courses. They range from Heart Rate Variability Training, Stress Management, Professional Golf, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Headaches. These courses are accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) for Continuing Education Units. A complete list may be found at: WWW.BFE.ORG . Fifteen Advanced Clinical Suites are now available http://www.bfe.org/prod.html

Information: Lawrence Klein, BFE Montreal Office

(514) 489-8251 #135

2008-05-28T09:15:00.003-04:00

ASSESSMENT & TRAINING FOR PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT AND HEALTH

TWO-DAY WORKSHOP IN MONTREAL at the UNIVERSITY of QUEBEC's DOWNTOWN CAMPUS JUNE 26th & 27th

^{The purpose of the two-day workshop is focused on the use of specialized software to train athletes and others to maintain or enhance motivation, control body and mind responses and prepare for performance under stress. The aim is to make the performance automatic and have recovery and back-up systems in place that allow athletes and professionals achieve maximum performance under pressure. The Montreal course is intended for physicians, nurses, psychologists, counselors and other health care professionals. Coaches/psychologists, educators, physical therapists with an interest in latest developments in optimal performance methodology will also appreciate attending the two-days of workshops at the University of Quebec’s downtown Montreal campus.}

^{The workshop will be led by Dr. Vietta (Sue) Wilson,}^{and will draw on her 30 years of teaching and research in the field of optimal performance. Her lecture will include a discussion of her research on psychophysiological profiling and EEG brain mapping of elite performers. There will also be demonstrations using Biograph Infiniti software. Participants will learn the essential skills taught to Olympic athletes for enhancing performance. These skills are also applicable for medical and psychological clients. Included in the workshop will be descriptions of assessment and training techniques for peak performance. Participants will gain the skills to use these in their professional settings. Specific content will teach how to use the latest psychophysiological assessment and training technology for high performance and rapid recovery. Assessment methods and training exercises for those without psychophysiological equipment will also be taught, as will mental skill training techniques such as imagery, specific goal-setting, intention and attention.}

^{The workshop will also teach participants to utilize an optimum performance model to indentify areas where the client can obtain success while waiting for the effects of biofeedback and neurofeedback training to become permanent. Psychological knowledge and skills that can be practiced daily to enhance confidence and foster success behaviours will be presented.}

^{Vietta (Sue) Wilson. Ph.D.}^{is an internationally recognized sports psychologist and professor at York University in Toronto, Canada, where she has been a faculty member for over 30 years. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate level courses in her areas of expertise that include sports psychology, counseling and biofeedback-assisted self-regulation. Her experience in the field of optimal performance training includes work with elite athletes and applications in education, medicine and business. Dr. Wilson has trained Olympians in many areas of competition from archery to yachting. She is currently working with}^{private tennis clubs with elite performers (champions under 12 and professionals on tour) and also with swimmers, archers, etc}^.^{Her research has examined the QEEG of imagery, brain maps of elite performers, maintaining health at work and the effects of posture on mood states. Dr. Wilson is a Senior Fellow (General Biofeedback) and a Fellow (EEG Biofeedback) of the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America. In addition to teaching optimal performance with healthy clientele, she has also worked with cerebral palsy patients and in other clinical settings.}

^CONTACT^{: BFE MONTREAL OFFICE}

^Lawrence^Klein^{: 514 -489-8251}

^Info@BFE.org

Pioneers honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award

2008-04-02T15:14:00.009-04:00

Dr. Patricia Norris, Monika Fuhs & Steve Fahrion, PhD.

Drs. Patricia Norris and Steve Fahrion, Ph.D.--biofeedback pioneers addressed delegates during the Annual Meeting of the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe, which was held in Salzburg, Austria.

The guest speakers investigated and created successful clinical and educational biofeedback protocols for the treatment of disorders such as drug addition and hypertension. As pioneers, they integrated complementary approaches such as imagery and Psychosynthesis with self-regulation strategies to optimize the patient’s immune competence for the treatment of cancer.

Patricia Norris, Ph.D. is a daughter and professional colleague of the Biofeedback pioneers Elmer and Alyce Green and has extensive experience with psychophysiological research from its inception. She offers a remarkable insight into integration of BF with imagery and Psychosynthesis for treatment of many disorders including cancer.

Steve Fahrion, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who did pioneering research with temperature biofeedback and developed the most successful non-pharmacological treatment of hypertension. More recently he was instrumental in developing success neuro- and bio-feedback treatment programs for substance abuse and addiction.

Annual Meeting in Salzburg a Snow-Capped Success

2008-02-27T15:17:00.015-05:00

Attendees at the Annual Meeting got to practice their " Schuhplattein " skills and got quite a workout.Organizers ensured that Austrian gemutlichkeit was shared by all at the banquet & other social activities.

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Biofeedback/Neurofeedback Therapies Helping Treat Hollywood

2007-12-31T14:39:00.000-05:00

More athletes, entertainers, and public officials are displaying dysfunctional behavior that is not only harmful to themselves but to their families and the general public. Contrary to the media’s coverage two decades ago, their personal exploits are now in the public domain thanks to video- cell-phones & unscrupulous paparazzi & gossip tabloids.

“It’s much harder for entertainers and people in the public to hide their problems,” says Dr. Stephen Sideroff, the Clinical Director of Moonview Sanctuary, a very different place for public individuals who have problems to get help and get it in a discrete way.

“ It’s difficult for people in the spotlight to really get good help because it’s hard to go into treatment and let down your guard knowing that you’re going to come back out in an hour or in a day and have to put your guard back up. This interferes with addressing the deeper issues.”

Stephen Sideroff is a licensed clinical psychologist, consultant and Assistant Professor,
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, at UCLA’s School of Medicine. He’s an international expert in behavioral medicine and biofeedback.

At Moonview Sanctuary Sideroff, Drs. Terry Eagan and Laurie Levin and their staff offer several core programs based on psychiatric evaluations and treatment, psychotherapeutic evaluation and treatment, and medical services. Among the assessment tools Moonview uses are neurofeedback and biofeedback; they also use a wide range of treatments from Eastern and Native American approaches, to the most advanced neuroscience techniques,

“Recognizing the growth process, our teams continually evaluate our clients and adapt treatment for mental, emotional and spiritual well being,” stated Sideroff. “We strongly believe in the importance of treating our clients holistically in order to initiate significant, long-lasting life changes.”

There are individual programs in releasing, addictions, optimal performance, transformational medicine, anger, anxiety, burnout, depression, grief and loss, obsessive-compulsive behavior, substance related issues and life changes.

Of the many individual assessments and therapies offered, one of the most useful is biofeedback. Stephen Sideroff is a world authority on the use of biofeedback in the treatment of substance abuse and behavioral medicine. He recently returned from a trip to China where he gave a series of lectures to Chinese clinicians.
http://bfeorg.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html

Neurofeedback and biofeedback response helps in the continuous evaluation and treatment of clients at the center.

“We create a team and have over 70 practitioners who are part of Moonview. Before we even opened, we spent several years identifying the best people in a wide range of disciplines-- mind, body and spirit, not only psycho-therapeutically, but in very specific and different modalities. We do an assessment and we create a team of practitioners to work with an individual. In fact we may have a team of ten different practitioners in all different fields, including biofeedback to work with a client and we design a program so that when they come in, they will see three or four different approaches that we have found work synergistically.”

“Biofeedback works. Its use is growing slowly as more of our excellent results get reported to the public. It works and we get excellent results using it for diagnosis, evaluation and treatment at Moonview,” says Sideroff.

Moonview has several approaches to substance abuse, overall emotional personal crisis (anxiety, depression) and another track they call ‘transformational health ‘.This is for persons with chronic pain, illness or a new and life-altering diagnosis, like cancer. Another track is optimal functioning,

“Within optimal functioning we work with athletes, executives and people in entertainment.”

Sideroff, Laurie Lavin and Terry Eagan spent seven years in planning and developing the “healing’ approaches at Moonview Sanctuary and the center opened three years ago. He says they are getting, “very, very good results.” Sideroff and colleagues recently published the only controlled study using neurofeedback in a substance abuse treatment program. That study demonstrated significant improvement in abstinence rates as well as improvements in cognitive and emotional functioning.

Despite widespread agreement on the importance of the mental aspects of sport, it’s only recently that this has received much attention says Stephen Sideroff, but he points out this aspect is often kept at an arm’s distance, Dr. Sideroff has used biofeedback with elite athletes including International Volleyball star, Gabrielle Reece, who worked privately with him, outside of the Moonview Center, to help her mental focus and her emotional “game”.

“We have only to review the scientific research to know why this aspect of sport is so important. For example, research indicates that individuals who have low levels of social support combined with few coping skills take longer to recover from injury. Stress itself has been shown to slow the healing process. Similar results demonstrate that psychosocial factors also affect injury vulnerability. So we use biofeedback as one way of assessing, diagnosing and monitoring most of the elite athletes.”

He elaborated further, “Elite athletes, with a natural-born ability for success have never had to develop any coping mechanisms for their stardom and financial success, and it’s hard for them to deal with paparazzi let alone deal with frustration. While they, along with their counterparts in the world of stage and screen entertainment are great at what they do, this does not make them immune to emotional slides, or the side effects of extreme pressure that comes with success and pleasing their fans and their critics in the media.”

“Moonview provides the tools for progress towards strengthening inner development, increasing resiliency and instilling a renewed sense of connection to one’s self and world.”

For more information: www.moonviewsanctuary.com

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Thought Technology Gives NASA Astronauts an Edge

2007-08-28T18:10:00.000-04:00

Micro-miniaturization technology enabling National Aeronautics & Space Administration Montreal, Quebec--August 20, 2007—

As Dave Williams wraps up NASA’s STS-118 shuttle mission with the rest of the crew, years of training and a technology developed in Montreal have helped him soar to great heights. For decades, NASA has been studying astronaut's physiological responses to zero gravity, to living in outer space and to staying in a space vehicles and space stations for extended periods of time.

NASA recently conducted under water research since the environment provides some useful similarities to working in space. Using off the shelf technology, developed by THOUGHT TECHNOLOGY LTD of Montreal. The device is a wearable outfit that records multiple physiological measurements simultaneously. The technology is ultra miniaturized, using a standard FlexComp Infiniti(tm) physiological encoder, storing the data using flash memory cards. The astronauts, Mission Specialist Dave Williams, a Canadian Physician, and Astronaut Ron Garin, an American, wore the "gear" throughout the day while living in an NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) undersea habitat, off the shore of Key Largo Florida, 65 feet down below the surface.

NASA researcher William Toscano described the mission, “Our project was called Nemo Nine. It was 22 days long, with 2 astronauts participating. They wore the FlexComp Infiniti(tm) system for three of the mission days. What we were looking was the effect of isolation, workload and fatigue on the individuals. We're using the Nemo Nine environment as an analog of a space station.” It was all stored on flash memory cards, “ We recorded five measurements-- heart rate and electrocardiogram, respiration, skin conductance, hand temperature and finger pulse volume. Throughout the day they had activities and tasks to do." New, micro-miniaturization technologies have enabled NASA researchers to use commercially produced biomedical devices like the FlexComp Infiniti(tm) to do what used to take a wall full of equipment easily weighing over 1000 pounds. Now, the device, manufactured by Thought Technology a company that is the world's largest provider of medical and consumer biofeedback instrumentation, weighs less than a pound and has built-in data storage using flash memory cards.

NASA’s Toscano commented on the extreme research environment and on the air pressure, "at 65 feet is about 2.65 (atmospheres) -- different from at the surface. There were questions of whether the instrument would function, would it work? And it did, with flying colors! “Thought Technology also produces the GSR2, the world's best selling hand held electronic (computerizable) consumer Biofeedback device.

Highlights from Montreal UQAM Workshop

2007-07-13T17:02:00.000-04:00

Members of the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe recently held an 'Optimizing Performance and Health' workshop which shared the latest developments in using Biofeedback and Neurofeedback in sport. Dr. Vietta "Sue" Wilson conducted the workshop at the University of Quebec's downtown Montreal campus. Dr. Louis Csoka, the founder of West Point Military Academy's Sports Psychology program, attended as did Dr. Wes Sime a Sport Psychologist specializing in PGA Golf. Dr. Len Zaichkowsky of Boston University, Dr. Mark S. Schwartz, author of the landmark book "Biofeedback", and Andre Fournier, Chief of the Coaching Association of Canada were also in attendance. A total of eighteen English speaking Sports Psychologists participated. Conducting a workshop in French were Dr. Nicolina and Ray Pavlov with 10 Sports Psychologists attending. The Biofeedback Foundation of Europe believes, along with thousands of clinicians, that through the Biofeedback and Neurofeedback process, athletes can reach an optimal state and reach their peak performance with the information that electro-physiology instruments provide.

The CBC's Sonali Karnick interviewed Dr. Vietta 'Sue' Wilson at UQAM on June 10th.

Click Here for Interview

BFE Leads Lecture Series in Nanjing, China

2007-06-28T18:41:00.000-04:00

Nanjing, China --- Members of the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe recently held a series of lectures and discussions at the Brain Hospital in Nanjing, a major neurological center in China.

Leading a keynote lecture was BFE lecturer, Dr. Stephen I. Sideroff PhD., an expert in behavioral medicine and assistant clinical professor at UCLA’s department of psychiatry. Dr. Sideroff gave a presentation and workshop to 110 physicians at the Brain Hospital in Nanjing. Dr. Sideroff explained behavioral medicine, stress and how biofeedback and neurofeedback can be used in this context. The presentation included a demonstration of biofeedback and neurofeedback approaches that he employs in his treatment of ADD/ADHD, stress related symptoms and peak performance. Dr. Sideroff used Thought Technology’s ProComp Infiniti to demonstrate his approach in these areas. He later gave a similar presentation to seventy physicians at the Beijing Youth Stress Center.
BFE lecturer, Dr. Howard Glazer, PhD., an expert in pelvic floor muscle biofeedback and a Clinical Associate Professor at Cornell Medical College, presented another keynote lecture at the 7th Annual Meeting of Colorectal Surgeons Society of China. Two hundred and fifty surgeons attended Dr. Glazer’s lecture. The Society was celebrating the 70th anniversary of its founder’s medical practice.

11TH ANNUAL MEETING BERLIN--WUNDERBAR SUCCESS !

2007-05-14T15:06:00.000-04:00

Monday, April 23, 2007

News & Upcoming Workshops & Conferences
BFE 11th Annual Meeting in Berlin....Wunderbar success

from left to right - Dr. Erik Peper, President of the BFE, Dr. Bruno Demichelis - For 20 years the Head of Sports Science for AC Milan Football Team, Dr. Vietta 'Sue' Wilson, author of 'Optimizing Performance and Health' BFE Suite, Lawrence Klein, V.P. of Thought Technology and Luca Righetto, Italian Distributor of Thought Technology

Berlin, Germany - Holding their BFE Lifetime Achievement Awards for their contribution to the field of Biofeedback and Neurofeedback in Sport, in both the Professional Football field and Olympics are Dr. Bruno Demichelis and Dr. Vietta 'Sue' Wilson. Their lectures opened the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe's 11th annual Meeting’s Scientific Program which began February 27th. Dr. Vietta 'Sue' Wilson, of Toronto, Canada, gave an hour introductory lecture on Biofeedback and Neurofeedback's use in Sport Psychology. Dr. Bruno Demichelis gave a ninety minute lecture on AC Milan's use of the Mind Room and Sport Psychology /Sports Medicine. The MindRoom, which includes Thought Technology’s ProComp Infiniti/BioGraph Infiniti, is considered their secret weapon that helped them defeat Manchester United 3-0 and advance to the Champions League Football final May 23rd, 2007 in Athens, Greece.The next annual meeting takes place February 2008, in Salzburg, Austria

http://www.bfe.org/meeting/12th/Salzburg.pdf

BFE WORKSHOPS COMING TO MONTREAL, CANADA, IN JULY

Dr. Vietta " Sue" Wilson will be teaching her workshop, "Optimizing Performance & Health". Dr. Wilson, renowned for her work in sports psychology since 1971, taught sport psychology, counseling and bio-feedback assisted self regulation at the graduate and undergraduate level for over 30 years. Participants in the two-day workshop will learn to differentiate the innate from acquired in our stress response and especially learn to understand how and why we respond to stress in the way we do, and most importantly, how to change.The workshops take place from July 9-10th at UQAM (the University of Quebec at Montreal) campus

YOUNG BERLIN FOOTBALL PLAYERS LEARN BIOFEEDBACK WITH DR. BRUNO DEMICHELIS

2007-05-14T15:04:00.000-04:00

Monday, April 23, 2007 -----
Following a keynote address to the 11th Annual Meeting of the BFE, Dr. Bruno Demichelis, the famous Head of Sports Science, AC Milan Football Team, took time to teach some future soccer greats the finer points of biofeedback. The youngsters, who attend grade school in Berlin, learned about optimizing their performance and health--a life skill according to Demichelis. The young students were captivated by the computers and software for sports applications & biofeedback, developed by Thought Technology Ltd. of Montreal, Canada. Several of the young athletes were " hooked-up" in order to measure their biofeedback responses to stimuli. Dr. Demichelis taught them how to relax under stressful situations and how to improve their performance on the soccer pitch. He also showed them ways to train their powers of confidence using numerous visualization techniques.

Demichelis uses the same techniques and many more advanced for the players on theAC Milan Squad, who have just won their last four matches allowing them to enter the finals

round leading up to the World Cup.

The young Berlin footballers learned how to concentrate and focus to get into " the zone " for peak performance during competitions. Physical fitness is key to performing well, but mental preparation also makes a big difference with respect to performance Demichelis told them; it can also help reduce physical injuries.

Using ProComp Infiniti, professional athletes allow themselves to be measured for seven physiological signals --- from brain waves and muscle tension to heart rate and respiration.

Athletes soon learn how to achieve a meditative state and maintain this mind-set while visualizing videos of their recent performance on the football pitch.

HEART RATE VARIABILITY TRAINING SUITE

2007-05-14T15:02:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

The HRV Training Suite, designed by Dr. Donald Moss and Dr. Fred Shaffer is based on the latest research and clinical experience, helping newcomers apply heart rate variability training.Licensed health professionals can learn how to measure HRV from an EKG signal or from peripheral blood flow (HR/BVP) and respiration.The suite includes specialized software display screens to support a variety of convergent training strategies to produce increased heart rate variability. The suite also includes a clinical guide that can help get started right away in this exciting field.The software and documentation in the suite teach techniques necessary for increasing heart rate variability. HRV can be of particular value to psychologists and other health practitioners and therapists.For information:

http://www.bfe.org/store/HRV%20Training%20Suite.pdf

NEUROFEEDBACK FUNDAMENTALS WORKSHOP

2007-05-14T15:01:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

NEUROFEEDBACK FUNDAMENTALS WORKSHOP—A UNIQUE LEARNING EXPERIENCE JUNE 4-8th & SEPT. 24-28

Lynda Thompson Ph.D and Michael Thompson, M.D. of the Biofeedback Institute of Toronto and ADD Centres Ltd., will once again be offering an introduction to basic concepts in applied psychophysiology:" Neurofeedback Combined with Biofeedback and Metacognition"The course is accredited by the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America, and provides up to 37 hours of BCIA didactic training. Chief Instructor will be Lynda Thompson Ph.D.Guest faculty will be professor Vietta Sue Wilson, Ph.D of the Dept. of Kinesiology Health Science, York University and James Thompson, Ph.D, presenting Basic Concepts in Applied Psychophysiology.

The workshops combine comprehensive instruction in the basics of Neurofeedback while experiencing Canada’s breath-taking summer & autumn scenery. The location of the training is Burleigh Island Lodge at Burleigh Falls, a small inn on the shores of Stoney Lake in thescenic Kawartha Lakes district north of Toronto, Canada.Because of the unique location, the workshop will have a strictly-limited enrollment which also ensures the possibility of hands-on experience for all participants. There will be opportunities each afternoon for relaxing by the lake, as well as nature walks, boating, fishing and swimming. There are ancient indian rock paintings at the far end of the lake which can be visited.

INFORMATION : http://www.addcentre.com/905-803-8066 lyndamichaelthompson@gmail.com
Posted by the Director of Communications