Brain Train America

When a person engages in a mental task this activates neurons within specific regions of the brain. Once activated, these neurons expend energy at a faster rate than those in other regions of the brain. In order for the increase in energy demand to be met, there is a rise in blood flow and oxygenation in the involved region of the brain.

 

Hemoencephalography or HEG neurofeedback is an indirect way of measuring the energy that the brain is producing. It does this by measuring the amount of blood that the brain is attempting to circulate to the frontal cortex in response to the increased demand. HEG can detect increases in the brain oxygenation level, measuring frontal cortex changes at the activation level. Infrared light beamed to the brain will pick up relative amounts of and increases in oxygen. Over time, the brain can be trained using HEG, leading to increased levels of oxygenation.

 

In HEG, the trainee’s objective is to increase the signal, or activate the intended brain region. To accomplish this, the trainee should be in an open, alert, positive, and relaxed state of, mind, focused only on their objective to raise the signal, without frustration, agitation, negativity, etc. as that tends to result in deactivation.