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A Symphony in the Brain - The Evolution of the New Brain Wave Biofeedback
Imagine a procedure versatile enough to treat epilepsy, autism, attention deficit disorder, addictions, and depression with no drugs or side effects; to bring patients out of vegetative states; and to improve everything from golf scores to opera singers' voices. These are only some of the claims made for neurofeedback, a controversial but effective treatment that is revolutionizing the way an incredibly diverse range of medical and psychological conditions are treated. In A Symphony in the Brain, Jim Robbins traces the fascinating, untold story of the development of neurofeedback, from its discovery by a small corps of research psychologists, to its growing application across the country and around the world, to present battles for acceptance in the conservative medical world. Offering a wealth of powerful case studies, accessible scientific explanations, and dramatic personal accounts, Robbins journeys through a remarkable field, which he brings to the public eye for the first time.
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First published January 1, 2000
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July 5, 2010
Good information. Journalist author explains history of biofeedback and neurofeedback. Good explanation of the politics of this innovative technology shown to work for so many intractable problems including epilepsy, addictions, ADHD, sleep disorders, eating disorders, sports and business performance, and so on. It hasn't caught on as well as it should have because the medical establishment has discredited it and yanked research funding. Yet if 80% of illness is caused by stress, and you can use this to destress people (instead of wait and give them drugs or surgery), you can understand how threatening it is. It was fascinating to me to learn about the various types of brain waves and the evolutions from "seeing God" in the 1960s to the effective alpha-theta crossover for addictions. This is truly the healing science of the future, in my opinion. I'm giving it 3 stars because the book seems poorly edited. The author is too circuitous and wordy at times, and the index could have been a lot better. Ditto the bibliography.
June 19, 2021
While exploring my new career goal of entering the mental health profession, I recently met a LCSW in my community who offers neurofeedback as a supplement to other therapeutic services. Eager to share her enthusiasm for this technique, she generously gifted me a copy of Jim Robbins’s A Symphony in the Brain. My honest first impression was that neurofeedback seemed like a weird “alternative” practice––the kind that usually turns out to be pseudoscience, probably enabled by an elaborate, technologically-enhanced placebo effect. And while the science doesn’t seem to be entirely settled when it comes to this question, Robbins’s book convinced me that my initial judgment was too hasty and too strong; neurofeedback, it turns out, has a long and intriguing history, a burgeoning bevy of contemporary practices, and a horizon of possible futures that merit attention and further research.
A Symphony in the Brain was originally published in 2000, and the revised edition (the version I read) was released in 2008. So while this book doesn’t contain the most up-to-date information about current practices and studies, it provides a solid look at the fundamental principles that gave birth to neurofeedback and fueled its development starting in the early 20th century.
Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback that uses electroencephalography (EEG) to translate a brain’s electrical signals into some form of output, usually visual or auditory. It involves attaching electrodes to a person’s skull, and then giving that person real-time access to the data the electrodes are pulling from their brainwaves. Parameters can then be set to provide a “reward” (pleasant stimulus) when brainwaves register within a desired bandwidth––typically alpha, sensorimotor rhythm (SMR), or beta, depending on the type of treatment and patient goals. Practitioners claim that, over time, this type of training can help a person achieve healthier, calmer, and more productive “default” brain states, and also become more resistant to distractions. Here’s a helpful image I pulled from Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma:
Robbins defines neurofeedback as “the operant conditioning of autonomic function,” and posits that it may allow people to consciously align our everyday brain states with our intentions and goals (xiii). He explains:
"Most human beings––and this may be the most profound lesson from all neurofeedback––are simply not inherently or irrevocably flawed. Instead, many––perhaps most––of the problems that plague humankind are a case of 'operator error.' We 'own' our central nervous system to a far greater degree than we imagine. We can get our hands on the steering wheel and deal with anxiety, depression, ADD, and a wide range of other problems. Neurofeedback shows us how powerful we are." (xv)
The book’s central metaphor, as the title suggests, is that of a symphony, with a well-organized mind being able to occupy more harmonious, creative, and productive forms of consciousness that minimize suffering, increase focus, and light the path to greater happiness and flourishing. In this view, people suffering from psychological disorders struggle to properly “conduct” the orchestra inside their own head:
"Neurofeedback, the model holds, rouses the conductor and resets him to his appropriate speed. Once the conductor is back in form, the rest of the players fall into line. Whether the problem is autism, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, or any of a host of other maladies, the answer lies in resetting the conductor and appropriately engaging the orchestra with neurofeedback." (31)
These are very encouraging sentiments proffered in pretty words, but what are the actual biological mechanisms that neurofeedback is harnessing? The short answer, as Robbins notes several times, is that we don’t exactly know. There are lots of theories, most of which comport with our general knowledge of neuroscience, but none of them is considered a “proven” theory. Here are a couple examples:
"One hypothesis about what might be going on in the brain during neurofeedback has to do with the way the cells in the brain connect with one another. Since information travels along the branchlike connections between cells called dendrites, the denser and greater in number these connections are, the better the transfer of information. As frequency increases during a neurotherapy session and the brain is activated, more blood than usual streams to that area of the brain––the nutrients in the blood may be strengthening or reorganizing existing connections, which increases the cells’ ability to self regulate. This is what many scientists think happens during any learning process. (Brain scans show that in people who go blind and learn Braille, the neurons in the area that governs their reading finger become more robust.) The neurofeedback model holds that the brain wave training increases the stability of that area of the brain as well as its flexibility, or its ability to move between mental states (from sleep to consciousness or arousal to relaxation, for example). It allows the players in the orchestra to play their parts better, to find the correct tempo, to come in on time, and to stop playing when they aren’t needed. Since every aspect of a person is driven by an assembly of neurons, the healthier those neurons are, the healthier are the functions that they govern." (45)
"When the brain is trained with neurofeedback, blood bathes the cells in the frontal cortex and acts as a kind of fertilizer helping cells overcome malformation, due either to genetics or perhaps from cortisol damage caused by emotional stress. Existing connections are strengthened or reorganized, or perhaps they grow new branches. Whatever the case, they make better, more robust connections with adjoining cells, and so the transfer of current and neurochemicals works much faster and more efficiently." (137)
Notice Robbins’s use of terms like “stability,” “flexibility,” “more robust,” and “more efficiently” as descriptors for neurofeedback’s positive effects. Depending on your familiarity with neuroscience, you may find this language convincing or annoyingly vague. I land somewhere in the middle; I don’t think these terms are entirely meaningless in this context, but they can also feel frustratingly imprecise. This is a general problem with how proponents of neurofeedback talk about and sell it. I think it’s one of the main reasons why neurofeedback has had trouble being accepted as an allopathic (science-based) treatment, both by the medical establishment and the general public.
Another weakness is that neurofeedback enthusiasts sometimes wander too far in the direction of oversimplification. At one point, Robbins describes the “Othmer model” of mental illness, which was invented by Sue and Siegfried Othmer, two of the earliest and strongest neurofeedback advocates. The Othmers assert that all mental illness diagnoses fall into just three categories: chronic overarousal, chronic underarousal, and “brain instability” (201). “The model is a move back to a much simpler time in neuroscience,” Robbins writes, “and to a much simpler time in psychology… The Othmers have essentially thrown out most of the hundreds of diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (201-2). I’m in no way convinced that the DSM is the only or even the best way to successfully understand and treat mental illness, but I also have strong doubts that the many decades and countless careers that have gone into compiling that resource can be easily dismissed in favor of the Othmers’ framework.
My last criticism concerns doubts about the wide variety of situations where neurofeedback can supposedly help people. This includes not only a profusion of mental health challenges, but also performance enhancement for athletes, musicians, and businesspeople, and even claims of inducing spiritual enlightenment at the field’s outer edges. At some points in the book, the scope feels “unbelievably broad,” as Robbins puts it (198).
To his credit, Robbins engages repeatedly with all of these problems, highlighting good reasons for skepticism and caution. I especially liked the sections focusing on Joel Lubar, a pioneer in using neurofeedback to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). “Lubar is worried,” Robbins writes, “that the fringe reputation the field already has will get worse if clinicians move too far too fast and the claims once again get way out beyond the research” (198). This seems like the optimal position, and Robbins joins with many others by insisting that neurofeedback is “neither miracle nor panacea,” and that the “true scope of brain wave training” is yet to be determined (3, 244). He also points out––fairly, in my view––that there are similar concerns about many psychotropic medications that doctors and psychiatrists routinely prescribe as part of the “medical model” of mental illness.
In the end, many key questions remain unanswered:
"After years of research on neurofeedback, including my own experience and the experience of family members, I am no longer skeptical about whether it works. Instead, The questions are about the scope of the success: what percentage of people respond dramatically and successfully? Miracle stories are fascinating, but how often do they happen? How many people get something out of it but not a transformation? How many don’t respond at all? How long does it last? Can neurofeedback cause problems? If the efficacy question has been, with few exceptions, poorly researched, these kinds of questions have barely been touched." (217)
I’m not sure about the extent to which these questions have been explored or answered in the years since this book came out. But Robbins left me eager to learn more through his honest portrait of the diversity of opinions within the neurofeedback community, driving home its underdeveloped character while also trying to preserve its promise:
"One of the most exciting things of all is that the field is in its infancy. Clinicians and researchers have been laboring away in their own little corners, with few resources and a great deal of imagination and determination, believing what they have found is the best, and rarely venturing out to talk with others in the field. The story of neurofeedback may, at present, be akin to the story of the blind men and the elephant, in which each man thinks he knows what the elephant looks like from feeling one part of it. Each in reality has only a partial claim on the truth. Each of the neurofeedback pioneers has taught the brain, in his or her own way, to play a piece of music. But no one has brought all of the instruments and players and music together. That grand and complicated and beautiful piece of music has yet to be played." (246)
This book wasn’t as impactful or informative as some of the other therapy-related books I’ve read recently, but it provided a welcome challenge to my initial assumptions and personal biases. The quest for long-term growth requires approaching new topics with an open mind, and Robbins helped me do so without feeling like my mind was so open that my brain fell out.
This review was originally published on my blog, words&dirt.
A Symphony in the Brain was originally published in 2000, and the revised edition (the version I read) was released in 2008. So while this book doesn’t contain the most up-to-date information about current practices and studies, it provides a solid look at the fundamental principles that gave birth to neurofeedback and fueled its development starting in the early 20th century.
Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback that uses electroencephalography (EEG) to translate a brain’s electrical signals into some form of output, usually visual or auditory. It involves attaching electrodes to a person’s skull, and then giving that person real-time access to the data the electrodes are pulling from their brainwaves. Parameters can then be set to provide a “reward” (pleasant stimulus) when brainwaves register within a desired bandwidth––typically alpha, sensorimotor rhythm (SMR), or beta, depending on the type of treatment and patient goals. Practitioners claim that, over time, this type of training can help a person achieve healthier, calmer, and more productive “default” brain states, and also become more resistant to distractions. Here’s a helpful image I pulled from Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma:
Robbins defines neurofeedback as “the operant conditioning of autonomic function,” and posits that it may allow people to consciously align our everyday brain states with our intentions and goals (xiii). He explains:
"Most human beings––and this may be the most profound lesson from all neurofeedback––are simply not inherently or irrevocably flawed. Instead, many––perhaps most––of the problems that plague humankind are a case of 'operator error.' We 'own' our central nervous system to a far greater degree than we imagine. We can get our hands on the steering wheel and deal with anxiety, depression, ADD, and a wide range of other problems. Neurofeedback shows us how powerful we are." (xv)
The book’s central metaphor, as the title suggests, is that of a symphony, with a well-organized mind being able to occupy more harmonious, creative, and productive forms of consciousness that minimize suffering, increase focus, and light the path to greater happiness and flourishing. In this view, people suffering from psychological disorders struggle to properly “conduct” the orchestra inside their own head:
"Neurofeedback, the model holds, rouses the conductor and resets him to his appropriate speed. Once the conductor is back in form, the rest of the players fall into line. Whether the problem is autism, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, or any of a host of other maladies, the answer lies in resetting the conductor and appropriately engaging the orchestra with neurofeedback." (31)
These are very encouraging sentiments proffered in pretty words, but what are the actual biological mechanisms that neurofeedback is harnessing? The short answer, as Robbins notes several times, is that we don’t exactly know. There are lots of theories, most of which comport with our general knowledge of neuroscience, but none of them is considered a “proven” theory. Here are a couple examples:
"One hypothesis about what might be going on in the brain during neurofeedback has to do with the way the cells in the brain connect with one another. Since information travels along the branchlike connections between cells called dendrites, the denser and greater in number these connections are, the better the transfer of information. As frequency increases during a neurotherapy session and the brain is activated, more blood than usual streams to that area of the brain––the nutrients in the blood may be strengthening or reorganizing existing connections, which increases the cells’ ability to self regulate. This is what many scientists think happens during any learning process. (Brain scans show that in people who go blind and learn Braille, the neurons in the area that governs their reading finger become more robust.) The neurofeedback model holds that the brain wave training increases the stability of that area of the brain as well as its flexibility, or its ability to move between mental states (from sleep to consciousness or arousal to relaxation, for example). It allows the players in the orchestra to play their parts better, to find the correct tempo, to come in on time, and to stop playing when they aren’t needed. Since every aspect of a person is driven by an assembly of neurons, the healthier those neurons are, the healthier are the functions that they govern." (45)
"When the brain is trained with neurofeedback, blood bathes the cells in the frontal cortex and acts as a kind of fertilizer helping cells overcome malformation, due either to genetics or perhaps from cortisol damage caused by emotional stress. Existing connections are strengthened or reorganized, or perhaps they grow new branches. Whatever the case, they make better, more robust connections with adjoining cells, and so the transfer of current and neurochemicals works much faster and more efficiently." (137)
Notice Robbins’s use of terms like “stability,” “flexibility,” “more robust,” and “more efficiently” as descriptors for neurofeedback’s positive effects. Depending on your familiarity with neuroscience, you may find this language convincing or annoyingly vague. I land somewhere in the middle; I don’t think these terms are entirely meaningless in this context, but they can also feel frustratingly imprecise. This is a general problem with how proponents of neurofeedback talk about and sell it. I think it’s one of the main reasons why neurofeedback has had trouble being accepted as an allopathic (science-based) treatment, both by the medical establishment and the general public.
Another weakness is that neurofeedback enthusiasts sometimes wander too far in the direction of oversimplification. At one point, Robbins describes the “Othmer model” of mental illness, which was invented by Sue and Siegfried Othmer, two of the earliest and strongest neurofeedback advocates. The Othmers assert that all mental illness diagnoses fall into just three categories: chronic overarousal, chronic underarousal, and “brain instability” (201). “The model is a move back to a much simpler time in neuroscience,” Robbins writes, “and to a much simpler time in psychology… The Othmers have essentially thrown out most of the hundreds of diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (201-2). I’m in no way convinced that the DSM is the only or even the best way to successfully understand and treat mental illness, but I also have strong doubts that the many decades and countless careers that have gone into compiling that resource can be easily dismissed in favor of the Othmers’ framework.
My last criticism concerns doubts about the wide variety of situations where neurofeedback can supposedly help people. This includes not only a profusion of mental health challenges, but also performance enhancement for athletes, musicians, and businesspeople, and even claims of inducing spiritual enlightenment at the field’s outer edges. At some points in the book, the scope feels “unbelievably broad,” as Robbins puts it (198).
To his credit, Robbins engages repeatedly with all of these problems, highlighting good reasons for skepticism and caution. I especially liked the sections focusing on Joel Lubar, a pioneer in using neurofeedback to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). “Lubar is worried,” Robbins writes, “that the fringe reputation the field already has will get worse if clinicians move too far too fast and the claims once again get way out beyond the research” (198). This seems like the optimal position, and Robbins joins with many others by insisting that neurofeedback is “neither miracle nor panacea,” and that the “true scope of brain wave training” is yet to be determined (3, 244). He also points out––fairly, in my view––that there are similar concerns about many psychotropic medications that doctors and psychiatrists routinely prescribe as part of the “medical model” of mental illness.
In the end, many key questions remain unanswered:
"After years of research on neurofeedback, including my own experience and the experience of family members, I am no longer skeptical about whether it works. Instead, The questions are about the scope of the success: what percentage of people respond dramatically and successfully? Miracle stories are fascinating, but how often do they happen? How many people get something out of it but not a transformation? How many don’t respond at all? How long does it last? Can neurofeedback cause problems? If the efficacy question has been, with few exceptions, poorly researched, these kinds of questions have barely been touched." (217)
I’m not sure about the extent to which these questions have been explored or answered in the years since this book came out. But Robbins left me eager to learn more through his honest portrait of the diversity of opinions within the neurofeedback community, driving home its underdeveloped character while also trying to preserve its promise:
"One of the most exciting things of all is that the field is in its infancy. Clinicians and researchers have been laboring away in their own little corners, with few resources and a great deal of imagination and determination, believing what they have found is the best, and rarely venturing out to talk with others in the field. The story of neurofeedback may, at present, be akin to the story of the blind men and the elephant, in which each man thinks he knows what the elephant looks like from feeling one part of it. Each in reality has only a partial claim on the truth. Each of the neurofeedback pioneers has taught the brain, in his or her own way, to play a piece of music. But no one has brought all of the instruments and players and music together. That grand and complicated and beautiful piece of music has yet to be played." (246)
This book wasn’t as impactful or informative as some of the other therapy-related books I’ve read recently, but it provided a welcome challenge to my initial assumptions and personal biases. The quest for long-term growth requires approaching new topics with an open mind, and Robbins helped me do so without feeling like my mind was so open that my brain fell out.
This review was originally published on my blog, words&dirt.
January 6, 2010
I was actually handed a copy of A Symphony in the Brain yesterday by a Neurofeedback technichian that I have been consulting with.
The Author provides a history of Biofeedback and Neurofeedback as it has been studied both inside and outside of mainstream science. I am currently receiving neurofeedback treatment, and started my first training yesterday.
Much of the skepticism I and others have about Neurofeedback is addressed in the book. If anyone is suffering from anxiety disorders, bi polar disorder, ADHD, or Epilispy, I would consider reading this book for a start.
The brain is both a biochemical and electrochemical organ. Neurofeedback is largely based upon research of electrical frequencies measured in hertz waves produced in the brain. The goal is to adjust the frequencies in the brain to help boost optimum communication between neurons through a technique knows as "brain training".
Through a series of sessions of brain training, the brain learns to train itself to enter the proper phases of hertz frequencies: Alpha, Beta, Theta, Delta. Each phase represents a state of consciousness humans experience throughout waking consciousness, to physical activity, right down to sleep. The brain's hertz levels change throughout these states of consciousness throughout the day.
The problem is that some people do not operate on an adequate frequency, and gets 'stuck' in one area. People who are stuck in high levels of anxiety (fight or flight), lost the ability to enter the other states, preventing them from experiencing rested states.
Neurofeedback still isn't widely known, and many illnesses are still being treated with drugs. For those who want to look into an alternative to drugs, this is it.
The Author provides a history of Biofeedback and Neurofeedback as it has been studied both inside and outside of mainstream science. I am currently receiving neurofeedback treatment, and started my first training yesterday.
Much of the skepticism I and others have about Neurofeedback is addressed in the book. If anyone is suffering from anxiety disorders, bi polar disorder, ADHD, or Epilispy, I would consider reading this book for a start.
The brain is both a biochemical and electrochemical organ. Neurofeedback is largely based upon research of electrical frequencies measured in hertz waves produced in the brain. The goal is to adjust the frequencies in the brain to help boost optimum communication between neurons through a technique knows as "brain training".
Through a series of sessions of brain training, the brain learns to train itself to enter the proper phases of hertz frequencies: Alpha, Beta, Theta, Delta. Each phase represents a state of consciousness humans experience throughout waking consciousness, to physical activity, right down to sleep. The brain's hertz levels change throughout these states of consciousness throughout the day.
The problem is that some people do not operate on an adequate frequency, and gets 'stuck' in one area. People who are stuck in high levels of anxiety (fight or flight), lost the ability to enter the other states, preventing them from experiencing rested states.
Neurofeedback still isn't widely known, and many illnesses are still being treated with drugs. For those who want to look into an alternative to drugs, this is it.
April 14, 2023
review forthcoming
September 7, 2024
This book was simple, yet educational, on neurofeedback. I enjoyed reading the stories of patients who benefited from this type of treatment. 5/5 for me 😊
March 22, 2015
Do you want to know about neurofeedback? Where it came from? Is it s a fad? Or is it medical science? Jim Robbins gives us the story of brainwave biofeedback from the early pioneers in the 1970's to the blossoming in the 1990's. It is written in the style of an in-depth journalist: interviews and history of the key players, how the stories unfold, and how these players interacted. The book gives a good, not-too-technical understanding of how the techniques are performed.
The stories are rather amazing and in some cases incredible. Story after story of people with problems that are solved by a brainwave scanner and a rather simple user interface that simply lets the patient know the mode that the brain is performing in. Patients can modify their brain state, and it is the precise knowledge of brain state that allows patients to control the mode. For the most part the equipment is measuring and sensitive to the dominant global operating frequency of brain waves, but in some cases particular techniques are tuned to look at frequencies in particular parts of the brain.
The approach seems to applicable to a wide range of problems: ADHD, PTSD, anxiety attacks, substance abuse, epilepsy, shyness, and even plain old 'sports performance'. It is easy to believe that these kinds of things are affected by the brain entering into a "bad" mode of operation. Who of us has never been paralyzed by the fear of a looming deadline, unable to get past the writers-block, even though you know you should be moving forward? The brain is clearly letting fears (some modes of thinking) get in the way of work (other modes of thinking). Wouldn't it be great if you could be aware of these "bad" modes, and switch to good modes of thinking. Awareness is power. Interesting parallels are made between meditation and controlling the same rhythms inthe brain.
Should we be skeptical? I am both intrigued as well as cautious. The success rate seems (in a very non-rigorous way) to be around 90%. There are so many stories of people with debilitating problems who are effectively cured with a few treatments. Robbins points out that there is a dearth of controlled. double-blind scientific studies of the effects of the treatments. He covers some of the reasons for this: because it is just feedback, and the patient is in control, it does not fall under traditional 'treatments', it is not clear whether the FDA is responsible for this area or not, and widespread misunderstanding of consciousness and whether we should be meddling in it. The traditional medicine community shunned the approach most likely because some of the early work was done by people investigating mystical effects, yogis, and other new-age approaches from people who rejected the establishment in the first place. Many of the best cases are from parents of ADHD kids who rebelled against the mainstream and refused to dope their kids with Ritalin. You can't expect the AMA to look lightly at that. In one documented case funding was suddenly pulled from a study that would have lent a lot of credibility to the field: did the pharma industry pull the plug? Robbins does not stoop to such conspiracy theories, but the possibility is always there.
There has also been some drama. The pioneers in the field had to make their own equipment, and there was at least one major patent dispute lawsuit. There have been some patient problems: With a broken leg is it visible whether it is healed or not, but how do you objectively measure whether the brain is healed? For now, most people equate neurofeedback with pyramid power and fad diets.
This book will give you the history of the field. It is not guide for hopeful practitioners to use to learn how to do it. But I would think anyone wanting to experiment in the space should start with this book to get the background.
We live in a fascinating time. More has been discovered about the brain in the last 10 years than in all of history before that. The hardware necessary to monitor, record, and analyze the brain waves gets dramatically cheaper every year, and it is now possible to get serious equipment for this purpose for mere hundreds of dollars. It makes sense to me that the approach is a serious direction for healing the abnormal mods of brain behavior. These initial steps are no more than poking in the dark with blunt instruments, but I believe we will see a blossoming of the field in the coming years as enthusiasts help build credibility, and the mainstream medical community learns the benefit of this symphony of the brain.
The stories are rather amazing and in some cases incredible. Story after story of people with problems that are solved by a brainwave scanner and a rather simple user interface that simply lets the patient know the mode that the brain is performing in. Patients can modify their brain state, and it is the precise knowledge of brain state that allows patients to control the mode. For the most part the equipment is measuring and sensitive to the dominant global operating frequency of brain waves, but in some cases particular techniques are tuned to look at frequencies in particular parts of the brain.
The approach seems to applicable to a wide range of problems: ADHD, PTSD, anxiety attacks, substance abuse, epilepsy, shyness, and even plain old 'sports performance'. It is easy to believe that these kinds of things are affected by the brain entering into a "bad" mode of operation. Who of us has never been paralyzed by the fear of a looming deadline, unable to get past the writers-block, even though you know you should be moving forward? The brain is clearly letting fears (some modes of thinking) get in the way of work (other modes of thinking). Wouldn't it be great if you could be aware of these "bad" modes, and switch to good modes of thinking. Awareness is power. Interesting parallels are made between meditation and controlling the same rhythms inthe brain.
Should we be skeptical? I am both intrigued as well as cautious. The success rate seems (in a very non-rigorous way) to be around 90%. There are so many stories of people with debilitating problems who are effectively cured with a few treatments. Robbins points out that there is a dearth of controlled. double-blind scientific studies of the effects of the treatments. He covers some of the reasons for this: because it is just feedback, and the patient is in control, it does not fall under traditional 'treatments', it is not clear whether the FDA is responsible for this area or not, and widespread misunderstanding of consciousness and whether we should be meddling in it. The traditional medicine community shunned the approach most likely because some of the early work was done by people investigating mystical effects, yogis, and other new-age approaches from people who rejected the establishment in the first place. Many of the best cases are from parents of ADHD kids who rebelled against the mainstream and refused to dope their kids with Ritalin. You can't expect the AMA to look lightly at that. In one documented case funding was suddenly pulled from a study that would have lent a lot of credibility to the field: did the pharma industry pull the plug? Robbins does not stoop to such conspiracy theories, but the possibility is always there.
There has also been some drama. The pioneers in the field had to make their own equipment, and there was at least one major patent dispute lawsuit. There have been some patient problems: With a broken leg is it visible whether it is healed or not, but how do you objectively measure whether the brain is healed? For now, most people equate neurofeedback with pyramid power and fad diets.
This book will give you the history of the field. It is not guide for hopeful practitioners to use to learn how to do it. But I would think anyone wanting to experiment in the space should start with this book to get the background.
We live in a fascinating time. More has been discovered about the brain in the last 10 years than in all of history before that. The hardware necessary to monitor, record, and analyze the brain waves gets dramatically cheaper every year, and it is now possible to get serious equipment for this purpose for mere hundreds of dollars. It makes sense to me that the approach is a serious direction for healing the abnormal mods of brain behavior. These initial steps are no more than poking in the dark with blunt instruments, but I believe we will see a blossoming of the field in the coming years as enthusiasts help build credibility, and the mainstream medical community learns the benefit of this symphony of the brain.
May 1, 2020
This was a really interesting read for me. I am fascinated by the brain and had heard that neurofeedback exists but knew very little about it prior to this book.
Jim Robbins does a great job in this book addressing what neurofeedback is, its history (and why some parts of its history have contributed to its conflicting reputation), and some of the incredible outcomes that people have experienced in improving their overall wellbeing through training brain waves with neurofeedback.
It seems to have promising outcomes for an extremely wide range of conditions people experience, and which makes sense given how integral our brain function is for everything we think, feel, and do as humans. Definitely a book that has left me wondering whether I should consider integrating neurofeedback into the process of working with people on their mental health struggles.
Jim Robbins does a great job in this book addressing what neurofeedback is, its history (and why some parts of its history have contributed to its conflicting reputation), and some of the incredible outcomes that people have experienced in improving their overall wellbeing through training brain waves with neurofeedback.
It seems to have promising outcomes for an extremely wide range of conditions people experience, and which makes sense given how integral our brain function is for everything we think, feel, and do as humans. Definitely a book that has left me wondering whether I should consider integrating neurofeedback into the process of working with people on their mental health struggles.
March 25, 2022
I had a hard time to really get into this book as it has quite a lot of jargon and is very dry for the first 35 pages. But, after that….this is very educational content indeed.
The backstory of the genesis in this field makes me very curious. I am currently undergoing treatment in biofeedback at my local Chiropractor and after 10 sessions can already feel a difference. This is a service everyone NEEDS to have. I urge anyone who has the financial means to do this as I know everyone can benefit from this.
This book is very affordable for the value it gave me. I am very thankful for it, worth the read!
The backstory of the genesis in this field makes me very curious. I am currently undergoing treatment in biofeedback at my local Chiropractor and after 10 sessions can already feel a difference. This is a service everyone NEEDS to have. I urge anyone who has the financial means to do this as I know everyone can benefit from this.
This book is very affordable for the value it gave me. I am very thankful for it, worth the read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2013
This book starts strong but ends weakly. It is really about neurofeedback, not biofeedback, so the explanatory subtitle is actually quite misleading. But it's a good book overall. Even its weakness is helpful, in a way; it is weak because it tries to cover everything and everybody connected with neurofeedback. Robbins does this in a chronological way, even though this means splattering various personalities and scientific ideas across the intellectual canvas which appear, disappear, and then reappear later.
Outsiders would benefit the most from the first half of the book, insiders from the second half. It starts at the beginning, with the accidental discovery that certain cats with "brain wave" training were resistant to seizures.
The discussion of all the internal politics of the neurofeedback movement was informative but confusing. Why were these people fighting? For money, recognition, or what? I think the author thinks that some of these legal fights were pointless in the extreme, but is hesitant to say so. I wish he would just come out and say it; it would lend more overall coherence to the narrative.
It would also lend a partial explanation to the obvious question -- why hasn't this revolutionary technique, which evidently has been demonstrated as an effective treatment at least for seizures for decades, not become accepted practice? Some readers will suspect that the real reason is that neurofeedback is a flaky discipline; and obviously, historically this suspicion played a role in the failure of neurofeedback to establish itself.
So this book could have been better organized. Robbins has mixed the politics and the science indiscriminately together. I would separate them out. I would have a "Part 1" explaining the current state of the science of neurofeedback: what is firmly established, what is likely but not fully established, what is controversial even among practitioners, what is possible and needing further research, and what is just flat out unknown. For example, I'd say that the use of neurofeedback to treat seizures and attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is fairly well established. But some of the most innovative researchers, even when they clearly obtain results, have failed to leave protocols allowing others to duplicate their results. They can do it, but they can't show others how. This bothers me. Robbins alludes to this problem, but I suspect he's trying to be nice to his sources by not harping on it.
Then I'd have a "Part 2" in which I describe the politics, both internal and external, relating to neurofeedback. Robbins alludes to one of the key reasons that neurofeedback failed to take off in the early days (1970's and later) as being that outlandish claims were made on behalf of neurofeedback therapy. Well, what were these claims? And who made them? And why did they make them? Inquiring minds want to know. This is a critical piece of the political story. After all, if the neurofeedback was unable to police itself in the early days, why should we assume they can do so now? For an outsider with no scientific expertise, if you hear someone concede that some of the claims on behalf of neurofeedback turned out to be false, why should they believe later claims made on behalf of neurofeedback? Or do we all have to be experts on the entire subject in order to evaluate any claim about neurofeedback?
And at this stage in "Part 2," Robbins could have brought in a second key factor that neurofeedback failed to take off -- the internal squabbling and legal fights over a technique and a process that, basically, could not make anyone that much money. So I wish that Robbins had written a book which included all the material that he did include, but that he explained it somewhat better and organized it differently.
And since I have gotten this far, I will now get on my soap box and raise the whole question of regulation. To me this is the scary thing about neurofeedback. There IS something to neurofeedback. But that not only means that you can heal people; it also means that you could, with suitably bad (or evil) technique, use the technique to cause seizures in people. In fact, Robbins shows that some experimenters did exactly that in the early days, in order to prove a point. These researchers immediately reversed their results by training their subjects not to have seizures; and this way of doing things would be considered unethical today, as Robbins points out. And yet today anyone could claim to be a neurofeedback therapist and administer such therapy, with no training whatsoever. We could of course limit it to medical doctors, but they probably know less about neurofeedback than anyone. There would need to be some sort of general acceptance of the idea, followed by a general understanding of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable for a practitioner claiming to be a neurofeedback expert of some sort.
In short, this book is both flawed and indispensable. People new to the subject, I think, will get bogged down in the book about halfway through in the details of the history of neurofeedback. Veterans of the subject, on the other hand, may find it a useful summary of contemporary personalities and trends in neurofeedback.
Outsiders would benefit the most from the first half of the book, insiders from the second half. It starts at the beginning, with the accidental discovery that certain cats with "brain wave" training were resistant to seizures.
The discussion of all the internal politics of the neurofeedback movement was informative but confusing. Why were these people fighting? For money, recognition, or what? I think the author thinks that some of these legal fights were pointless in the extreme, but is hesitant to say so. I wish he would just come out and say it; it would lend more overall coherence to the narrative.
It would also lend a partial explanation to the obvious question -- why hasn't this revolutionary technique, which evidently has been demonstrated as an effective treatment at least for seizures for decades, not become accepted practice? Some readers will suspect that the real reason is that neurofeedback is a flaky discipline; and obviously, historically this suspicion played a role in the failure of neurofeedback to establish itself.
So this book could have been better organized. Robbins has mixed the politics and the science indiscriminately together. I would separate them out. I would have a "Part 1" explaining the current state of the science of neurofeedback: what is firmly established, what is likely but not fully established, what is controversial even among practitioners, what is possible and needing further research, and what is just flat out unknown. For example, I'd say that the use of neurofeedback to treat seizures and attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is fairly well established. But some of the most innovative researchers, even when they clearly obtain results, have failed to leave protocols allowing others to duplicate their results. They can do it, but they can't show others how. This bothers me. Robbins alludes to this problem, but I suspect he's trying to be nice to his sources by not harping on it.
Then I'd have a "Part 2" in which I describe the politics, both internal and external, relating to neurofeedback. Robbins alludes to one of the key reasons that neurofeedback failed to take off in the early days (1970's and later) as being that outlandish claims were made on behalf of neurofeedback therapy. Well, what were these claims? And who made them? And why did they make them? Inquiring minds want to know. This is a critical piece of the political story. After all, if the neurofeedback was unable to police itself in the early days, why should we assume they can do so now? For an outsider with no scientific expertise, if you hear someone concede that some of the claims on behalf of neurofeedback turned out to be false, why should they believe later claims made on behalf of neurofeedback? Or do we all have to be experts on the entire subject in order to evaluate any claim about neurofeedback?
And at this stage in "Part 2," Robbins could have brought in a second key factor that neurofeedback failed to take off -- the internal squabbling and legal fights over a technique and a process that, basically, could not make anyone that much money. So I wish that Robbins had written a book which included all the material that he did include, but that he explained it somewhat better and organized it differently.
And since I have gotten this far, I will now get on my soap box and raise the whole question of regulation. To me this is the scary thing about neurofeedback. There IS something to neurofeedback. But that not only means that you can heal people; it also means that you could, with suitably bad (or evil) technique, use the technique to cause seizures in people. In fact, Robbins shows that some experimenters did exactly that in the early days, in order to prove a point. These researchers immediately reversed their results by training their subjects not to have seizures; and this way of doing things would be considered unethical today, as Robbins points out. And yet today anyone could claim to be a neurofeedback therapist and administer such therapy, with no training whatsoever. We could of course limit it to medical doctors, but they probably know less about neurofeedback than anyone. There would need to be some sort of general acceptance of the idea, followed by a general understanding of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable for a practitioner claiming to be a neurofeedback expert of some sort.
In short, this book is both flawed and indispensable. People new to the subject, I think, will get bogged down in the book about halfway through in the details of the history of neurofeedback. Veterans of the subject, on the other hand, may find it a useful summary of contemporary personalities and trends in neurofeedback.
September 10, 2018
Accessible for the non-scientific without being condescending, Robbins does an amazing job of explaining the roots and developments of neurofeedback in a variety of forms. It holds great promise for a variety of aliments, whether ADD/ADHD, fibromyalgia, depression, and the list goes on. Definitely worth the time to read and consider what our brains are capable of.
May 7, 2024
Anyone interested in the topic of brainwaves (and brainwave synchronization) will definitely want to take a look at this book by Jim. Great overview and summary of the early days of this extremely exciting field.
We can train and improve ourselves a lot with the right (external) stimuli for our brain.
We can train and improve ourselves a lot with the right (external) stimuli for our brain.
August 5, 2019
Interesting analysis on our brain waves.
January 24, 2021
Very engaging, human stories about the history, evolution and process of neurofeedback. If half of it is true, everyone should read this book.
November 18, 2022
The subject matter is deeply interesting and relevant. The writer pays too much attention to practioners fighting with each other. That doesn't really matter. The story is good enough.
December 5, 2022
True healthcare offers hope as well as healing.
act47-org
December 11, 2024~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
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~}--------:}|{:-:}|{:- * LINKS * -:}|{:-:}|{:----------{~
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~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
* -:}|{}|{: =EXPERIENCES=&=DISCERNMENTS= :}|{}|{:- *
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~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
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~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
To SEE a WORLD in a Grain of Sand,
And a HEAVEN in a Wild Flower,
Hold INFINITY in the palm of your hand
And ETERNITY in an Hour"
~ William Blake ~
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
Form is Emptiness; Emptiness is form.
Form is not different than Emptiness;
Emptiness is not different than form
~ Heart Sutra ~
Like the ocean and its waves,
inseparable yet distinct
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
" I and The Father are one,
I am The Truth,
The Life and The Path.”
Like a river flowing from its source,
connected and continuous
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
Thy kingdom come.
Let the reign of divine
Truth, Life, and Love
be established in me,
and rule out of me all sin;
and may Thy Word
enrich the affections of all mankind
A mighty oak tree standing firm against the storm,
As sunlight scatters the shadows of night
A river nourishing the land it flows through
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
~}-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-{~
~}-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-{~
~}--- :}|{:-:}|{:- * FOLLOW 4 FOLLOW * -:}|{:-:}|{: ---{~
~}-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-{~
~}--------:}|{:-:}|{:- * LINKS * -:}|{:-:}|{:----------{~
~}-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-{~
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
***********************************************
* -:}|{}|{:- ? -:}|{}|{:- *
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~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
* -:}|{}|{:- * SUMMARY * -:}|{}|{:- *
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
* -:}|{:- * RATING * -:}|{:- * /10 * -:}|{:- *
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
* -:}|{}|{: =EXPERIENCES=&=DISCERNMENTS= :}|{}|{:- *
* -:}|{}|{: = ? = }|{}|{:- *
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
~}-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-{~
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
To SEE a WORLD in a Grain of Sand,
And a HEAVEN in a Wild Flower,
Hold INFINITY in the palm of your hand
And ETERNITY in an Hour"
~ William Blake ~
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
Form is Emptiness; Emptiness is form.
Form is not different than Emptiness;
Emptiness is not different than form
~ Heart Sutra ~
Like the ocean and its waves,
inseparable yet distinct
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
" I and The Father are one,
I am The Truth,
The Life and The Path.”
Like a river flowing from its source,
connected and continuous
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
Thy kingdom come.
Let the reign of divine
Truth, Life, and Love
be established in me,
and rule out of me all sin;
and may Thy Word
enrich the affections of all mankind
A mighty oak tree standing firm against the storm,
As sunlight scatters the shadows of night
A river nourishing the land it flows through
~}- - - - - - - - - - - - - -:}|{:- - - - - - - - - - - - - -{~
~}-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-:}|{:-{~
December 28, 2023
Fascinating ideas, but wow what if it really worked?!
Happy I could learn about something new here: biofeedback and neurofeedback sciences. I feel better armed and educated because of it.
A bit too political here and there, lots of falling out tattletale moments, which made it feel awkward. 😬 I felt it hurt the legitimacy of it a bit.
I would be interested to explore this science in application more if insurance companies would cover it.
Happy I could learn about something new here: biofeedback and neurofeedback sciences. I feel better armed and educated because of it.
A bit too political here and there, lots of falling out tattletale moments, which made it feel awkward. 😬 I felt it hurt the legitimacy of it a bit.
I would be interested to explore this science in application more if insurance companies would cover it.
February 18, 2017
I was very fasinated by the history of neurofeedback. This book was well written. It contains a lot of history and research examples. It was laid out in an easy way to understand and follow. I have already recommended it to those whom are interested in learning more about this hidden alternative treatment for self-improvement. We have seen it work in our child and hope to observe more positive changes.
August 4, 2011
As someone who suffers from migraine and cluster headaches, I know that the pain associated with them can sometimes be eased by slowing down my thoughts or clearing out my brain, so to speak. I've talked with people who, even standing still, give off an energy of racing like a rat in a wheel. So when a friend lent this book to me, I was intrigued. In the past, I looked into biofeedback, when I just could not find any relief from my headaches and they were impeding my ability to function from day to day. Unfortunately, it was too expensive for my meager budget, and not covered by insurance. In the beginning, A Symphony in the Brain was very captivating. It is written for the lay person to understand, giving a history of biofeedback, the various conditions that have been treated by biofeedback, and some of the people who have been instrumental in furthering the science. Near the end, however, it got a little tedious for me. As a baby shower gift several years ago, a coworker gave me a cd of music that claimed to be able to calm any baby. She mentioned she purchased it from her hypnotist (!), and that if I liked it, there were more titles to try. This made me a little uncomfortable -- what kind of crazy thoughts were they going to put in my baby's tiny newborn brain? In the same way, I am a little leery of some of the biofeedback techniques -- what thoughts could a kooky technician put in our heads? Still if you are searching for an alternative to drugs for a major health concern, this book might give you some good info on an alternative. Feel free to skim parts, as I ended up doing.
August 20, 2012
This book gives a well-researched history of neurofeedback and how it has developed as a niche business industry for a very small group of therapists and wellness professionals. Most chapters start with a case study of a person who has been helped by neurofeedback, typically "after traditional medicine failed to improve his/her condition." As the author states, clinicians are far more likely to brag about their outstanding results rather than those cases where treatment was ineffective, but the case studies are fascinating.
February 27, 2013
A very informative read about the incredible strides taking place in the world of brain connectivity and healing that is happening with neorofeedback.. Pioneering work is being done in this arena that could vastly alter, for the better, the lives of many affected by addiction, head trauma (both injury and stroke) learning disabilities and beyond. It was updated in 2008, but the science is growing so fast, I want something even more current. Good read for a basic understanding of the neurofeedback process and it's potential.
April 28, 2015
I really enjoy reading about anything to do with the brain. Did you know that we have the technology to acturally retrain weak or non-existant brain waves? We can actually strengthen the mind to overcome some depression and other disorders that are primarily take place in the neurons. So facinating!
September 15, 2011
Biofeedback is an exceptional kind of neuroplasticity on which people with disabilities our mental issues can change their brains by practicing keeping their brains in certain theta wave hzs. This book is thorough and makes a strong case for the incredible science of biofeedback as a viable and strong healing technique.
October 30, 2013
I really enjoyed the very detailed and in depth exploration of how neurofeedback has been developing. I feel like some facts are arranged to augment the story rather than simply deliver information. However, there is a lot to cover, and I found the writing to be engaging.
February 1, 2008
This is a fascinating book about Neuro-biofeedback. I learned a great deal about the brain and a relatively new way to change the brain.
July 4, 2009
Everyone should read this book
August 3, 2014
A well written history of Neurofeedback and its place along with bio-feedback of other types for helping our bodies to heal themselves.
October 18, 2014
Very good, helpful and interesting
January 27, 2016
Perhaps the most fascinating book I've read in years. Thank you, Jim Robbins!
March 7, 2018
Although this book is older and many advances have been made in Neurotherapy since it’s release, I found it to be a worthwhile read. The history of neuro feedback is interesting and engaging. And this book has many amazing testimonials of recovery.
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