Alpha-theta

The Addicted BrainDrug abuse produces long-term

changes in the reward circuitry of the brain

Electrical stimulation of brains (ESB)

• Electrical stimulation of brains of rats - James Olds in 1950s; – Jacobsen and Torkildsen replicated

work in humans;– some epileptics stimulated themselves

into convulsions

•

INTRA-CRANIAL SELF-STIMULATION

• Rodent wireheads– 0.0005 amperes for less than a second whenever rat pushed

lever– Rates of up to 10,000 bar-presses an hour recorded – Medial forebrain bundle passing through lateral hypothalamus

and ventral tegmentum– An animal will self-stimulate for more than 24 hrs continuously

without rest, and will cross electrified grid to gain access to lever – Other brain centers are aversive, such as periaqueductal grey

matter (PAG)

– Ventral tegmental area (VTA) neurons manufacture dopamine and they are under continuous inhibition by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system, an important component of the ”final common pathway" of reward, implicated in addiction, mood, and learning.

Delgado, Primate wireheads, and Circuitry man

Prevalence

Lifetime Rates by Gender

Disorder Males Females TOTAL (%)

Anxiety disorder

19 31 25

Unipolar Depression

13 21 17

Mania 2 2 2

Substance dependence

35 18 27

Any disorder 49 47 48

Alpha-Theta Training

• Peniston & Kulkosky (1989)– Alpha activity deficits in alcoholics known since

1940s– Drinking produces rewarding slow waves (alpha)– Normal state has much more high beta– Teach alcoholics to produce alpha without drinking

Peniston Protocol

• Hand-warming primed EEG biofeedback techniques• Guided visual imagery during Alpha-Theta training,

especially addict behavior rejecting• O1 site used (Pz by W. Scott)• Goal is crossover state: high theta state associated with

reverie, disidentification with ego self

• Results:• Alcoholism & PTSD: very low relapse rate, <20% 9 years

out• Chemical addicts, ½ relapse rate 18 months out (Kaiser &

Scott, 1999)

Scott & Kaiser, 1999

Scott & Kaiser, 1999

MMPI (Minnesota MultiPhasic Inventory)

• Hypochondriasis (Hs) - neurotic concern over bodily functioning  

• Depression (D) - symptomatic depression.  

• Hysteria (Hy) - hysterical reactions to stress situations

• Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) - psychopathy, asocial, amoral

• Masculinity-Femininity (Mf) - originally developed to identify homosexual invert males, now those who reject traditional gender roles.  

• Paranoia (Pa) - paranoid symptoms

• Psychasthenia (Pt) - excessive doubts, compulsions, obsessions, and unreasonable fears (OCD).  

• Schizophrenia (Sc) - identify schizophrenia

Hypomania (Ma) - hypomanic disturbances

•Social Introversion (Si) - person's tendency to withdraw from social contacts and responsibilities.  

MMPI – Derived Empirically

• Developers used every personality question they could find

1. Tested on various clinical groups (depressive, schizophrenics, etc.)

2. Large pool of questions

3. Kept only those questions that

discriminated between groups

MMPI (Minnesota MultiPhasic Inventory)

• Validity Scales:     

• "Cannot Say" scale – 30+ omitted items invalidates test

• L Scale – Lie scale - not willing to admit even minor shortcomings.

• F Scale - detect atypical ways of responding to test items.  

• K Scale – detect subtle attempts at denying psychopathology or, conversely, at exaggerating psychopathology; overall defensiveness

Scott & Kaiser, 1999

Kaiser & Othmer, 199?

Substance Abuse Study OutcomeWilliam Scott, Thomas Brod, MD, Stephen Siderof Ph.D.,

David Kaiser, Ph.D., Meredith Sagan, MD. (2002)

• Crack, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Heroin• All participants in 12-step inpatient program• Control group n=61

• Experimental group n=60– 40-session EEG biofeedback added to 12 step program

• Compared abstinence rates, psychometric measures– UCLA HSPC approved the study design

• 12 month post study (those who completed):

– 36 of 47 experimental subjects were abstinent– 12 of 27 control subjects were abstinent

– Experimental subjects stayed in treatment significantly longer (p< 0.005) compared to the control group

This confirmed and extended earlier studies

Royal Conservatory of MusicImprovement in Musical Performance

• Dr. John Gruzelier, Ph.D, Tobias Egner, Ph.D. Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Behavior, Imperial College, London, 2003, Neuroreport.

– Subjects: top music students – Goal: could training show measurable improvement in

performance

15 minute musical performance assessed prior and subsequent to training.

Performances were video-recorded, randomized and rated by expert musicians external to the Royal College of Music.

Six groups created – each with different training:

1) Alexander Technique 2) Mental skills 3) Beta NF

2) 4) SMR NF 5) Alpha-Theta NF 6) Exercise

Alpha-Theta neurofeedback group had significant change in musical improvements

Overall Quality (+ 14.4 %, p = .06) Musical Understanding (+ 16.4 %, p < .01) Stylistic Accuracy (+ 13.5 %, p < .01) Interpretative Imagination (+ 17 %, p < .01)

Study since replicated