The
Neuroscience
of Anxiety &
Depression
Anxiety is often a symptom of a brain stuck producing too many fast brainwaves (overthinks, worries, and obsesses).
Depression is often a symptom of a brain stuck producing too many slow brainwaves (fatigue, no motivation, overwhelm).
An EEG brain map objectively identifies the physiological source of anxiety and/or depression.
EEG Neurofeedback has been shown to effectively address the physiology, which significantly reduces symptoms.
Anxiety & Depression Are Symptoms of a "Functionally Stuck" Brain
"I have referred many patients as well as my family members to the Brain Performance Center over the past 10 years for anxiety, depression, and insomnia with excellent results. From my experience, neurofeedback should be an essential part of any treatment since it addresses the brain dysfunction at the core of these disorders.
Daniel Johnston, M.D.
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel (Retired)
Served as the Pentagon's Executive Medicine Physician
QEEG-guided neurofeedback treatment
for anxiety symptoms
This retrospective study intended to assess whether qEEG guided amplitude neurofeedback (NF) is a viable treatment for anxiety symptom reduction. Pre/post-assessments were given to the participants. Symptom assessments included the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Achenbach (ASEBA) Adult Self Report (ASR). Results: The NF treatment group showed statistically significant improvements in all symptom assessments.
Jones, M. J., & Hitsman, H. (2018). QEEG-guided neurofeedback treatment for anxiety symptoms. NeuroRegulation, 5(3),85–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.15540/nr.5.3.85
Neurofeedback with anxiety and affective disorders
"A robust body of neurophysiologic research is reviewed on functional brain abnormalities associated with depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. A review of more recent research finds that pharmacologic treatment may not be as effective as previously believed. A more recent neuroscience technology, electroencephalographic (EEG) biofeedback (neurofeedback), seems to hold promise as a methodology for retraining abnormal brain wave patterns".
Hammond DC. Neurofeedback with anxiety and affective disorders. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2005;14(1):105-vii. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2004.07.008
Combined Neurofeedback and HRV Training for Individuals with Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression
Results: After neurofeedback (NFB) + heart rate variability (HRV) training, symptoms of anxiety and depression were reduced in children and adults. The majority of individuals with pretreatment symptoms of anxiety (82.8%) or depression (81.1%) experienced ASEBA improvements of clinical importance.
Conclusion: We present evidence that NFB+HRV training may provide an effective, non-pharmaceutical intervention to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in children and adults.
White, E. K., Groeneveld,K. M., Tittle,R. K., Bolhuis, N.A.,Martin,R.E.,Royer, T.G.,& Fotuhi, M. (2017). Combined neurofeedback and heart rate variability training for individuals withsymptoms of anxiety and depression: A retrospective study. NeuroRegulation, 4(1), 37–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.15540/nr.4.1.37
Escolano C, Navarro-Gil M, Garcia-Campayo J, Congedo M, De Ridder D, Minguez J. A controlled study on the cognitive effect of alpha neurofeedback training in patients with major depressive disorder. Front Behav Neurosci. 2014;8:296. Published 2014 Sep 2. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00296
A controlled study on the cognitive effect of neurofeedback training in patients with major depressive disorder
Cognitive deficits are core symptoms of depression. This study aims to investigate whether neurofeedback (NF) training can improve working memory (WM) performance in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The NF group showed increased performance as well as improved processing speed in a WM test after the training. These results show the effectiveness of this NF protocol in improving WM performance in patients with MDD.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an EEG Brain Map?
An EEG brain map objectively measures brain function for people between the ages of 6 and 92. It identifies specific regions of the brain that may be producing too much, or too little electrical activity compared to a controlled, normative database of your same age and gender.
A brain map takes less than an hour to record and is neither invasive nor painful. You simply wear a cap with 19 sensors that record your brain’s electrical activity while you relax in a chair. It is similar to having an EKG record your heart. It’s as safe as a stethoscope!
Is there supporting research
validating EEG brain mapping?
Yes, there are hundreds of research studies on EEG for a wide variety of symptoms, including memory problems, anxiety, depression, traumatic brain injury (TBI), ADD/ADHD, and processing issues.
EEG is considered the “Gold Standard” in neuroscience for measuring real-time brain function. EEG brain mapping is used by the Department of Defense as well as top institutions including UCLA, UCSD, Stanford and many others.
Will insurance pay for my EEG brain map?
Even though EEG brain mapping has hundreds of research studies, currently, insurance does not pay or reimburse for EEG brain maps. The current insurance model is to prescribe medications solely based on symptoms and history. EEG technology is still a few years away from being considered a “main stream” medical diagnostic tool. However, the Brain Performance Center has recently reduced the price for a full EEG brain map to only $500 (the price for the last 5 years has been $975). This helps make it an affordable, out-of-pocket brain health investment.
How will a brain map help me?
Without an EEG brain map, healthcare providers and therapists rely solely on subjective information like symptoms and history. Neuroscience research has identified 6 different types of brain physiology that can produce anxiety symptoms.
Many symptoms can be the result of abnormal brain activity during sleep cycles. Understanding the physiological source is imperative to any treatment plan. EEG brain mapping is the technology that provides an objective assessment to help direct the most effective brain health interventions.
Can I record a brain map even if I
am currently taking medication?
Yes, continue to take your medications prescribed by your doctor. We know how medications affect your brain map and can account for this when reviewing the results.
How do I schedule an EEG brain map?
Based on my EEG brain map,
will you recommend specific interventions?
An EEG brain map can help identify if your brain function is being affected by nutritional deficiencies, environmental factors, genetic factors, sleep cycle dysfunction, or due to post-concussion activity. If one or more of these are identified, we will recommend specific nutritional interventions, changes to your diet, changes in lifestyle, specific genetic tests, or EEG biofeedback sessions (Neurofeedback) to optimize your brain’s electrical activity.
Who reviews my brain map results with me?
Once your brain map is fully processed, you will have a 1-hour consultation to review your brain map findings with our Director of Neuroscience, Bryan Hixson. Mr. Hixson is one of the leading neuroscience experts in quantitative EEG brain mapping, neurocognitive testing, neurofeedback brain training, and nutritional cellular health.
Mr. Hixson is a brain health expert consultant for AARP’s Staying Sharp platform, serving 38 million members. He is also the Director of Digital Brain Health for Sharecare/DoctorOz.com, the founder and neuroscience director of the Brain Performance Centers, and an EEG brain mapping contractor for the U.S. Army. Additionally, Mr. Hixson is the co-founder of BrainSpan Laboratories, which is used by over 1,000 doctors nationwide. It is the most clinically validated blood spot test available for optimizing fatty acids related to brain health.