All neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback, in which the body’s output is monitored and presented back to the body to influence subsequent activity and/or behavior. Neurofeedback is a mind-body method of influencing involuntary (non-conscious) functions. It is computer-assisted brain training. Neurofeedback simply monitors brain activity and then mirrors back to the brain what it’s doing. It works because of brain plasticity, the ability of our brains to change throughout our lives in response to learning, experience and environment.

NeurOptimal® neurofeedback monitors your brain’s electrical activity. When NeurOptimal® detects sudden changes in your brain’s activity patterns, rather than smooth transitions, the system reflects this information back to your brain. NeurOptimal® isn’t teaching your brain and nervous system how to respond. Instead, it simply presents information in a way that will elicit a response - specifically by modulating the sound you are hearing. The system elegantly communicates in the same way your brain takes in and processes information. This information triggers your brain’s innate capacity to self-regulate, self-organize, and self-correct so it functions in the most efficient and optimal way possible for you.

Learn More: NeurOptimal Approach

NeurOptimal® is safe and gentle enough for all ages, and has been used by children through nonagenarians. Over 4 million sessions (and counting!) have been completed since 1999. It is a non-invasive approach, so there is no electricity going into the user’s brain. Furthermore, because NeurOptimal® trains multiple frequencies of brain activity simultaneously, there is no danger of overtraining a single frequency and generating unwanted side effects, an issue which requires clinician supervision in traditional systems.

Because NeurOptimal® provides neutral feedback by mirroring back to the brain what it’s doing, and doesn’t force the brain to respond to that information in a specific way, it does not generate unwanted side effects. Additionally, because NeurOptimal® trains multiple frequencies of brain activity simultaneously, there is no danger of overtraining a single frequency and producing unwanted side effects.

NeurOptimal® adapts itself to the user’s nervous system, rather than forcing the user’s nervous system to match an external target or metric, so there is no brain strain. Some users may experience a temporary increase in symptoms they currently have or have had in the past, yet most users find that as they continue with training, these issues resolve. Change is a nonlinear process, meaning things can get worse before they get better. Don’t despair. As your brain seeks greater self-organization and efficiency, order can emerge from seeming chaos.

The actual session is approximately 33 minutes. When you include hook-up, removal and cleaning of sensors, it takes roughly 45-50 minutes. For new clients visiting my neurofeedback studio, the first session takes about 1.5 hours, as I like to review the starting paperwork together.

Because ‘progress’ is a result of your brain learning from itself, you may not notice immediate shifts. But then again, you might. Everyone’s brain learns differently and at its own pace, so it’s impossible to predict how quickly your brain will integrate the learning, or the sequence in which it learns. That’s why we don’t prescribe a certain number of sessions. 

The process is the same (your brain self-organizes in response to the information neurofeedback provides), but how your brain responds is unique to you. Some people notice profound shifts after a few sessions. Others notice significant changes after 10-12 sessions. And still others find that a series of 30-40 sessions really integrates and solidifies the training for them. Mileage varies for each user, so it’s not that instructive to compare yourself with others. 

Read more here: NeurOptimal® Survey

We like to say NeurOptimal® is ‘diagnostically agnostic,’ meaning that regardless of what issue you bring to it (migraines, mood dysregulation, seizures, etc.), it’s going to do the same thing - reflect back to your brain information about what your brain is doing. How your brain responds to that information is unique to you. Because of the way NeurOptimal® works, we don’t need an assessment or a diagnosis as a starting point for training. While it is not a treatment for any medical conditions, disorders, or disabilities, that doesn’t mean it can’t help. Visit our NFB Topics page for more details about what challenges respond particularly well to NeurOptimal® neurofeedback.

More info:  NeurOptimal® Survey

Because it’s a learning process, the benefits don’t end with the session. However, similar to learning any new skill, it often requires some time and repetition for your brain to integrate the changes in a more lasting way. It may be helpful to think of brain training like a fitness routine. Seldom do people go for a run or hit the gym once and think that they are done for the year. Fitness is most effective as an ongoing practice. Neurofeedback is similar, but you get to determine what that looks like - maybe that’s renting a system for a month each year, maybe that’s doing a session monthly, maybe you do a series of sessions as a foundation and then a handful of booster sessions as needed. There are lots of ‘right’ ways to do neurofeedback brain training.

NeurOptimal® neurofeedback can be used in tandem with almost any other tool or modality you are already using to heal, relieve, resolve, or manage a situation in your life. Many people are on medication when they start doing neurofeedback. If you are, it’s a good idea to let your doctor know you are doing neurofeedback. As your brain responds to neurofeedback, this could potentially affect medication you are taking. Medication adjustments should be discussed with your doctor.

While neurofeedback brain training isn’t cheap, most users agree that the benefits they get from neurofeedback far outweigh the cost. Please visit the Pricing & Packages page for options that fit a range of budgets.

Your brain can and does self-correct without any outside help. Neurofeedback simply expedites the process by providing accurate, real-time feedback 256 times per second, giving the brain more opportunities to self-correct. Similar to how we develop habits in our external lives, our brains develop habits. These brain habits are electrical patterns of activity generated in response to incoming information. Habits help your brain organize itself and respond efficiently to the vast amounts of information it receives. 

However, sometimes the brain develops persistent, consistent patterns of activity that once served us, but are no longer helpful. The brain’s response becomes scripted instead of flexible and it no longer benefits us. In this way, neurofeedback can help us release old habits and develop new ones with greater ease. 

The hardest part for most people to grasp is how effortless it is. The user is not *trying* to do anything to maximize the training. Our culture thinks more effort yields better results, that the harder something is, the better it is for us. That is a myth that doesn’t hold true for this process. Don’t be fooled:  while you are relaxing, your brain is being challenged behind the scenes. This is because NeurOptimal® works with the non-conscious part of your brain, below your level of awareness. 

Many users love that it is a relaxing experience. To get started, affix two sensors to your scalp and three to your ears. Then, you listen to an instrumental soundtrack or watch a movie for 33 minutes. It can be as relaxing as you’d like to make it - you can zone out, close your eyes or even take a nap. However, you’re also welcome to read, work quietly, play on your phone or do long division. None of those activities will interfere with the training. Occasionally, you’ll hear a brief interruption or ‘skip’ in the music. This is the audio feedback your brain gets, which prompts your brain to reorient to the present moment and respond in the most optimal way for you. As a user, you don’t need to pay attention to the skips, nor try to increase/decrease them. Your brain attends to the skips behind the scenes. 

NeurOptimal® neurofeedback doesn’t generate colorful charts and graphs of your brain’s pre-session and post-session activity to show your ‘progress.’ That is because in a complex, highly interconnected system, like your brain, change is always happening. Therefore, a snapshot in time will look different from other snapshots in time of your brain, and isn’t a reliable marker for how things are changing. 

So how do you detect change in a system (your brain) which is always changing? That’s the crux of the matter! Changes in your life are more reliable indicators than changes to a graph or a chart. In this way, the user’s experience is paramount. You want a felt sense that things in your life are qualitatively different. That’s why the tracking tools are so important. They help the user more accurately document the experience as the changes are happening. 

And yet, when a pattern is ingrained, and a lot of energy is spent managing it, it can be hard to detect change as it first starts to happen. Our job together, as trainer and client, is to be detectives, observing without judgment, following the clues, and asking good questions. Ask those close to you. Often those we live with notice the changes before we do.

While the actual NeurOptimal® neurofeedback session is passive because the user isn’t *trying* to make anything happen, the larger process of transformation is active for the user. NeurOptimal® neurofeedback teaches self-awareness. NeurOptimal® also encourages the user to take ownership of the process, determining frequency and duration of training. 

Afterwards, notice the shifts that start occurring in your everyday life. The shifts people experience can be subtle, yet profound. Because it is global brain training, you will experience shifts in all areas of life, not just in the primary issue you bring to NeurOptimal®. In a complex, highly interconnected system like the brain, you can’t change one thing in isolation.

Establishing your starting point is critical because as your brain adapts to its ‘new normal,’ the shifts can be seamless and lull you into thinking it was that way all along. Plus, NeurOptimal® neurofeedback is working on your entire brain, which means it affects your perception and memory, two systems which are critical for gauging change. I cannot overstate the importance of using the tracking tools to capture these shifts.