Abstract:
Clinicians who specialize in EEG feedback services can sometimes feel as if they have to choose between economy, efficacy and convenience when it comes to selecting equipment and deciding on analytical software. qEEG analysis programs often require 19 channel EEG recordings, which can mean more expensive amplifiers to collect the necessary data and more expensive software to generate the quantitative analyses. Simpler EEG analysis procedures based on only 1 or 2 channels of EEG are often more economical, but some practitioners worry they may be missing important information that could make their neuromodulation program planning more effective (Collura, 2008).
In the last fifteen years, advances in both EEG software and EEG hardware have offered the opportunity to compare and contrast the clinical efficacy of simpler analysis and feedback approaches with the more complex EEG feedback designs based on denser electrode arrays. The emergence of sLORETA- based feedback brought with it a new interest in amplifiers with a minimum of 19 active EEG channels, the number of surface sites required to reliably execute sLORETA source localization (Pascual-Marqui, 2002). These new possibilities generated discussion among clinicians attempting to determine whether more electrodes on the head meant more effective feedback, or if including too many data elements in a feedback paradigm resulted in training tasks which were too complex and tiring for the typical client.
This presentation will discuss the clinical utility of both the quantitative analytics derived from a static 10 channel electrode configuration, and the implications for neuromodulation designs based on the intentionally selected 10-20 locations (Delorme, 2004). The purpose of exploring the clinical relevance of a 10 channel array is to provide an option for practitioners which is more economical and convenient, while still capable of executing robust neurofeedback training. Not too big, not too small, but “just right”: a Goldilocks solution.
During this session, qEEG reports based on 10 channel EEG collections will be presented, and protocol designs which capitalize on the neuroanatomy reflected in frontal, sensory motor and parietal regions will be introduced and discussed (Wolbers, 2007). The electrode configuration of F3, F3, C3, Cz, C4, T3, T4, P3, Pz, and P4 presents specific opportunities for executive function network support, sensorimotor integration, and increasing state flexibility in ways which improve complex attention and help regulate disorders of arousal and hypervigilance (Papousek, 2002).
One of the strengths of multivariate percentage-based z-score feedback is the ability to build protocols based on explicit connectivity metrics, and to select targeted frequency bands and locations to further customize the training program (Gracefire, 2007). In this presentation, we will examine how the Goldilocks configuration taps into the cortical circuits on which the brain relies to prioritize effective resource recruitment and allocation, and review case presentations with pre and post data from individuals who were trained with the Goldilocks array.
Presented by Penijean Gracefire
