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Promising Neurofeedback Therapy for ADHD
Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has many different treatment options. Drug therapy is increasingly controversial and the demand for alternative treatment approaches is correspondingly high. A relatively new method is the Neurofeedback training, which is offered at the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden. In the innovative treatment concept, the brain of ADHD patients is trained in computer games, according to the announcement of the Dresden University Hospital. The available therapy places in Dresden should be significantly increased in 2016.
Increase concentration
"Thanks to very good treatment results and high demand from patients", four new treatment centers for neurofeedback therapy will be available in Dresden in the future, reports the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden. The method can help ADHD patients between the ages of eight and 14 years "to increase their ability to concentrate and to find their way more easily in everyday life." It is used in addition to common ergo, physiotherapy and behavioral therapy.
With neurofeedback therapy, ADHD patients can train specific regions of their brains. (Image: BillionPhotos.com/fotolia.com) Move objects by thought
The new treatment methods are reminiscent of science fiction novels in which objects can be moved by the sheer power of their own thoughts. This was "for the ADHD patients of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (KJP) of the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden for almost two years routine," report the doctors. The neurofeedback therapy uses a computer game that is controlled by the patient's thoughts. In this way, certain brain regions should be specifically trained. Professor Christian Beste has established the method at the University Hospital of Dresden, which since its introduction in the year "2014, a solid and much sought-after therapeutic modality, especially in the treatment of patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)," reports the University Hospital.
Specific training of specific brain regions
As a result of a "disruption in the processing of information between the parts of the brain responsible for motivation, emotion and movement behavior", children with ADHD, according to the Dresden University Hospital "show little endurance, are easily distracting and emotionally unstable." Neurofeedback can be used in addition to the previous ergo, physio and behavioral and drug approaches in the treatment of ADHD - the interaction of the affected brain regions are specifically trained. As part of the therapy, the brain waves are registered via an electroencephalogram (EEG) and used to control computer games, explains Professor Beste. However, this only works "when the nerve cells of the brain work in a specific rhythm." During the training, the patients learn to "influence their brain waves so that they can, for example, raise or lower a plane on a screen," explains the expert.
Therapy in 16 to 20 sessions
Using the novel method, patients learn to consciously increase their attention by thinking of specific situations or circumstances. After the treatment, she could concentrate and relax better, so the message of the Dresden University Hospital. As a result, social, family and school burdens would also decrease because the frequency of impulsive acts also declined significantly. "Training brain waves requires between 16 and 20 neurofeedback sessions, each lasting 45 to 60 minutes," says the University Hospital. There are also tasks and concentration exercises that can be completed on your own at home. The neurofeedback therapy has been available at the KJP since 2014 as an outpatient offering, with care being provided by the research department "Cognitive Neurophysiology". This close connection to the research area has the advantage that the therapy is continuously optimized, explain the physicians. "Through the work of the past two years, we have already achieved considerable success together with our patients, which make neurofeedback therapy more and more effective," says Prof. Beste.
Neurofeedback not suitable for all ADHD patients
So far, since the start of the therapy, according to the University Hospital "with the existing two treatment centers already 70 patients." By expanding the offer from two to a total of four treatment centers can now be treated per week 16 patients - ten more than before. "This significantly shortens waiting times for our patients," says Professor Beste. Based on a preliminary examination to determine the patient's symptoms, age and health, decide whether patients are even eligible for treatment on the computer. It is essential here that the training is not used in the context of acute treatment, but is used in a stable condition of the patient as a therapy supplement, according to the announcement of the University of Dresden. (Fp)