Transcript Alpha-theta

Alpha-theta
The Addicted Brain
Drug 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 SELFSTIMULATION
• 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
2
2
2
Substance
dependence
35
18
27
Any disorder
49
47
48
Mania
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)
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Hypochondriasis (Hs) - neurotic
concern over bodily functioning
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Paranoia (Pa) - paranoid
symptoms
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Depression (D) - symptomatic
depression.
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Psychasthenia (Pt) - excessive
doubts, compulsions, obsessions,
and unreasonable fears (OCD).
•
Hysteria (Hy) - hysterical
reactions to stress situations
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•
Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) psychopathy, asocial, amoral
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Masculinity-Femininity (Mf) originally developed to identify
homosexual invert males, now
those who reject traditional gender
roles.
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 Outcome
William Scott, Thomas Brod, MD, Stephen Siderof Ph.D.,
David Kaiser, Ph.D., Meredith Sagan, MD. (2002)
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•
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Crack, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Heroin
All participants in 12-step inpatient program
Control group n=61
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Experimental group n=60
– 40-session EEG biofeedback added to 12 step program
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Compared abstinence rates, psychometric measures
– UCLA HSPC approved the study design
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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 Music
Improvement 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