Eeg Neurotheraphy In The Therapy Of Alcoholism Aan Addictions

Introduction

Alcoholism is a disease that afflicts at least 12 million Americans. It leads to roughly 250,000 premature deaths a year, disrupts the lives of some 45 million family members and expenses an estimated $120 billion a year in healthcare bills, house damage and lost time and productivity.

Over the past eight years, a major breakthrough in the treatment of alcoholism and chemical dependency has been regularly demonstrated by a quantity of researchers, like (but not restricted to) Saxby and Peniston (1995 ), Anderson (1994 ), Sonder and Sonder (1994 ), White (1994 ), Cowan (1993 ), Patterson (1993 ), Peniston, Marrinan, Deming and Kulkosky (1993 ), Schneider, Elbert, Heimann, Welker, Stetter, Mattes, Birbaumer and Mann (1993 ), Byers (1992 ), Fahrion, Walters, Coyne and Allen (1992 ), and Peniston and Kulkosky (1990, 1989).

The essence of this treatment includes a non-invasive, non-pharmacological outpatient plan combining EEG brain wave biofeedback (called neurotherapy), extremely particular imagery of brain structures, neurotransmitters and brain wave patterns, constructive customized visualizations, cognitive re-scripting and intensive cognitive-behavior therapy. This plan, typically referred to as the Peniston Protocol, is administered three-five days per week over a 7-12 week period for a total of 35-40 sessions.

What's The Definition Of Binge Drinking? and Cost-Effectiveness

In sharp contrast to standard inpatient, outpatient and 12-step treatment applications, which yield maximum success rates of 30-40%, the lengthy-term (three year) abstinence rates for severe alcoholics getting the Peniston Protocol consistently attain 80%. In addition, substantial positive, measurable and durable character changes have consistently accompanied these startling outcomes.

Additional, these dramatic results seem to be deliverable at a very reasonable expense (e.g., $four,000 - $six,000 total), especially in comparison to the really higher price of regular inpatient treatment applications (e.g., $2,500 - $9,000 per week, based on complexity of diagnosis and whether or not detoxification is included).

Background and Rationale

As it functions, the brain produces minute electrical signals on its surface referred to as brain waves. Brain waves consistently modify as the brain handles the business enterprise of dealing with itself and its atmosphere. For more than fifty years, this electroencephalographic (EEG) activity has been employed for neuroanalysis (e.g., diagnosis of brain disease or injury). With the advent of rapid computers, researchers are now able to quantitatively analyze the frequency and amplitude of brain waves (QEEG) to kind complex topographic "maps" of the EEG's power and frequency distribution for additional precise and effective diagnoses. They found that abnormal behavior usually corresponded to abnormal brain wave patterns and distributions.

Conclusive analysis indicates that certain sorts of abnormal brain functioning can be corrected by learning to operantly condition the brain's electrical activity. This conditioning is accomplished by visual and/or audio feedback of the moment-to-moment activity of the EEG. This visual/audio EEG feedback is made use of by the patient to discover to improve or lower the power and/or percentage of selected brain wave frequencies This conditioning or instruction is called neurotherapy.

Neurotherapy is proving to be medically effective mainly because it facilitates optimistic neurochemical, personality and behavioral adjustments in relatively short periods of time (weeks vs. months or even years). Furthermore, it is cost- powerful simply because it avoids the higher costs related with surgery, drugs or lengthy- term inpatient or outpatient therapy.

It is also broadly accepted among researchers and clinicians that patterns of surface EEG activity reflect the activity of deeper brain structures and patterns of brain neurochemistry. For The Path to Addiction: Phases of Alcoholism , those brain neurotransmitters, opioids, neurohormones and neuropeptides connected with reward and internal feelings of nicely-being are influenced straight (and thus fluctuate widely) according to alterations in cortical EEG patterns. Equally essential, alcohol cravings and uncontrollable alcohol ingestion are now strongly associated with each deficiencies and/or abnormalities in certain brain neurochemicals (e.g., serotonin opioid peptides which includes beta endorphin and enkephalin norepinephrine dopamine and GABA) and poorly created low frequency EEG rhythms (e.g., alpha and theta) (Blum, 1991).

Consequently, as Peniston and several other researchers have shown, the normalization of alpha and theta EEG rhythms through neurotherapy produces the similar normalization of brain chemistry that is made by either alcohol ingestion or the external manipulation of the excitatory and inhibitory processes that handle these vital neurochemicals. In other words, the increased feelings of reward and internal effectively-getting that happen from alcohol ingestion or other external influences of brain neurochemistry are also produced by the normalization of alpha and theta rhythms through neurotherapy.

Therefore, the complicated interrelationships among these variables appear to be both at the root and the cure for severe alcohol cravings and uncontrollable alcohol ingestion. In The Path to Addiction: Stages of Alcohol addiction , these interrelationships and the normalization of the deficient components within them by way of neurotherapy absolutely contribute to an understanding as to why the Peniston Protocol produces such impressive results with this challenging clinical population.

Breakdown of the Peniston Protocol

Even though there is some variation among clinicians, the following is a step- by-step breakdown of the most usually applied clinical procedures within the Peniston Protocol:

( 1) Intake interview, evaluation and personality/behavioral pre-testing (e.g., MMPI II, MCMI II, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Hopelessness Scale and/or Sixteen Personality Element Questionnaire).

( 2) Brief pre-remedy QEEG topographic brain map.

( 3) 5 preliminary non-EEG biofeedback sessions (e.g. temperature, EMG, and/or skin conductance).

( four) Twenty-5 to thirty alpha/theta neurotherapy sessions.

( five) Short post-treatment QEEG topographic brain map.

( six) Discharge interview, evaluation and personality/behavioral post-testing (e.g., MMPI II, MCMI II, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Hopelessness Scale and/or Sixteen Character Element Questionnaire).

Character/Behavioral Improvements

In addition to extended-term (three year) abstinence rates of 80%, the Peniston Protocol has consistently produced the following incredibly healthy character changes:

( 1) Important decreases in scales labeled schizoid, avoidant, passive- aggressive, schizotypal, borderline, paranoid, anxiousness, somatoform, dysthymia, alcohol abuse, psychotic considering, depression, psychotic depression, hypochondriasis, hysteria, schizophrenia, social introversion and psychotic delusion.

( 2) Considerable increases in warmth, abstract considering, stability, conscientiousness, boldness, imaginativeness and self-handle.

Therefore, the Peniston Protocol regularly produces good adjustments in what several consider to be "challenging wired" aspects of character. One in five adult Americans have normally stayed with an alcohol dependent relative while growing up. improve the patient's capacity to cope devoid of substance abuse, significantly reducing the likelihood of relapse.

Summary and Conclusion

Alcoholism is a debilitating and pricey illness that has responded poorly to standard inpatient, outpatient and 12-step therapy applications (e.g., maximum 30-40% sustained abstinence). Researchers Eugene Peniston and Paul Kulkosky, along with many other people over the previous eight years, have regularly demonstrated that severe alcoholics treated with EEG neurotherapy, imagery/visualization and cognitive-behavior therapy (e.g., the Peniston Protocol) show startling lengthy-term (three year) abstinence rates of 80%. Furthermore, these particularly good outcomes are regularly accompanied by dramatic, healthful personality/behavioral alterations that clearly contribute to reductions in the likelihood of relapse.

Natural Progression Of Alcoholism in alpha/theta EEG rhythms achieved by these sufferers with the Peniston Protocol produce low, sustained levels of the opioid peptide beta-endorphin, reflecting reduce sustained levels of arousal and anxiety. Furthermore, the normalization of low frequency cortical EEG rhythms (e.g., alpha & theta) apparently also create normalization of various other brain neurochemicals whose imbalances are extremely linked with serious alcohol cravings and uncontrolled alcohol ingestion.

In addition to its really higher good results rate for this tricky clinical population, the Peniston Protocol seems to be extremely price-successful in comparison to conventional inpatient and outpatient therapy programs.

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