Biofeedback EEG Peak Performance
By Michael Hale



	The body is an amazing system with much complexities 
and a special potential for improving within its self. 
Biofeedback is a means for such improvement. Biofeedback 
measures certain state(s) of the body to a practitioner or 
patient. This information is used as status in reaching a 
particular goal. Most of the goals are alleviating 
dysfunctions and/or disorders. However, there does not need 
to be dysfunctions or disorders to begin improvement of 
mind and body. This notion of improvement in terms of 
biofeedback is called peak performance, also known as peak 
achievement and performance enhancement.


	Using peak performance optimally may result in better 
performance in certain areas. These areas vary from 
education, to sports, to work. The mode of biofeedback used 
in peak performance is determined by such goals. The main 
modes of biofeedback are the Electromyography machine and 
the Electroencephalographic machine. This paper focuses on 
the Electroencephalographic machine. This mode of 
biofeedback is related to the brain. This biofeedback is a 
measurement of electrical brain activity. Activity such as 
frequency, amplitude, and the duration of activity of theta 
waves alpha waves or beta waves from certain locations as 
well as auditory, visual, or somatosensory event related 
potentials (Biofeedback A Practitioner's guide, Schwartz 
et. Al.) 

	
	Brain activity is relevant to all performance. The 
Electroencephalographic peak performance involves such 
goals as; increasing focus and attention, decreasing 
hyperactivity, developing a better memory, sustaining 
information longer, increasing concentration, improving 
accuracy, and other applications that involve these. 
However, peak performance is specific in its modes and 
uses, a patient can't improve all brain activity aspects. 
For example, a patient will not be able to increase beta 
activity in her frontal lobe (to decrease brain 
deterioration) at the same time as trying to increase theta 
activity (as a therapeutic strategy to sleep better at 
night). But, a golfer may be able to increase alpha before 
hitting his ball (for better concentration). These goals 
apply, of course, only if Electroencephalographic 
biofeedback does in fact increase target brain waves. A 
significant number of studies and experiments show that 
biofeedback/neurofeedback do increase target waves 
specified or decrease target waves as specified. Once the 
patients goal(s) are eventually achieved from the training, 
they should be able to achieve peak performance from the 
training without the instruments (Norris, 1986; Petruzzelo 
and Solazar 1991). 


	Namely, Electroencephalograph peak performance is to 
effect certain types of brain waves. When training alpha 
waves, one is training concentration mostly. When training 
beta waves, one is training activity processing and 
response. When training theta waves, one is training 
memory. There is also training to decrease certain waves 
but this is more disorder and dysfunction related and more 
complicated as well.


	"Brain brightening" is a product of 
Electroencephalographic biofeedback. The term "brain 
brightening" means basically the increase of brain 
activity. It is called this because if one were to take a 
snapshot of the brain activity and the firing synapses and 
such were the brightening factors then with training the 
brain could eventually become brighter and brighter with 
more activity. In a relative experiment done one elerly 
individuals who suffer from age-associated memory 
impairment alpha amplitude, peak frequency, and decrease in 
theta (as targeted) were results of Electroencephalographic 
neurofeedback training. Subjective reports indicate better 
memory and better cognitive functioning (Budzynski, 
university of Washingtion). 


	With Electroencephalographic training ones performance 
on tasks increase in many ways. Mentally, a tasks requires 
attention, focus, and thought for usually a certain 
duration. In an experiment Tobas Egner and John Gruzelier 
report positive results of Electroencephalographic 
biofeedback on tasks. 22 college students were trained to 
adhere to certain 12-15 Hz brain waves. The results show an 


enhancement in these waves and are correlated to a 
reduction in errors of a task as well as improved 
perceptual sensitivity on a continuous performance task. 
There were also significant increases in event related 
brain potential amplitudes.


	Another major aspect of performance is concentration. 
Hatfield 1984 reports of his experiment with archery 
marksmen. A group of marksmen were trained to adhere to 
alpha brain waves. The results show that when the marksmen 
increased their brain alpha brain waves right before 
releasing (the most important time for aiming) there was an 
increase of overall accuracy.


	As more evidence of peak performance David Vernon and 
Tobias Egner investigated the possibility that training 
healthy individuals to enhance certain frequencies would 
specifically influence a particular aspect of cognitive 
performance, relative to a non-neurofeedback control-group. 
The results showed that the trained group was able to 
selectively increase and decrease certain frequencies while 
the control group comparitably could not.


	The point of Electroencephalograph peak performance is 
to increase or decrease brain waves to better performance. 
This form of peak performance is applicable to many things 
since brain waves and patterns and such are relevant to 
most performances.



Bibliography

Norris P. 1986 Biofeedback, voluntary control and human 
potential, Biofeedback and Self-Regulation, 11(1) 1-15

Hatfield B. D. 1984 Cognitive Process during self paced 
motor performance; an electroencephalograph profile of 
skilled marksmen, Journal of Sports Psychology 6, 42-59

Scwartz Biofeedback A Practitioner's Guide Guilford Press 
1995

Budzynski T. 1996, Brain Brightening: Can neurofeedback 
Improve Cognitive Process, University of Washington

Egner,Tobias Gruzelier, 2001, Learned self-regulation of 
Electroencephalograph frequency components affects 
attention and event related brain potentials in humans, 
Neuroport 2001 Dec 12 (18) 4155-4159

Vernor Egner, Tobias, The effect of Training Distinct 
Neurofeedback protocols on aspects of Cognitive 
Performance, International Journal of Psychophysiology, Jan 
2003, 47 (1) 75-85
	 

Copyright © 2003, Dr. John M. Morgan, All rights reserved - This page last edited May 13, 2003
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