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Brain State Conditioning in neurodegenerative diSeaSe
By vijendra Singh and Lee gerdes
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) affect the lives of millions of people worldwide. Patients show a wide range of neurological and psychiatric problems, including cognitive deficit, memory loss, confusion, motor disability, depression, stress and anxiety (Poewe, 2009; Singh, 1997). We performed a preliminary study of Brain State Conditioning (BSC) (Gerdes, 2008), a computer-based brain technology that we modified from electroencephalogram (EEG), on cognition of people with AD and PD and the findings are described here. We conducted an open-label study of BSC in 6 subjects suffering from AD (two females, 61 and 83 years old) or PD (one female of 61 years old and three males, from 61 to 76 years old) BSC was employed to observe brain wave maps that were used to design protocols specific for each subject depending on the nature of the individual brain map (Gerdes, 2008). Subjects were administered with 10 sessions (90 min each) typically over a period of 5 days that also included the initial assessment. Training staff compiled the effects of BSC on these subjects. We found that each person had a distinct brain map, which had the fingerprint of a functionally imbalanced brain. The administration of BSC sessions brought about better balance and harmony result-
Vijendra Singh is Director of Neuroscience Research at the Brain State Technologies in Scottsdale, Arizona. He received his Doctorate from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Formerly a University Professor at University of Michigan, Utah State University, Medical University of South Carolina and University of British Columbia, Dr. Singh is a professional speaker, author, researcher and biotechnology consultant. He has devoted his entire career to studying brain diseases, mental illnesses and immune deficiency disorders. He is currently leading research into brain training modalities, including Brain State Conditioning, for helping people who suffer from brain diseases and mental health problems. VSingh@brainstatetech.com
Lee Gerdes is Chief Executive Office of Brain State Technologies, LLC, Scottsdale, AZ, a company with 140 affiliate offices in 18 countries. Lee’s education includes a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics at Doane College, Crete, NE, a Master of Divinity at Wartburg Seminary, Dubuque, IA, a graduate work in engineering at Columbia University, New York, NY, and graduate work in Clinical Psychology, at the JFK University, Orinda, CA. Lee has 40 years of experience in the computer software field and has previously served as Vice President of Solutions for Net Perceptions and as Principal Consultant and software applications design leader for other companies and consulting firms. LeeG@brainstatetech.com
106 | May 2009 | Volume 3 | Issue 1
www.frontiersin.org
Subject code
Subject Age (yr) 61
Subject gender
Health problem
Response to BSC Numbers of sessions after 1 assessment 15 Dramatic improvement of cognitive functions, from being totally non-responsive to very responsive, able to recognize and communicate with family member and staff members, more lucid and coherent, steadily improving in communication and ambulatory care. Definite augmentation of cognitive performance, able to recognize and converse with family member, more relaxed and peaceful, improved overall health. Improved sleep; more energy and relaxed, less headache. Enhanced confidence and focus; reduction in anxiety, depression, agitation, lethargy and pain. Relief in both hand tremors, better attention and focus. Enhanced cognitive performance, remembering names; better speech and thinking; easier movement and improved mobility.
BH
Female
Alzheimer
JS
83
Female
Alzheimer
10
MB GB
61 64
Female Male
Parkinson Parkinson
10 10
RH RF
65 76
Male Male
Parkinson Parkinson
10 10
Table 1. Subject characteristics and Brain State Conditioning (BSC) outcomes
ing in a more functionally balanced brain. All subjects showed considerable improvement of neurological and behavioral characteristics (Table 1). The improvement was evident as early as 3-4 days in some cases while the others took longer. Some subjects showed dramatic improvement while the others exhibited modest improvement but they all showed improvement. Overall, there was improvement in physical health and lifestyle that led to better sleep and attention span and reduction in depression, agitation, stress and anxiety behaviors. The improvement was also noticeable in cognitive functions like language, speech and communication skills. This was particularly obvious in two cases of AD who suffered from severe memory loss and dementia. They have made a remarkable recovery of cognitive function as reflected by their ability to recognize and communicate with family members and BSC trainers.
Recent advances in neuroscience have demonstrated that there exists a neurobiological basis of brain plasticity, brain wave oscillations and EEG (Dolan, 2002; Sandi, 2008; Stein and Hoffman, 2003). To that end, we recently developed a computer-based technology that measures brain waves and referred to it as Brain State Conditioning™ (Gerdes, 2008). The technology intends to create balance and harmony in the brain, thereby helping people with brain diseases and mental illnesses. Thus BSC is a process that involves seeing one’s brain electrical activity relayed to a computer followed by a visual display on a monitor. The brain electrical view is very fast and occurs in a few thousandths of a second. The brain is able to observe itself and the areas of imbalance are encouraged towards balance. When the brain is in optimized state, pathologies like AD and PD are suppressed and the person gradually attains a more normally-functioning brain
state. In conclusion, BSC is an innovative approach to brain training that can be used to help people with neurological problems, including augmenting their cognition.
RefeRences
Dolan, R. J. (2002). Emotion, cognition and behavior. Science 298, 1191-1194. Gerdes, L. (2008). Limitless You: the infinite possibilities of a balanced brain. Namaste Publishing, Vancouver, BC, Canada, pp. 1-281. Poewe, W. (2009). Treatments for Parkinson disease – past achievements and current clinical needs. Neurology 72, suppl. 2, S65-S73. Sandi, C. (2008). Understanding the neurobiological basis of behavior: a good way to go. Front. Neurosci. 2, 129-130. Singh, V. K. (1997). Neuroautoimmunity: pathogenic implications for Alzheimer’s disease. Gerontology 43, 79-94. Stein, D. S., and Hoffman, S. W. (2003). Concepts of CNS plasticity in the context of brain damage and repair. J. Head Trauma Rehabil. 18, 317-341.
Frontiers in neuroscience
May 2009 | Volume 3 | Issue 1 | 107
Brain State Conditioning in neurodegenerative diSeaSe
By vijendra Singh and Lee gerdes
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) affect the lives of millions of people worldwide. Patients show a wide range of neurological and psychiatric problems, including cognitive deficit, memory loss, confusion, motor disability, depression, stress and anxiety (Poewe, 2009; Singh, 1997). We performed a preliminary study of Brain State Conditioning (BSC) (Gerdes, 2008), a computer-based brain technology that we modified from electroencephalogram (EEG), on cognition of people with AD and PD and the findings are described here. We conducted an open-label study of BSC in 6 subjects suffering from AD (two females, 61 and 83 years old) or PD (one female of 61 years old and three males, from 61 to 76 years old) BSC was employed to observe brain wave maps that were used to design protocols specific for each subject depending on the nature of the individual brain map (Gerdes, 2008). Subjects were administered with 10 sessions (90 min each) typically over a period of 5 days that also included the initial assessment. Training staff compiled the effects of BSC on these subjects. We found that each person had a distinct brain map, which had the fingerprint of a functionally imbalanced brain. The administration of BSC sessions brought about better balance and harmony result-
Vijendra Singh is Director of Neuroscience Research at the Brain State Technologies in Scottsdale, Arizona. He received his Doctorate from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Formerly a University Professor at University of Michigan, Utah State University, Medical University of South Carolina and University of British Columbia, Dr. Singh is a professional speaker, author, researcher and biotechnology consultant. He has devoted his entire career to studying brain diseases, mental illnesses and immune deficiency disorders. He is currently leading research into brain training modalities, including Brain State Conditioning, for helping people who suffer from brain diseases and mental health problems. VSingh@brainstatetech.com
Lee Gerdes is Chief Executive Office of Brain State Technologies, LLC, Scottsdale, AZ, a company with 140 affiliate offices in 18 countries. Lee’s education includes a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics at Doane College, Crete, NE, a Master of Divinity at Wartburg Seminary, Dubuque, IA, a graduate work in engineering at Columbia University, New York, NY, and graduate work in Clinical Psychology, at the JFK University, Orinda, CA. Lee has 40 years of experience in the computer software field and has previously served as Vice President of Solutions for Net Perceptions and as Principal Consultant and software applications design leader for other companies and consulting firms. LeeG@brainstatetech.com
106 | May 2009 | Volume 3 | Issue 1
www.frontiersin.org
Subject code
Subject Age (yr) 61
Subject gender
Health problem
Response to BSC Numbers of sessions after 1 assessment 15 Dramatic improvement of cognitive functions, from being totally non-responsive to very responsive, able to recognize and communicate with family member and staff members, more lucid and coherent, steadily improving in communication and ambulatory care. Definite augmentation of cognitive performance, able to recognize and converse with family member, more relaxed and peaceful, improved overall health. Improved sleep; more energy and relaxed, less headache. Enhanced confidence and focus; reduction in anxiety, depression, agitation, lethargy and pain. Relief in both hand tremors, better attention and focus. Enhanced cognitive performance, remembering names; better speech and thinking; easier movement and improved mobility.
BH
Female
Alzheimer
JS
83
Female
Alzheimer
10
MB GB
61 64
Female Male
Parkinson Parkinson
10 10
RH RF
65 76
Male Male
Parkinson Parkinson
10 10
Table 1. Subject characteristics and Brain State Conditioning (BSC) outcomes
ing in a more functionally balanced brain. All subjects showed considerable improvement of neurological and behavioral characteristics (Table 1). The improvement was evident as early as 3-4 days in some cases while the others took longer. Some subjects showed dramatic improvement while the others exhibited modest improvement but they all showed improvement. Overall, there was improvement in physical health and lifestyle that led to better sleep and attention span and reduction in depression, agitation, stress and anxiety behaviors. The improvement was also noticeable in cognitive functions like language, speech and communication skills. This was particularly obvious in two cases of AD who suffered from severe memory loss and dementia. They have made a remarkable recovery of cognitive function as reflected by their ability to recognize and communicate with family members and BSC trainers.
Recent advances in neuroscience have demonstrated that there exists a neurobiological basis of brain plasticity, brain wave oscillations and EEG (Dolan, 2002; Sandi, 2008; Stein and Hoffman, 2003). To that end, we recently developed a computer-based technology that measures brain waves and referred to it as Brain State Conditioning™ (Gerdes, 2008). The technology intends to create balance and harmony in the brain, thereby helping people with brain diseases and mental illnesses. Thus BSC is a process that involves seeing one’s brain electrical activity relayed to a computer followed by a visual display on a monitor. The brain electrical view is very fast and occurs in a few thousandths of a second. The brain is able to observe itself and the areas of imbalance are encouraged towards balance. When the brain is in optimized state, pathologies like AD and PD are suppressed and the person gradually attains a more normally-functioning brain
state. In conclusion, BSC is an innovative approach to brain training that can be used to help people with neurological problems, including augmenting their cognition.
RefeRences
Dolan, R. J. (2002). Emotion, cognition and behavior. Science 298, 1191-1194. Gerdes, L. (2008). Limitless You: the infinite possibilities of a balanced brain. Namaste Publishing, Vancouver, BC, Canada, pp. 1-281. Poewe, W. (2009). Treatments for Parkinson disease – past achievements and current clinical needs. Neurology 72, suppl. 2, S65-S73. Sandi, C. (2008). Understanding the neurobiological basis of behavior: a good way to go. Front. Neurosci. 2, 129-130. Singh, V. K. (1997). Neuroautoimmunity: pathogenic implications for Alzheimer’s disease. Gerontology 43, 79-94. Stein, D. S., and Hoffman, S. W. (2003). Concepts of CNS plasticity in the context of brain damage and repair. J. Head Trauma Rehabil. 18, 317-341.
Frontiers in neuroscience
May 2009 | Volume 3 | Issue 1 | 107
