<h4>Meet Barry Sterman</h4>
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<p><img src="@@PLUGINFILE@@/Barry%20Sterman.png" alt="Barry Sterman" width="179" height="300" class="img-responsive atto_image_button_left">Th<span>e field of neurofeedback owes a debt of gratitude to the preliminary research and findings to Dr. Barry Sterman, who was prolific in&nbsp;</span>his work creating and establishing clinical applications
    for neurofeedback. After earning a Ph.D. in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of California Los Angeles in 1963, Dr. Sterman began his research in the area of the effect of EEG changes in the sensorimotor cortex along a neurological
    model line of investigation at the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA,&nbsp;which ultimately led to the discovery of an effective treatment for a variety of neurological conditions including<span style="font-size: 1rem;">&nbsp;epilepsy</span><a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title="" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 1rem;">[2]</a><span style="font-size: 1rem;">
</span><a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title="" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 1rem;">[3]</a><span style="font-size: 1rem;">, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,</span><a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title="" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 1rem;">[4]</a>
    <span style="font-size: 1rem;">. The sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) is rhythmic activity between 12 and 16 hertz that can be recorded from an area near the sensorimotor cortex. SMR is found in waking states and is very similar if not identical to the sleep spindles that are recorded
        in the NREM2 stage of sleep.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Sterman's breakthrough experimentation was in training the sensory motor frequency in the brains of cats. . The initial experiment tested thirty cats that had been placed in cages without access to food. These cats' brains had eletrodes placed in them and, for this experiment, each cat was taken out, one at a time and placed in a room with an empty bowl and a lever.&nbsp;</span></p><div>
    <p><span>When the cat pressed the lever with its paw, milk and chicken broth would be poured into the empty bowl. The cats began to learn right away what needed to be done to obtain food. Then the experiment was varied slightly by adding a tonal sound. Whenever the sound was occurring, the cats would not receive food when they pushed the lever. When the sound stopped, the cats could then press the lever and get the desired reward. It was in this very phase of the experiment that Dr. Sterman noticed the mental state of the cats as they waited for the tone to be over. The cats stayed very still, however their brains were very alert.&nbsp;</span><span>The EEG interpreted this state as a rhythm frequency of 12Hz to 15Hz over a certain part of the brain called the sensorimotor strip.&nbsp;</span></p>
    <p><span>Dr. Sterman began to wonder if he could effectively train the cats to produce this type of frequency on their own when they chose to do so. For the next experiment, the lever was eliminated and the cats were given food if they produced the desired frequency range of 12 - 15Hz&nbsp; for half a second. Soon enough, the cats were able to produce these desired frequencies at will. This experiment was the first time someone was able to prove that brain behavior could be changed and affected by EEG conditioning, a huge discovery in the field of neurofeedback. In 1967, these findings were published in Brain Research, a highly regarded medical journal.</span></p>
    <p>While Sterman’s research results were fascinating, he had no idea if the SMR work had any application in the real world.&nbsp; Shortly after the SMR experiment, Sterman was asked by NASA to conduct some experiments on a rocket fuel called monomethylhydrazine
        (MMH).&nbsp;&nbsp; NASA found that when workers and astronauts came in contact with the substance it caused hallucinations, nausea, severe epileptic seizures, and eventually death.&nbsp; These new experiments were completely unrelated to the previous
        SMR experiments.</p>
    <p>Sterman brought in 50 cats for the new study.&nbsp; Each animal was injected with 10mg of the rocket fuel and their brains were wired to an EEG to measure their reaction.&nbsp; A few minutes after the injection all of the cats vomited, made noises,
        salivated and panted.&nbsp; After one hour all but 10 of the cats went into grand mal epileptic seizures.&nbsp; For some reason 10 of the cats were resistant to the seizures – but why?&nbsp; As it turned out, the seizure resistant cats were left
        over from the previous SMR experiment.&nbsp; Sterman came to realize that by teaching the cats to produce SMR in the previous experiment, he strengthened their brain function.&nbsp; The cat’s seizure threshold had been increased; the brains were
        now functionally altered so as to prevent the seizures.&nbsp;&nbsp;These studies clearly demonstrated that the effects of SMR neurofeedback were clearly physiological and not placebo.</p>
    <p>The next step was to try to apply this to humans, so new experiments began. Dr. Sterman hooked up subjects to neurofeedback equipment, and when the subject produced SMR, a green light went on. When the patient was not producing SMR, a red light went
        on instead. The subject was given instructions to keep the green light on and the red light off.&nbsp; The results over time showed a 65% reduction in grand mal seizures, a huge improvement and massive discovery for the future of treatment for
        seizure disorders like epilepsy.&nbsp;</p>
    <p>Today, Dr. Sterman is Professor Emeritus in the departments of Neurobiology and Behavioral Psychiatry at UCLA. He has written 6 books about operant conditioning in humans and animals, over 30 chapters in other books, over 100 articles, and is a frequent
        and sought-after lecturer on neuromodulation, the physiological process where a single neuron uses neurotransmitters to regulate various groups of neurons.</p><br><br clear="all">

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            Sterman, M.B.; Clemente, C.D. (1962). "Forebrain inhibitory mechanisms: cortical synchronization induced by basal forebrain stimulation". <i>Exp
Neurol</i> 6: 91–102. doi:10.1016/0014-4886(62)90080-8. PMID&nbsp;13916975.</p>

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            </a> Sterman, M.B.; Friar, L. (1972). "Suppression of seizures in an epileptic following sensorimotor EEG feedback training". <i>Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol</i> 33 (1): 89–95. doi:10.1016/0013-4694(72)90028-4. PMID&nbsp;4113278.&nbsp;
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            Sterman, M.B. (2000). "Basic concepts and clinical findings in the treatment of seizure disorders with EEG operant conditioning". <i>Clin
Electroencephalogr</i> 31 (1): 45–55. PMID&nbsp;10638352</p>

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            </a> Lubar, J.F.; Swartwood, M.O.; Swartwood, J.N.; O'Donnell, P.H. (1995). "Evaluation of the effectiveness of EEG neurofeedback training for ADHD in a clinical setting as measured by changes in TOVA scores, behavioral ratings, and WISC-R performance".
            <i>Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback</i> 20 (1): 83–99. http://www.springerlink.com/index/L2213885102N16W6.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-05.&nbsp; </p>

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