<p></p><h3><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">Neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback that involves the brainwaves as the mechanism that is trained. Biofeedback is a way to train the person to behave differently, by projecting the body’s own operation (i.e. sweat, breath, heart rate, brainwaves, etc.) back to itself in order to learn how to control those operations. In order to understand neurofeedback, we first have to back up to understand the neurobiological activity of the brain. The field of electroencephalography is where we start.</span><br></h3><div><div><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography">Electroencephalography</a>&nbsp;(“EEG”) is the study of the dynamic patterns of electric potential of the brain (measured on the scalp).</p><img src="@@PLUGINFILE@@/Eeg%20Definition.png" alt="EEG Definition" width="800" height="373" class="img-responsive atto_image_button_left" style="text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: center;"><br></p><p></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><br></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><br></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">These brainwave patterns are called “action potentials,” and have to do with a series of rapid firings that occur along the axon of a neuron. The firing of an axon is essentially a swap of potassium (K+), chloride (Cl-), calcium (Ca+), and sodium (Na+), which, in essence, produces a small battery.&nbsp; This battery occurs when the axon membrane changes polarity and allows for sodium to move into the axon, causing depolarization.</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">&nbsp;</span><br></p><div><div><div tabindex="-1" title="Action Potentials" preload="auto" id="id_videojs_601d92bc18e4e_1" data-setup-lazy="{&quot;techOrder&quot;: [&quot;youtube&quot;], &quot;sources&quot;: [{&quot;type&quot;: &quot;video/youtube&quot;, &quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIzF2tWy6KI&quot;}], &quot;language&quot;: &quot;en&quot;, &quot;fluid&quot;: true}" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"><div><iframe id="id_videojs_601d92bc18e4e_1_Youtube_api" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tIzF2tWy6KI?controls=0&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;loop=0&amp;fs=0&amp;hl=en&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fschoolofneurotherapy.com&amp;widgetid=1"></iframe><div></div></div><div tabindex="-1" aria-disabled="false"></div><div aria-live="off" aria-atomic="true"></div><button type="button" aria-live="polite" title="Play Video" aria-disabled="false"><span aria-hidden="true"></span>Play Video</button></div></div></div><br><p></p><p>When an action potential occurs. simultaneously there is a release of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. The action potential is an electro-chemical event.</p><p></p><div><div><div tabindex="-1" title="Synaptic Neurochemical Transmission" preload="auto" id="id_videojs_601d92bc18ef3_2" data-setup-lazy="{&quot;techOrder&quot;: [&quot;youtube&quot;], &quot;sources&quot;: [{&quot;type&quot;: &quot;video/youtube&quot;, &quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhowH0kb7n0&quot;}], &quot;language&quot;: &quot;en&quot;, &quot;fluid&quot;: true}" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"><div><iframe id="id_videojs_601d92bc18ef3_2_Youtube_api" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WhowH0kb7n0?controls=0&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;loop=0&amp;fs=0&amp;hl=en&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fschoolofneurotherapy.com&amp;widgetid=2"></iframe><div></div></div><div tabindex="-1" aria-disabled="false"></div><div aria-live="off" aria-atomic="true"></div><button type="button" aria-live="polite" title="Play Video" aria-disabled="false"><span aria-hidden="true"></span>Play Video</button></div></div></div><p></p><p><img src="@@PLUGINFILE@@/Buszaki%20Book.png" alt="Buszaki Book" width="260" height="388" class="img-responsive atto_image_button_left"></p><p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">In his book,&nbsp;</span><i style="font-size: 1rem;">Rhythms of the Brain,&nbsp;</i><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Buzsaki (2006) theorizes that this arrangement might be an adaptation from our earliest ancestors, who were single-celled organisms of the sea. Because there is a high concentration of sodium in sea water, keeping the sodium outside our cell walls was a wise choice. When the organisms sprouted legs and descended upon land, they needed to carry the sea with them to maintain the same extracellular environment (Buzsaki, 2006, p. 86).</span><br></p><p><i>I</i><i>mage of the&nbsp;</i><em>Tiktaalik roseae,&nbsp;the 375-million-year-old fossil animal that represents an important intermediate step in the evolutionary transition from fish to animals that walked on land.</em></p><p><img src="@@PLUGINFILE@@/Fish%20crawling%20out%20of%20sea.png" alt="Fish Crawling out of Sea" width="349" height="221" class="img-responsive atto_image_button_left"><br></p></div></div><br><p></p>