<p></p><h4><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">At the University of Chicago (1962), the first EEG biofeedback study&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">was
conducted by Dr. Joe Kamiya, which entailed the first recognition of
self-regulated brainwaves. The study was set up to see if an individual could recognize alpha brainwaves (8-12 Hz) (Robbins, 2000).&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">During
the study, conducted over the course of 4 days, Kamiya had a student, who's ability to recognize the alpha state went from a&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">50%
success rate to an incredible&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">99.5% success rate. The experiment was set so that, upon the sound of a&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">tone,
the student would say “yes” if he felt he was in alpha, and “no” when he felt
he was&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">not,
responses which Kamiya would either confirm or disconfirm. By the fourth day, the subject&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">was
in such disbelief at the accuracy of his answers, that he intentionally gave
one&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">incorrect
answer to being in alpha, to which Kamiya replied his first “no.”</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">&nbsp;In the second part of the study, participants were told to go into an alpha state when the bell rang once, and to not be in the state when the bell rang twice. Some subjects were able to enter the state on command and others were not able to control this level of their psychophysiology.&nbsp; Nevertheless,
the results were significant and very attractive. Alpha states were connected
with relaxation, and alpha training had the possibility to alleviate stress and
stress-related conditions.&nbsp;This experiment&nbsp;</span><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;">had revolutionary implications for the field of
neuroscience; it was the first proof that a human could recognize brainwave states--which would lead to our ability to volitionally control them.</span></h4><h4><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;"><img src="@@PLUGINFILE@@/Joe%20Kamiya.png" alt="Joe Kamiya" width="400" height="358" class="atto_image_button_middle"></span><br></h4><p><span style="color: rgb(82, 96, 105); font-size: 1rem; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;"><br></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The
formal birth of biofeedback occurred in 1969, culminating from unifying&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">developments
in applied psychophysiology and self-regulation in the fields of&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">psychology,
neurophysiology, cybernetics, and medicine. The evolution of the field was&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">from
a community of researchers who recognized their common ground, thought to be&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">born
of an awareness, which emerged from the Zeitgeist of biofeedback (Gaarder,
1979).</span></p><h4>See the description of the birth of biofeedback in Joe's own words:&nbsp;</h4><br><a href="https://youtu.be/QbNonjGul7U">Joe Kamiya describes the Birth of Biofeedback</a><br><br><p>Kamiya’s efforts supported
the hypothesis that increasing alpha could lead to decreases in state and trait
anxiety (Hardt &amp; Kamiya, 1978). Joe Hart, one of his grad students,
presented what may be the first paper on the topic at the Society for Psychophysiological
Research in San Diego in October 1967 (Budzynski, 1999)</p>

<p>In the wake of Kamiya’s
research, the first meeting of biofeedback professionals occurred as part of
the 1968 International Brain and Behavior Conference in Colorado. During this
period, Barbara Brown began to popularize biofeedback. Her books, "New
Mind New Body" and "Stress and the Art of Biofeedback",
significantly increased public awareness with regard to biofeedback and
neurofeedback. The following year, she helped initiate the first specific
meeting of biofeedback researchers; it was held in Santa Monica,
California—with 142 people attending. At this meeting the attendees decided to
name their group, The Biofeedback Research Society. Later it changed to
Biofeedback Society of America. Then it became the Association for Applied
Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB). The AAPB is still an active trade organization for the field of Neurofeedback and an excellent annual conference for any and all practitioners to attend. It allows for colleagues to become friends and connections to be made.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.aapb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1">S<span style="font-size: 1rem;">ee the AAPB's Website here.</span></a></p>

<p>A large amount of research
started to emerge on the topic among the participants including: Joe Kamiya,
Joe Hart, Barbara Brown, Thomas Mulholland, Erik Peper, Elmer and Alyce Green,
Dale Walters, Ken Gaarder, and Johann Sotyva (Budzynski, 1999). In 1993, Ken
Tachiki, Jim Smith, and Bob Grove organized a meeting on Catalina Island of
those individuals who had a growing interest in the field of neurofeedback. It
was held immediately before the 1993 AAPB meeting and formed a new section for
neurofeedback. This section eventually evolved into the Society for the Study
of Neuronal Regulation which today is known as the ISNR or International
Society for Neurofeedback and Research.</p>Today, the ISNR is the second (and just as popular) trade organization for the field of neurotherapy, and they also hold an annual conference. Another must attend event for new and old practitioners alike. The tribe of people at these gatherings is an experience in and of itself. <a href="https://isnr.org/">See the ISNR's Website here.</a><br><p></p>