Although brain hacking has been going on for nearly two decades, the folks over at Network World magazine thinks it’s some kind of “new” phenomenon. Describing experiments done on monkeys and the manipulation of video games, the reporter apparently is unaware of a little something called EEG neurofeedback. Neurofeedback has been used to treat psychiatric disorders since the early 1990s (I know first-hand, because I was involved in neurofeedback training as a grad student).

Neurofeedback is a researched and proven technique for allowing people to “train their brains” to reduce common symptoms of many psychiatric disorders. Most of the research and heavy lifting with this technique has been done with ADHD, but it’s also been researched and shown to work with everything from posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder and others.

What does one do in neurofeedback?

During neurofeedback sessions, patients learn to produce desirable brain wave patterns displayed on a computer screen by controlling the activity of a computerized game or task seen on a second screen.

It’s simple, really. You wear a funky looking cap that has the electrodes in it (or they can be placed individually for more fine tuning). The electrodes read electrical activity in your brain. Those signals are translated by a computer program into movements in a game. And voilà! You’re manipulating a computer game solely with your brain!

How does this help someone combat the symptoms of something like attention deficit disorder (ADHD)? The games are designed to reinforce attention and concentration skills (not Space Invaders!), which helps a person learn to control their brain directly, reducing unwanted symptoms. Attention and concentration improve, usually after a series of 12 to 24 sessions. And with no drugs.

So while we’re glad to see these “futurist” activities getting some media attention, we really wish when writing about brain stuff, reporters would talk to some real brain scientists, like a neuropsychologist (not so-called “brain experts” that happen to run a website). The one real expert they talked to seemed unaware of this existing research, or failed to mention it in his interview with the reporter.

NetworkWorld‘s article: Hack your brain

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 5 Mar 2008
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