Mind Alive Blog
Monday, June 11, 2012
Have you ever wondered what could possibly be going on inside your head? We all have different strengths and weaknesses, but many people spend their lives struggling with certain cognitive tasks, physical activities, or social interactions, never knowing the cause of the challenges they face. What if someone could simply look inside your brain and tell you where your trouble is coming from? Sometimes the solution is as simple as taking a herbal supplement or using the AVE, CES, or tDCS equipment to stimulate a particular region of the brain.
I just sat in on my first QEEG (quantitative electroencephalography) session, and this is exactly what Mind Alive Inc. president, Dave Siever, was able to do. We placed a cap of small electrodes onto our volunteer's scalp and watched the computer screen light up! Each electrode on the head corresponds to a particular area of the brain, and as we applied the conductive gel to each electrode site, the computer established a connection to its adjacent section of the brain.
Image courtesy of Dr. Horst H. Mueller, Director of Edmonton Neurotherapy
I watched in amazement as every tiny surge of electrical activity in the participant's brain manifested itself in "real time" on the computer screen in front of us. Even the slightest distraction or eye twitch was immediately displayed as a blip in the constant flow of scribbles. Each row of waveforms references a different electrode location, and a skilled technician can read the level of activity in that area based upon the amplitude of the spikes.
Watching Dave interpret the rough EEG data was nothing short of impressive. He was able to detect some slight spacial deficits as well as a tendency towards malaise or depression, all of which the participant confirmed to be true. Overall, the high Alpha frequencies (approx. 11 Hz.) showed our participant to be of quite high intelligence and Dave anticipates that the deficits should be easily addressed with AVE and tDCS.
Next, the computer will analyze the raw EEG data and convert it into a topographical brain map similar to the colorful image shown above, but that will have to wait until next week...
Marissa M. Lindroth
Mind Alive Inc.
by Marissa Lindroth - June 26, 2012