The Emergence of the Trainable Brain The Brain is our Sun Now we recognize our brains as the center of a system that extends into our bodies, produces the phenomenon we call mind and may even create the universe in which we live. Our senses send a constant flow of information to be screened, integrated, […]

In Search of the “Normal” Brain The Normal Brain Imagine something complex and individual—maybe a micro-ecology between mountains and the sea. It has its own weather patterns—may rain more in that area than 5 miles away. Temperatures may be very different. Birds and insects that live there may not do well on the other side […]

Uncovering the High-Performance Brain Looking a different direction During this same period there began to appear a QEEG literature focusing on the so-called High Performance brain. Meditators, monks, high-level athletes, top-gun pilots and others provided QEEG’s. Where the normative databases tried to cobble together a pointillist view of the brain made up of hundreds of […]

Stable Activation Patterns The “chaotic” brain (in a very small nutshell) The advent of digital computers was involved in the development of chaos theory, a mathematically-derived description of many complex systems in nature, including the human brain. Chaotic systems are a break from our older linear way of understanding. It represents a return to ancient […]

Selling the chemical Brain History of chemical manipulation Chemicals have been used for their temporary psycho-active effects on brain function for centuries: psilocybin, mescaline, marijuana, cocaine and others have been used in many cultures, generally for peak experiences or expanded awareness—often by shamans and priests.  In others, the drones, the laborers, take drugs daily (khat, […]

Demonstrating the Trainable Brain Studying the brain’s ability to adapt itself While QEEG research has focused on defining the energy brain, a parallel branch of study has provided increasingly “real-time” feedback to demonstrate that brains are capable of changing their own patterns. This field, often called neurofeedback or EEG-biofeedback, we will call brain training. Today’s […]

It’s All in the Genes Nature vs. Nurture in the brain Nowhere is the age-old argument about whether we’re “born with it” or we “develop it” by living as important as in the burgeoning industry of genetics. The industry’s position is that there is “overwhelming evidence for the existence of substantial genetic influences on individual […]