What is Biofeedback?

Biofeedback is a technique by which an individual can receive ( feedback) i.e., information from instrumentation regarding bodily processes.

Whether the through use of the Biodot, thermometer, thermal monitor, GSR , EMG, or EEG, individuals monitor the selected body systems. Any change that is picked up by these monitor's electrodes is transformed into visual and/or auditory cues.

By providing an objective measurement of bodily functions, biofeedback has given credibility to the whole field of stress management.

Chances are that you have used biofeedback yourself. You've used it any time you have taken your temperature or stepped on a scale to weigh yourself. For the next several sessions monitor your meditation and relaxation sessions with the use of a Biodot and report your findings. Research the internet to see what diseases and painful conditions have been improved with the use of Biofeedback. See if you can find information and indicate what evidence there is that supports the use of Biofeedback with the following conditions. Be sure and cite your source and/ or Website: tension headache ,migraine, anxiety, asthma, poor blood circulation, muscle tension, teeth grinding ,insomnia.

You may search the Internet for the various types of diseases that have been treated by biofeedback. The following students earned extra credit by submitting these hyperlinks:

http://www.alphatalker.com suggests that biofeedback can reduce or treat: alcoholism, ADD and ADHD, anger, autism, chronic pain, depression, epilepsy, headaches, learning disabilities, mood disorders, sleep disorders, Tourette's syndrome, and traumatic brain injury.

http://www.demOnmac.mgh.harvard.edu/neurowebforum/headache A... suggests that biofeedback for tension headache is very effective although at least an hour a day must be devoted to doing it in order for the treatment to work.

http://www.alphatalker.com also suggests that biofeedback for tension headaches is very helpful. It is also useful in the aid of migraine headaches. More than eighty percent of patients have reported a reduction in migraine headache due
to biofeedback. K. Morrow, Winter 2001

http://www.behavioralassociates.com/bio.html

This site gives a working definition of biofeedback and provides an example of how variations in one's blood pressure can be fed back in the form of a varying tone, so that a patient becomes aware of those blood pressure fluctuations. Once aware the patient has a better chance of gaining control over the biological functions. Joe Casillas, Fall 2001