Quantitative EEG (QEEG) And Its Application In Various Clinical Conditions

Quantitative EEG (QEEG) and Its Application in Various Clinical Conditions

Attention Deficit ADD / ADHD

• Key Findings: Attention deficit has been associated with deviant activity in the frontal brain areas. Most research has shown that ADHD patients exhibit excess frontal theta activity and a high frontal theta/beta ratio. Other deviations include excess frontal beta activity and low-frequency alpha spikes.
  • Notable Studies:
    • Arns et al., 2015: High frontal theta/beta ratio in ADHD patients.
    • Clarke et al., 2001: Excess frontal beta spindling.
    • Arns et al., 2008: Low frequency of alpha spikes.
  • Effective Treatments:
    • Arns et al., 2009: Neurofeedback as an effective treatment for ADHD.
    • Arns et al., 2012: QEEG-guided neurofeedback protocols showing a 76% response rate and an effect size of 1.78.

Anxiety

• Key Findings: Anxiety disorder has been linked to increased beta activity, decreased alpha activity in occipital regions, and increased alpha activity in right fronto-lateral regions.
  • Notable Studies:
    • Isotani et al., 2001; Pavlenko et al., 2009: Increased beta and decreased alpha activity.
    • Davidson et al., 2000: Increased alpha activity in right fronto-lateral regions.
  • Efficacy of Treatments:
    • Hardt & Kamiya, 1978; Wang et al., 2014: Increased alpha activity may have anxiolytic effects.
    • Cheon et al., 2015: Effective neurofeedback protocols must be guided by the patient’s QEEG.

Depression

• Key Findings: Depression is associated with increased alpha asymmetry in the frontal lobes, specifically increased alpha potency in the left frontal lobe and decreased alpha potency in the right frontal lobe.
  • Notable Studies:
    • Thibodeau et al., 2006: Alpha asymmetry in the frontal lobes.
  • Effective Treatments:
    • Baehr et al., 1997; Choi et al., 2011: Alpha asymmetry training.
    • Walker and Lawson, 2013: Lowering theta and increasing beta activity.
    • Saxby & Penniston, 1995: The Peniston protocol combining biofeedback, neurofeedback, and psychotherapy.

Memory Disorders

• Key Findings: Memory disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, are linked to increased delta and theta potency and decreased alpha and beta potency.
  • Notable Studies:
    • Dauwel et al., 2010: Overview of EEG findings in memory disorders.
    • Egner et al., 2005; Zoefel et al., 2011; Guez et al., 2015: High alpha training.
  • Effective Treatments:
    • Sensorimotor Rhythm (SMR) training and gamma potency training showing beneficial effects on long-term memory performance.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Key Findings: Autism is associated with a dysfunctional mirror neuron system, observed as a decrease in alpha power over the sensorimotor strip.
  • Notable Studies:
    • Oberman et al., 2005: Failure to show Mu suppression in autism.
    • Pineda et al., 2008: Downtraining Mu activity.
  • Effective Treatments:
    • Kouijzer et al., 2009a, 2009b: Downtraining theta activity and uptraining beta activity.
    • Coben and Padolsky, 2007; Jarusiewicz, 2002: QEEG-based neurofeedback protocols for autism.

Dyslexia

• Key Findings: Dyslexia is mainly associated with deviant activity in left temporal brain areas, but can also involve other brain regions.
  • Notable Studies:
    • Klimesch et al., 2001: Deviant activity in left temporal areas.
    • Ackerman & Dykman, 1995; Arns et al., 2007: Deviant activity in various brain regions.
  • Effective Treatments:
    • Arns et al., 2010: QEEG-guided neurofeedback protocols for treating dyslexia.

Insomnia

• Key Findings: Insomnia is associated with increased beta and gamma potency, likely due to hyper-alertness.
  • Notable Studies:
    • Perlis et al., 2001; Bonnet et al., 2010: Overview of insomnia and EEG findings.
  • Effective Treatments:
    • Arns et al., 2014: Sensorimotor Rhythm (SMR) training and regulation of Slow Cortical Potentials (PCL).
    • Hoedlmoser et al., 2008: Decrease in sleep latency and increase in total sleep time with SMR training.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Key Findings: OCD is associated with excess theta and alpha activity, and slow alpha activity.
  • Notable Studies:
    • Prichep et al., 2011; Surmeli et al., 2011: Excess theta and alpha activity.
    • Bolwig et al., 2007: Excess slow alpha activity.
  • Effective Treatments:
    • Mills and Solyum, 1974; Glucek and Stroebel, 1975: Alpha enhancement neurofeedback.
    • Koprivova et al., 2013: QEEG-guided protocols in double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

• Key Findings: TBI is a heterogeneous disorder with various EEG deviations and functional impairments depending on the cause, location, and degree of tissue damage.
  • Notable Studies:
    • Hoffman et al., 1996: QEEG-guided protocols for TBI treatment.
    • Tinius & Tinius, 2000: Effectiveness of QEEG-guided neurofeedback for TBI.
  • Current Status:
    • No randomized controlled trials showing a superior effect of neurofeedback over placebo in TBI treatment. Patient-specific QEEG-guided protocols are recommended.