MSTF held Innovation Lab webinar on neuroscience and electrophysiology
The EEG and Neurofeedback Research and Clinical Applications webinar was held by the Mustafa(Pbuh) Science and Technology Foundation (MSTF) on March 18, 2021.
MSTF Media reports:
The first webinar of the series of Innovation Lab webinars on neuroscience and electrophysiology, organized by the Mustafa
Science and Technology Foundation, ScienceBeam Institute, and Dow University of Health Sciences, was held virtually with the attendance of prominent scientists in this field.
Alireza Sarkaki, Full Professor of neurophysiology at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, gave a lecture on “Electroencephalography (EEG) recording and behavior in animal models.”
During the first part of his lecture, he addressed various topics on EGG in animal models, such as EEG and behaviors for motor and cognitive studies, EEG and sleep, EEG and premature infants, EEG and healthy aging, EEG and neurological disorders, etc.
On EEG and motor behavior, he pointed that “local EEG recording from motor cortex areas is used in studies of motor disorders,” adding that local EEG recording from cerebellar fastigial nucleus is used in some studies “in the field of balance and motor coordination disorders.”
He then explained the methods via which local EEG recording is done in Parkinson’s disease in rats.
Showing a table of frequency bands and delineating how each works, he pointed out that gamma oscillations, now regarded as functionally relevant signals of the brain, illustrate the concept of event-related oscillations which bridge the gap between single neurons and neural associations.
“Oscillatory responses to events in the alpha, theta, and delta ranges have possible correlates of sensory and cognitive functions,” he continued.
According to Sarkaki, neural oscillations at different frequencies have recently been related to a wide range of cognitive processes.
Talking about EEG and sleep-wake behavior, he stated that in humans and several other mammals, a quantitative EEG analysis has been used “to study the regulation of sleep-wake behavior.”
As Sarkaki remarked in EEG and aging section of his lecture, “In general, the EEG exhibits greater variability in the old age than in the middle decades,” noting that “the most important representative of EEG in the aged is a slowing of alpha frequency.”
Full Professor of neurophysiology at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences discussed EEG abnormalities in adolescent males with AD/HD as well, explaining how each frequency band is represented in the electrophysiological of these patients.
Different aspects of EEG of premature infants born between 24-30 weeks gestational age was also brought up during the webinar by Sarkaki.
He then presented EEG in different neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Attention Deficiency, and Hyperactivity Deficiency.
Sarkaki threw light on the experimental procedure of EEG recording from skull in rats, and local EEG recording as a local field potential or multiple-unit recording from a selected nucleus in the brain of rats in the second part of his lecture.
Clinical Applications and Treatment Protocols of Neurofeedback
The next speaker, Meha Fatima Aftab, Assistant Professor at Institute of Medical Technology, DOW University of Health Sciences, Pakistan, gave a lecture on “Clinical Applications and Treatment Protocols of Neurofeedback,” which was followed by a hands-on training for the audience.
She pointed to the distinctions between the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere of the brain, which “synchronize us and ultimately make a whole unique human with language, motor functions, sensory functions, personality, etc.”
“The perfect coordination” between the right and left hemispheres, and between different parts of the brain is what synchronizes us with both the internal and external environments, she continued, highlighting that this is the concept underlying the application of Nuerofeedback which is called “the Neurofeedback equation.”
Comparing the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere in terms of general functions and brain waves, she said “there is more Alpha wave on the right hemisphere compared to the left, while on the left side we have more Beta wave compared to the right side. Theta wave is almost always in the frontal lobe.”
Aftab then compared the front of the brain to the back of the brain, saying that “there is more Alpha wave in the back regions while more Beta and Theta are observed in the frontal region.”
If the above-mentioned equations go out of balance, some conditions occur. For example, if Beta wave is lower on the right hemisphere, it results in depression, low motivation, and apathy. If Theta wave is higher on the right hemisphere, it leads to emotional volatility. In case of high Alpha wave on the left side, we observe emotional shutdown and decreased motivation.
Touching on some of the Alpha protocols, she explained how each amount of it is used for a variety of diseases and conditions such as pain relief, reducing anxiety and stress, memory improvement, regulating breathing rate, and decreasing heart rate.
Different amounts of Beta waves, she said, are utilized in improving focus and attention, improving the computational performance, reducing overthinking, treating obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and insomnia.
“Alpha/ Theta protocol is the most popular Neurofeedback training for stress reduction,” Aftab remarked. Moreover, it is used for deep levels of depression and addiction while it promotes healing from trauma reactions.
Some of the usages of Delta wave, Aftab pointed out, are alleviating headaches, treating traumatic brain injuries, and treating learning disorder, while the Theta wave is good for reducing anxiety, distractibility, emotional disorders, and ADHD.
She talked about the different aspects of Neurofeedback protocol for treating ADHD, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), OCD, and Autism in detail.
Pointing to the numerous already-conducted research projects from around the world in the area of Neurofeedback, she concluded her lecture by emphasizing that “there are a lot of avenues for Neurofeedback.”
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through Binaural Beats
Muhammad Abul Hasan, Assistant Professor at NED University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan, as another lecturer of this virtual event, gave a speech on “Neuromodulation for Memory Enhancement.”
His presentation was chiefly focused on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through Binaural Beats.
Abul Hasan first explained that binaural beats are “sound waves that are created to influence your brain waves,” adding “binaural beats occur when two sinusoidal waves at slightly differing frequencies are presented separately to each ear such that both sounds are mixed after perceiving into the brain.”
The study conducted by Abul Hasan and his team, he reported, found “an increase in cognitive score and a decrease in reaction time following Alpha BB, and only a reduction in reaction time with Gamma BB.”
“Beta BB stimulation did not improve cognitive score and reaction time,” he stressed.
Another result of this research was that “the imaginary coherence analysis demonstrates that BB stimulation induces change not only to the numbers and strength of connections, but also to the directions of information flow between different regions of the brain.”
The ultimate outcomes they have achieved by conducting this research were two. The first is that “the binaural beat therapies can allow better define treatment protocols for the treatment of central nervous system disorders such as pain, depression, anxiety, Autism spectrum disorder, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.” In addition, Abul Hasan announced, the results of their study can also be used “to better design cognitive studies.”
The Innovation Lab aims to develop neuroscience and electrophysiology research in the Islamic world by holding a series of webinars, spring school, and offering grants. The second webinar revolving around Emerging Trends and Advances in Neuroscience will be held on April 8, 2021, in collaboration with Khazar University, Azerbaijan.
