University of Iowa uses New Biofeedback Therapy to Treat Students with Test Anxiety


By: Jeff Stewart  |   October 16th, 2012   |   Health, Living, News

Due to the ever increasing pressures of academic studies, many students around the world face anxiety issues relating to their school work. Cognitive scientists have been working for years to solve this serious problem, but have failed to find any tangible solution for the anxiety until now. Researchers at the University of Iowa have developed a new technique to help anxiety patients overcome this problem. The process is called “Biofeedback” and it uses brain reading technology to relax students by displaying their brainwaves in real time. Moreover, “Biofeedback” also alerts students when they finally fall into a tranquil state of focus.

 

Jeffrey Ellen, a clinical psychologist and University of Iowa Counselor, explains this process as, “Once a student learns to reduce their anxiety using skills learned through biofeedback training, their performance increases significantly — often resulting in dramatic improvements in academic performance.”

 

Cognitive scientists developed this technology after studying the electromagnetic radiation the brains emit. The study lasted several years and finally enabled scientists to produce identical patterns of particular brainwaves. So when a student suffering with anxiety comes into contact with the computer it immediately alerts the patient with the hyper-active condition through graphics and sounds after which they willfully become more calm.

 

Although splendid, this is not the first time that scientists have used Biofeedback or Neurofeedback to treat such patients. This service has been in practice since the University of California developed it back in 1960s. Since then cognitive scientists have been treating everyone from those with post-traumatic stress to school children who are experiencing attention deficit disorder.

 

Regardless of the fact that Biofeedback or Neurofeedback has existed longer than your humble writer,  is not validated by medical experts around the world, as this new science still has to go through some research in order to receive validity. In spite of it, Iowa is officially curing students with anxiety condition as they strongly believe in this space-age therapy and so far they have treated 429 patients with it, showing tangible results.

 

Source: Techcrunch

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