substance abuse
Research Papers
An open clinical trial utilizing real-time EEG operant conditioning as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of crack cocaine dependence
This study investigated the treatment outcome of males dependent on crack cocaine participating in an inpatient treatment facility in which electroencephalographic operant conditioning training (EEG-OC) was added to the treatment protocol. Eighty-seven men were assessed twelve months after completion of the EEG portion of the program. Follow-up procedures of urinalyses, self-report measures, length of residence, and scores on a measure of depression were obtained and showed significant changes after treatment. The addition of EEG-OC to crack cocaine treatment regimens may promise to be an efficfive intervention for treating crack cocaine abuse and increasing treatment retention
View Full Paper →Effects of an EEG Biofeedback Protocol on a Mixed Substance Abusing Population
This study examined whether an EEG biofeedback protocol could improve outcome measures for a mixed substance abusing inpatient population. Method. One hundred twenty-one volunteers undergoing an inpatient substance abuse program were randomly assigned to the EEG biofeedback or control group. EEG biofeedback included training in Beta and SMR to address attentional variables, followed by an alpha-theta protocol. Subjects received a total of 40 to 50 biofeedback sessions. The control group received additional time in treatment equivalent to experimental procedure time. The Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), and MMPI, were administered with both tester and subject blind as to group placement to obtain unbiased baseline data. Treatment retention and abstinence rates as well as psychometric and cognitive measures were compared. Results. Experimental subjects remained in treatment significantly longer than the control group (p<0.005). Of the experimental subjects completing the protocol, 77% were abstinent at 12 months, compared to 44% for the controls. Experimental subjects demon-strated significant improvement on the TOVA (p<.005) after an average of 13 beta-SMR sessions. Following alpha-theta training, significant differences were noted on 5 of the 10 MMPI-2 scales at the p[removed]
View Full Paper →“Native Americans, Neurofeedback, and Substance Abuse Theory”. Three Year Outcome of Alpha/theta Neurofeedback Training in the Treatment of Problem Drinking among Dine' (Navajo) People
This three year follow-up study presents the treatment outcomes of 19 Dine' (Navajo) clients who completed a culturally sensitive, alpha/theta neurofeedback training program. In an attempt to both replicate the earlier positive studies of Peniston (1989) and to determine if neurofeedback skills would significantly decrease both alcohol consumption and other behavioral indicators of substance abuse, these participants received an average of 40 culturally modified neurofeedback training sessions. This training was adjunctive to their normal 33 day residential treatment. According to DSM-IV criteria for substance abuse, 4 (21%) participants now meet criteria for “sustained full remission”, 12 (63%) for “sustained partial remission”, and 3 (16%) still remain “dependent” (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). The majority of participants also showed a significant increase in “level of functioning” as measured by the DSM-IV Axis V GAF. Subjective reports from participants indicated that their original neurofeedback training had been both enjoyable and self-empowering; an experience generally different from their usual treatment routine of talk-therapy and education. This internal training also appeared to naturally stimulate significant, but subtle, spiritual experiences and to be naturally compatible with traditional Navajo cultural and medicine-ways. At the three-year follow-up interview, participants typically voiced that these experiences, and their corresponding insights, had been helpful both in their ability to cope and in their sobriety. From an outside perspective, experienced nurses also reported unexpected behavioral improvements during the participant's initial training. Additionally, administrators and physicians generally found the objective feedback and verification quality of neurofeedback protocols compatible with their own beliefs. An attempt has also been made to conceptualize the outcome analysis of this study within both a culturally specific and universal socio/bio/ environmental context.
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