The purpose of this blog is to showcase a new breakthrough in Neurofeedback science. The field of Neurofeedback is constantly evolving, with exciting breakthroughs developing more quickly than ever before. A quick note that Neurohealth Associates does not engage with the procedures described in this blog. This news post is meant to put a spotlight on the potential of Neurofeedback!

Neurofeedback Future Tech

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a prosthesis system that connects to the body’s nervous system to help amputees perceive a prosthetic weight as lower.

The prosthesis system provides feedback to the wearer using electrodes implanted in the thigh that is connected to the leg nerves. Information from the tactile sensors under the sole of the prosthetic foot and angle sensors in the electronic prosthetic knee joint are then converted into pulses of current and passed into the nerves, according to the researchers.

“To trick an above-knee amputee’s brain into the belief that the prosthetic leg was similar to his own leg, we artificially restored the lost sensory feedback,” lead researcher Stanisa Raspopovic said in a recent press release.

The researchers suggest that wearers of neurofeedback prostheses can move more safely and with less effort. The study also showed that neurofeedback reduced the perceived weight of prostheses.

In the study, the researchers used voluntary study participants to complete gait exercises with either neurofeedback switched on or off to determine how heavy a transferal amputee could perceive their prosthetic leg. The researchers weighed down the healthy foot with weights and asked the participants to rate how heavy each leg felt in relation to each other.

Neurofeedback reduced the perceived weight of the prosthesis by 23%, or almost 500 grams, according to the study. The researchers also confirmed a beneficial involvement of the brain by the motor-cognitive task when study participants had to spell five-letter words backward while walking. Sensory feedback allowed participants to have a faster gait and higher spelling accuracy.

How Neurofeedback Can Change Healthcare

“Neurofeedback not only enables faster and safer walking and positively influences weight perception,” said Raspopovic. “Our results also suggest that, quite fundamentally, it can take the experience of patients with an artificial device closer to that with a natural limb.”

Neurofeedback is already being widely used for general health purposes. The clinical staff here at Neurohealth Associates specializes in non-invasive Neurofeedback treatments. Neurofeedback can help deal with a multitude of mental health symptoms. The easy, noninvasive treatment can painlessly improve your mental health condition and outlook on life.

Schedule a consultation with NeuroHealth today and find out how we can help you.