Listening to electronic sounds from the brain is the new method of dealing with problems of anger and addiction, writes Lorna Siggins
IT HAS AN estimated 100 billion nerve cells, the length of the Milky Way, and a million new neuronal connections are formed every second. The human brain is acknowledged to be one of the most complex organs in the known universe, challenging anyone who tries to summarise its workings in one simple equation.
It's not for the want of effort though, according to a recent report in the British journal, New Scientist. It has noted that neuroscientists are working on a mathematical formula, such as an equivalent of Schrodinger's equation in quantum mechanics, to encapsulate how the brain works.
A north American practitioner, Dr Robert Scaer, has his own theories about its complexity, not unrelated to quantum physics - theories which have led him back to basics. Scaer, who says he trained as a neurologist and worked for the past 20 years with patients at a rehabilitation centre in Boulder, Colorado, has embarked on a whole new approach related to behavioural science.
He believes a technique known as brain state technology could help people suffering from a variety of physical symptoms, including military veterans with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is now being introduced in Ireland through Danish-born homeopath Soren Hildebrandt.
"Yes, I guess my books on this subject are very controversial," Scaer told The Irish Times, speaking by phone from Colorado. In the rehabilitation centre, he treated patients with chronic pain who had experienced sexual abuse during childhood. It led him to explore the "most effective treatment modalities" for an established link between trauma and physical symptoms.
The result is his endorsement of brain state technology, which was developed in the USA by Lee Gerdes, an information technology specialist. Gerdes describes it on his website as a "type of brain optimisation based on observance", drawing on a "quantum physics versus Newtonian physics understanding of the individual''.
The technique is non-invasive and involves listening to the sound of your own brain - similar to the "Mozart effect" of music therapy, which is used to treat children with speech difficulties or with attention disorders. "If someone has unresolved traumatic experiences, the brain remembers every body message it has received," Scaer says.
"Pharmaceutical therapy is not very effective - you have soldiers who have been serving in Iraq on Prozac, but that's only numbing them. Psychotherapy can be very useful, but doesn't necessarily resolve issues. I believe, unless you address the physical components through somatic techniques - as in, stimulation of neurons - they will remain unresolved."
Soren Hildebrandt, based in Galway, recently completed brain state technology training with Gerdes in Arizona, USA. He describes it as being similar to "biofeedback" - a form of complementary medicine where bodily functions such as blood pressure, skin temperature and muscle tension are "measured" and conveyed to the patient in "real time" to make them aware of their physiological actions.
However, it takes this one step further in creating a "brainmap" or "fingerprint" on computer, based on brainwave activity.
The patient sits in a purpose-built chair and is fitted with electrodes, similar to an EEG or neuro-imaging technique. He or she also fills out a questionnaire, the results of which are fed into the computer software. This in turn produces a set of protocols for the individual patient, fed back in the form of sound.
"The patient is listening to a symphony, a very gentle series of electronic sounds relating to their own brain," Hildebrandt explains. "This helps to build new neural networks in the brain, over several weeks."
Clients sign up for 10 consecutive sessions over a fortnight period, similar to music therapy, paying about €60 an hour.
"It is very intensive, and the only side effect may be a slight headache," Hildebrandt says. "Clients in the US have ranged from people suffering from sleep deprivation, to addiction, to anger, to PTSD - and even golfers who just want to improve their results.
Hildebrandt says that the balancing and harmonising technique claims to be effective for eight out of 10 people. "It is a bit like homeopathy, in that there is not a lot of experience out there on how it works, but it can do wonders for people. And if you compare it to psychotherapy, it is much less traumatic."
Prof Orla Hardiman, consultant neurologist at the national neuroscience centre in Dublin's Beaumont Hospital and clinical professor (neurology) in Trinity College, Dublin, is sceptical of a technique which has not been the subject of clinical trials.
"Testimonials aren't adequate without clinical trials. The scientific basis is unclear and it is impossible to judge the benefits, therefore, from a clinical point of view," says Hardiman.
She notes that Scaer has not published papers on the technique in medical journals.
Lee Gerdes is in Ireland this week and is due to speak tonight in Galway in the Radisson SAS Hotel at 7.30pm. More details from Soren Hildebrandt of Dynamic Brain Technologies at tel: 091-581087