Dr. Marvin Sams

We are often asked "What is the difference between NeuroMatrix Neural Efficiency training and other kinds of Neural Efficiency training?" The difference can be found in three key areas: clinical experience, professional background, and technical expertise.

Experience

A major difference with NeuroMatrix Neural Efficiency training is Dr. Marvin Sams' 20 years experience as a Neurotherapist. This is piggy backed on almost three decades of clinical and research EEG (brain wave analysis) experience in such institutions as Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, The Mayo Clinical in Rochester, Minnesota, and The Ohio State University Hospitals, Columbus, Ohio. He is the only Neurofeedback professional with primary credentials and certification in Electroencephalography, the foundation of Neurofeedback.

It is estimated that Dr. Marvin Sams has trained over 1000 children and adults with a wide variety of neurological, psychological, and psychiatric problems with Neurofeedback, either personally or under his direct supervision.

Unique training protocols

Tens of thousands of EEG data analyses and Neurofeedback sessions have allowed Dr. Marvin Sams to develop a keen understanding of the nature and intricacies of neurological and psychological issues. This, in turn, has led to the design and development of targeted, highly efficient Neurofeedback training protocols.

Due to his technical background, Dr. Marvin Sams has also been able to establish the synergistic benefit of complementary technologies to enhance the Neurofeedback process. Over the years, Dr. Marvin Sams has researched and added Heart Rate Variability (breathing) training, Audio-Visual Entrainment (rhythmic light and sound) with proprietary protocols created by Dr. Marvin Sams, and Transcranial DC Stimulation. These synergistic technologies are scientifically proven to add efficiency and depth to the Neurofeedback process. This advance would not have been possible were it not been for Dr. Marvin Sams' unique understanding of the brain and his extensive technical, clinical, and research experiences.

Tracking Progress

To track progress at the Sams Center, an EEG analysis is done every session...

Eight working frequency groups are analyzed at 19 key brain areas and the data compared to the initial evaluation, the previous session, the mean (average) of all the previous sessions, with a fourth report to assess major brain areas commonly damaged by brain trauma. The EEG data is also frequently analyzed with our Normative Reference Database (a computer library of the brain waves of normal subjects) to further verify improvement of brain performance.

The on-going analyses allow detailed understanding of what changes and improvements have occurred as training progresses. If different training protocols need to be chosen for a more efficient outcome, for example, it is quickly known and executed.

No other Neurofeedback center in the world tracks progress at this level.

Training Techniques

Another major difference is the training process itself. Most therapists use training equipment that requires the trainee to perform a task he or she is often poorly prepared to do, that is, pay attention to a cartoon figure on the computer screen and try to move the figure with their brain waves. This can be, and usually is, boring and perhaps even frustrating for the trainee. According to Dr. Marvin Sams' scientific model, it is not the person that has "the problem;" it is his or her brain. Put another way, if the brain is able to do its job efficiently, so can the person. For this reason, the focus is the brain, not the trainee.

With Remedial Neurofeedback™, the trainee plays any of 100 or so commercial video game as the brain waves are picked up at the selected electrode sites. A group of working frequencies are chosen by the Neurotherapist and played back to the brain as high pitched audio tones through head phones. Because the feed back information is highly specific information on the cellular activity and communication networks the brain is producing to play the complex game, the brain quickly recognizes that it is listening to itself. With this realization, the brain begins to use the information to optimize its performance. If, for example, the brain is inadvertently over or under producing working electrical energy at some specialized center, it will use the feedback information to reduce or ramp up the activity (increase or decrease nerve cell firing) to improve its performance.

How audio training works

The audio driven technique developed by Dr. Marvin Sams came from an understanding of how the brain processes incoming information. Research has shown that when the inner ear is stimulated with high pitched tones, wide areas of the cortex, deep brain, and cerebellum are activated. With the high pitched tones being driven by the activity the brain is producing, it will literally listen and change the way it is functioning to a more favorable state.

An analogy of this process can be a conductor (representing the brain) and an orchestra (the brain's resources). When the orchestra is playing, the conductor might have some idea that one of the musicians is off key. But, without stopping and asking each musician to play the same musical number, he or she would likely be hard pressed to tell who is "off" and out of step with the rest of the orchestra. If, however, each musician had a mic on their instrument and the conductor had headphones and the technical means with which to select any musician's microphone, he or she could rather quickly determine which musician/instrument was causing discordance. The guilty musician could, for example, be motioned to step out and tune his or her instrument without the orchestra having to stop.

An orchestra conductor doesn't really need microphones on the musicians. He or she can stop the orchestra to deal with problem musicians or instruments any time they wish. Our brain doesn't have this luxury. It has billions of transactions going on every second of the day and night and is often struggling to simultaneously process, filter, store, and respond to what is going on in our world. And, if it stops - so do we. The good news is that our brain doesn't have to shut down to get better. If it is given feedback in a language that it understands (in this case, the frequencies of the audio tones), it can and will repair bad circuits and increase or decrease neuronal firing in specialized areas for enhanced performance. In other words, the brain doesn't have to stop everything to solve the problem.

How does audio training process work? As the brain fires billions of neurons (nerve cells) simultaneously, electrodes on the scalp pick up the activity at a localized brain area and send it to the computer. The Neurotherapist selects a group of frequencies known to be responsible for attention, focus, attention, mood, or memory; the computer converts the strength of the incoming signal to audio tones; computer generated audio signals are sent back to the brain via head phones. In other words, nothing is done to the brain - except feed it auditory information on how it is doing its job. When the narrow range of information (activity of specific active nerve cells) is isolated from the firing of billions of other neurons in a performance area, the brain "hears" the information. Using its natural ability to "mold" itself to its environment (a process called neuroplasticity), the brain uses the feedback to make the changes it needs to function more efficiently. Because "normal functioning" brains don't have symptoms with focus, attention, mood, memory, behavior, or emotional resilience, when there is sufficient remediation, the symptoms can decrease and life becomes fulfilling and exciting again.

How do we know the high pitched audio process works? Because of the statistical evaluations we do at each session. And, of course, by the symptom reduction that occurs as training progresses.

Additional testing

Do you have questions about NeuroMatrix Neurofeedback training? Via our Contact Page or by phone 972.612.0160. Dr. Marvin Sams is pleased to speak to you personally.

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