What is the mechanism underlying EEG biofeedback efficacy?
The original Sterman protocol for seizures was deemed to be training motor system excitability, and thus was thought to be applicable mainly to seizures with a motor symptomatology. There was site specificity for the training (sensorimotor strip), and a frequency domain specificity (12-19Hz). Over time, it became apparent that the training was also effective for what used to be called temporal lobe seizures, and are now called complex-partial seizures (Lantz and Sterman). This meant that the training promoted CNS stability in more generality. The work by Lubar et al on attention problems with the same protocol also implied a more general validity of the training. It was already apparent from Lubar’s work that when one quiets the motorsystem one ineluctably quiets (controls) input function (attention, etc.). Subsequent work with mood disorders and disorders of arousal meant that the training had very broad applicability indeed, requiring even further generalization of the original model
