2020 Virtual PROGRAM OF EVENTS - Dec 10

*Sessions subject to change

Thursday, December 10

Time: 10:30 AM Eastern/9:30 AM Central/8:30 AM Mountain/ 7:30 AM Pacific

Meditation Session

Duration: 30 minutes CE Credits: 0

Time: 11:00 - 12:30 pm Eastern/10:00 - 11:30 AM Central/9:00 - 10:30 AM Mountain/ 8:00 - 9:30 AM Pacific

BOS29: Photobiomodulation as Adjunct Intervention for Neuro and Bio Feedback

Presented by: Lew Lim, PhD, DNM, MBA

Duration: 90 minutes CE Credits: 1.5

Track: Hot Topics

Level: INTERMEDIATE: Content builds upon the learner's foundational knowledge, familiarity with the literature and/or experience in a content area. Programming at this level includes more depth than at a beginning level program. It could also serve as a refresher course for individuals who have background in a content area and are interested in learning more contemporary applications.

Focus: 50% Clinical/50% Research

Target Audience: Neurofeedback researchers and practitioners, neuroscientists, neurologists, and anyone interested in improving brain functions.

Session Description: Neurofeedback (NFB) provides information about the brain’s rhythms and functioning in real time. Based on this, sounds, graphics or vibrations are used as rewards to train it to improve functions presented as changes in EEG rhythms (Demos, 2019). The changes are usually incremental, which could require up to 40 weeks to achieve the desired results, and which is not assured. In a similar way, photobiomodulation (PBM) of the brain can also trains brain rhythms. However, PBM achieves this very rapidly – usually in a single 20-minute session with no negative side effects (Saltmarche et al, 2017). In PBM, near infrared (NIR) light directed to the default mode network (DMN) at selected pulses could produce large brain responses (Chao, 2019). This has been suggested in studies involving dementia and acute cognitive processing. We carried out controlled studies that specifically explored neural response to 40 Hz (Gamma) (Zomorrodi et al, 2019) and 10 Hz (Alpha) directed to the DMN of healthy subjects. In the Gamma EEG study, it was found that the power spectrum and connectivity of alpha, beta and gamma increased significantly. Surprisingly, the opposite was found for the slower delta and theta bands where the power spectrum decreased with no significant change in connectivity. In the meantime, there was a global increase in inhibition which is often desirable (Zomorrodi et al, 2019). In the Alpha study, the brain responded differently – only the alpha band at around 10 Hz showed significant increase in power (Zomorrodi et al, 2020). Changes in connectivity also increased in a similar way, in the alpha. These studies tell us that the brain not only responds to PBM significantly, it does so in frequency-specific ways that are desired in NFB. These evidences suggest that PBM could be a potentially powerful adjunct to NFB practice. It also opens investigations on how PBM’s parameters can be adjusted to address psychiatric conditions and even enhance the performance of normal brains.

PRESENTER BIO(s): Dr. Lew Lim is widely recognized as a knowledge leader in photobiomodulation (PBM), particularly related to brain functions. He is the Founder and CEO of Vielight Inc., known for its brain PBM technology. His innovation in the field is positively affecting tens of thousands around the world, whether to address a brain condition or enhancing performance. Currently, his team is involved in various clinical studies indicating PBM for Alzheimer's Disease, traumatic brain injury, meditation, mental and sports performance, and others. Dr. Lim is a neuroscientist, doctor of natural medicine, engineer and chartered accountant. He has completed the various education disciplines at University of California, Berkeley, Quantum University, Sheffield University, Duke University and other institutions.

Learning Objectives:

Improve and accelerate neurofeedback outcomes
For practitioners, clients should enjoy better satisfaction
Have tools and techniques of transcranial photobiomodulation to improve brain functions
Offer new options for neuro-modulation techniques
Be able to explain photobiomodulation mechanisms

Time: 1:00 - 2:00 PM Eastern/12:00 - 1:00 PM Central/11:00 - 12:00 PM Mountain/ 10:00 - 11:00 AM Pacific

BOS18: Successfully Integrating Applied Psychophysiology Procedures into a Medical Care Environment

Presented by: David Arroyo, Psic.Npf, BCB

Duration: 60 minutes CE Credits: 1

Track: Clinical Interventions and Optimal Performance

Focus: 90% Clinical/10% Research

Target Audience: Aimed at students and health science professionals interested in the functional integration of interventions based on applied psychophysiology into medical-hospital environments and in multidisciplinary applications of health and medical sciences, either

Session Description: Applied psychophisiology´s potential to modify many physiological functions in a stable and permanent manner towards an adequate state of self-regulation opens enormous possibilities within medical practice to offer - either as primary or adjuvant therapy - more effective therapeutical options, of minimally invasive nature, with fewer side effects and more economical, in the medium and long term, compared to the usual treatments. However, for years, the struggle to integrate interventions based on applied psychophysiology to medical care schemes has not been as successful as it should have been, erroneously relegating them to a category of alternative or complementary medicine (according to the definition accepted by the National Institutes of Health -NIH) ignoring its evidence-based nature and making it difficult for medical specialists, hospitals and even insurance institutions to use and accept them. This work proposes possible solutions to the above from the viewpoint of: a) the professional who provides the services of applied psychophysiology, b) the medical specialist who is responsible for offering the patient the possibility of these services forwarding him to the right specialist, c) healthcare institutions (hospitals) and even considers the role played by distributors of equipment in this functional chain, all this from the experience of the author as founder and head for 10 years of the first in-hospital service of applied psychophysiology in Mexico, as well as president of the Medical Bioethics Committee of that institution.

PRESENTER BIO(s): David Arroyo is a clinical specialist and professor with extensive experience in the fields of Clinical, Medical and Health Psychology and Applied Psychophysiology. Founding member of the Mexican Bio and Neurofeedback Society and part of its board of directors for 10 years. For 9 years he was in charge of the Medical Psychology Service of the StarMedica Hospital in Mexico City, where he established the first in-hospital applied psychophysiology service of its kind in his country, integrating it to the management of different psychological and medical disorders in an interdisciplinary manner, in addition to being appointed president of the Medical Bioethics Committee for two consecutive periods; positions he continues to hold at StarMedica Hospital now in the city of Querétaro. He´s also co-founder and CEO of the Mindful Neuroscience Center in Mexico, instructor-mentor in BCIA Accredited Didactic Programs, international instructor of the BFE´s “Learn from the Best” formation programs and leading the Applied Psychophysiology program at the School of Health Sciences in the University of the Valley of Mexico.

Learning Objectives:

Recognize the general situation of Applied Psychophysiology regarding medical care schemes.
Analize the variables that affect the situation of Applied Psychophysiology in medical attention and care schemes.
Reflect on the possible solutions that allow these interventions to be considered as viable to be integrated into comprehensive health care schemes.
To identify strategies and types of applied psychophysiological intervention - whether evidence-based or potentially effective - that can be integrated into the medical management of a specific condition or set of conditions either as primary or adjuvant
To implement satisfactory strategies of integration of applied psychophysiology in medical care environments -such as hospitals-; the correct way to integrate to a multidisciplinary team of professionals in health sciences

Time: 2:30 - 3:30 PM Eastern/1:30 - 2:30 PM Central/12:30 - 1:30 PM Mountain/ 11:30 - 12:30 PM Pacific

VL06: ICA: Modern Data Cleaning and Advanced Data Analysis

Presented by: Jay Gunkelman, MS, QEEG-D

Duration: 60 minutes                  CE Credits: 1

Track: Basic Science

Level: INTRODUCTORY: Content is designed for psychologists who may have little to no background in a specialized skill or content area. Through this level of programming, the learner can become acquainted with the theoretical underpinnings, principles, methods, and perspectives of a content area. An introductory level program also may serve as the foundation for subsequent intermediate and advanced learning. Introductory level programming may also be related to an emerging area of knowledge or practice. Although this content can be used as a foundation for more advanced learning, an introductory level program may simply focus on breadth, enrichment or general knowledge.

Focus: 50% Clinical/50% Research

Target Audience: Any professional who processes EEG/qEEG data

Session Description: The use of ICA for removing artifacts is a classical application used ubiquitously in neuroscience, but there are also uses of the ICA analytic technique that can be done as additional higher-level analysis of the cleaned EEG. Components include cross frequency coupled data and the LORETA sources of these specific features can be done, clearing away other sources with some of the same frequencies, separating and clarifying the sources.

PRESENTER BIO(s): Jay has processed over 500,000 EEGs since 1972. He has served as president of The International Society for Neurofeedback and Research, as well as a board member and treasurer of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback and is a past-president of the Biofeedback Society of California. Jay was the first EEG technologist to be certified in QEEG. He has conducted, published or participated in hundreds of research papers, articles, books and meetings internationally. He is co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Brain Science International.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to identify whether ICA works only on Gaussian distributions or whether it works for non-gaussian distributions as well.
Participants will be able to identify cross frequency coupled findings seen in thalamocortical dysrhythmia.
Participants will be able to identify techniques used to separate LORETA sources which contain the same frequencies.

Time: 4 - 5:30 pm Eastern/3:00 - 4:30 PM Central/2:00 - 3:30 PM Mountain/ 1:00 - 2:30 PM Pacific

KEY01: Placebos in the Therapy Encounter: From Neurobiology to Clinical Pearls

Presented by: Leon Morales-Quezada,MD, MSc, PhD, MPH

Duration: 90 minutes CE Credits: 1.5

Track: Clinical Interventions and Optimal Performance

Level: Intermediate.

Focus: 50% Clinical/50% Research

Target Audience: This talk is expected to be presented to a diverse audience. All attendees are welcome independently of ethnicity, religious beliefs, or socioeconomical status.

Session Description: In this presentation, Dr. Morales will review some of the proposed mechanisms behind the placebo effect, its implications for clinical research and to expose the disadvantage of the so called “placebo shame” when industry moves away from failed clinical trials. Dr. Morales-Quezada will also review the bio-psychological basis of placebo as a treatment option for some neurological conditions, particularly when used in associative learning and expectations. Available evidence in neurofeedback research will be presented and discussed, highlighting the statistical significance of the placebo group when used to compared neurofeedback effects and how researchers can control for it. The speaker will present clinical data from the use of placebo as “therapeutic” intervention in pain and other neurological conditions and will examine the ethics behind treatment expectations and clinician behaviors favoring the placebo effect.

PRESENTER BIO(s): Leon Morales-Quezada, MD, MSc, PhD, MPH, is a physician-scientist with experience in neurocognitive rehabilitation, noninvasive neuromodulation, applied psychophysiology, and technology development for neurological rehabilitation. Dr. Morales-Quezada received his MD degree from Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes Medical School and completed his clinical training in emergency medicine and intensive care. While working in the intensive care environment, Dr. Morales-Quezada realized that, while most of his patients would survive their medical conditions, their quality of life would be poor. For this reason, he decided to learn more about neurological rehabilitation and neuroplasticity, which led him to the USA. He completed a fellowship and Masters in Neuropsychology Rehabilitation at Touro College, and his PhD in Cognitive Neurosciences from De Montfort University in Leicester UK. Dr. Morales-Quezada obtained a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health, and simultaneously completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine from the Harvard-NIH/NCCIH program, at the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital (SRH), Harvard Medical School. Dr. Morales-Quezada’s research interests focus on noninvasive neuromodulation applied to neurological and cognitive rehabilitation, the role of placebos in pain control, and phenotyping the placebo effect using neurophysiological measures.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees will be able to define three possible causes of the placebo effect in clinical research
Attendees will understand the role of expectations and conditioning in promoting the placebo effect
Attendees providing clinical care will understand the ethical limitation of placebos