Brain retraining
Brain training or brain re-training is a proposed treatment approach positing that the illness is a result of the dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system and that the disease may be improved or cured through cognitive therapy. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is associated with the digestive, endocrine, circulatory and other systems that tend to be involved with ME/CFS. Brain retraining has been championed by Ashok Gupta[1], Dan Neuffer,[2], and Ben Ahrens[3].
Brain retraining posits that the disease begins and perpetuates itself through the brain and nervous system becoming sensitized to certain triggers resulting in a variety of symptoms, which themselves become triggers for symptoms, resulting in a self-reinforcing feedback loop.[4] Brain training proposes that the way beyond this ANS dysfunction involves "rewiring" the nervous system through breathing exercises, interrupting thought patterns, and gaining new perspectives on physical or emotional responses.
To date there is very limited empirical research on brain training and ME/CFS. Published research on the effects on ME/CFS is limited to a clinical audit Gupta conducted of the effect of his amygdala retraining techniques for 33 of his patients.[5] He found that over the course of a year, 93% of the 27 who completed the program reported their functioning improved, with 67% reporting significant improvement (regaining at least 80% of their pre-illness functioning). However this study included no randomization, control group, controlling for other treatments, or blinding to prevent researcher and sample bias.[5]
Learn more[edit | edit source]
- André, Christophe. "Proper Breathing Brings Better Health" Scientific American, January 15, 2019
- McCraty, Rollin and Maria A. Zayas. "Cardiac coherence, self-regulation, autonomic stability, and psychosocial well-being" Frontiers in Psychology, September 29, 2014
- Tiller, William (Stanford University), et al. "Cardiac Coherence: A New Non-Invasive Measure of Autonomic Nervous System Order" Alternative Therapies, January 1996
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "The Gupta Program". guptaprogram.com. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- ↑ "Author of CFS Unravelled that recovered from CFS". CFS Unravelled. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- ↑ "re-origin". re-origin.com. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ↑ Gupta, Ashok (2002). "Unconscious amygdalar fear conditioning in a subset ofchronic fatigue syndrome patients" (PDF). Medical Hypotheses. 59 (6): 727–735.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gupta, Ashok (September 2010). "Can amygdala retraining techniques improve the wellbeing of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome" (PDF). Journal of holistic healthcare. 7 (2): 12–15.
