Neurofeedback, Where Are We and Where Are We Going? Three Critical Issues for Consideration: Perspective from 25 Years of Practice

Biofeedback ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-70
Author(s):  
Mari K. Swingle
Keyword(s):  
Placebo Effect ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Division 2 ◽  
Over Time

For those of you who do not recognize the Swingle name, I am a neuro-brat, generation 2.0. I did not find the field, the field found me, or rather was just there … I grew up with the clicking and flipping of switches and amusing myself soldering in my father's university lab, mostly wire sculptures, bracelets, and such (my mother was an artist, after all), but also the odd connection or two on what were then wall-to-wall computers. Being a neuro-brat also meant I matured professionally in the frenetic energy of innovative minds. It took 25 years or so, and some digressions into other fields, namely, art, fashion, and education, but I was eventually drawn in fully at a Winterbrain conference in the 1990s. These were fascinating years wherein I mostly observed and listened to the great minds that rooted us, great minds that clashed (as titans do) as much as they drove the profession forward. In these cerebral jousting matches, however, I fear many were left behind. Over time I have witnessed fewer and fewer people pick up the excitement of research and exploration and more wanting a road map, finding the paths of their forefathers and foremothers (our pioneers) harder than expected to follow. As this brilliant first generation slowly leaves us to retirement and beyond (the Budzynskis, Tooman, Judith Lubar, Michael Thompson, Stu Donaldson, Larry Klein, Joe Kamiya, and a few more), their legacies should be accessible and foundations strong for us to continue to build upon. It might also be time to put down the swords, to address conflicts that no longer push us forward before we fracture further, not through loss of persons, but loss of standards, knowledge, and skill. To preserve and move neurotherapy forward, three things are critical for our discipline to address: (1) conflict and division, (2) the red herring of the double-blind imperative and its little cousin the placebo effect, and (3) perhaps most important, practice and equipment standards.

Modeling the Evaluation Process in a Public Controversy

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 651-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl-Emanuel Dionne ◽  
Chantale Mailhot ◽  
Ann Langley
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Public Controversy ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Orders Of Worth ◽  
Major Increase ◽  
Over Time

Public controversies have attracted increasing attention in the organization studies literature. They emerge when critical issues are not defined and understood in the same way by different stakeholders, influencing the way they evaluate the worth of other actors, objects, and situations. In this paper, we show how the “orders of worth” perspective of Boltanski and Thévenot may throw light on the evolution of an evaluation process occurring during a public controversy. In particular, we study the Quebec student conflict of 2011 and 2012 that followed a proposed major increase in higher education tuition fees. We conducted an in-depth case study based on media coverage of the actions and discourses of the major actors to examine how objects and actions associated with a controversy are successively defined, redefined, and evaluated over time through a series of tests of worth. Our article contributes to the organizational literature on public controversies by drawing attention to the role of six types of evaluative moves in situations of controversy, and by offering an abductively developed model for understanding the evaluation process as it evolves over time. We suggest that actors, through these evaluative moves, may displace the object of a test, and therefore the foci for evaluation, through actions intended to bolster their positions.

scholarly journals 902. A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of a Single Immunization of Ad26.RSV.preF against RSV Infection in a Viral Challenge Model in Healthy Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S27-S28 ◽  
Author(s):  
John DeVincenzo ◽  
Efi Gymnopoulou ◽  
Els De Paepe ◽  
Bryan Murray ◽  
Arangassery Rosemary Bastian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Severity ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Clinical Strain ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Double Blind Placebo ◽  
Qrt Pcr ◽  
Rsv Infection ◽  
First Time ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Despite the high disease burden of RSV in older adults and children, there is currently no approved vaccine. Ad26.RSV.preF, an experimental RSV vaccine, has demonstrated immunogenicity and tolerability in first-in-human clinical studies. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of the Ad26.RSV.preF vaccine to protect against RSV infection and disease in an established RSV human challenge model, used for the first time to evaluate a vaccine. Methods We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, human challenge study (NCT03334695). Healthy adults received 1 × 1011 vp Ad26.RSV.preF vaccine (active) or placebo (pbo) intramuscularly. After 28 days, volunteers were challenged intranasally with a low-passage clinical strain of RSV-A (0.8 mL of Memphis 37b) and then quarantined for 12 days. Nasal washes were collected twice daily throughout quarantine, starting 2 days post-challenge (viral load [VL] by qRT-PCR and quantitative cultures). Disease severity was recorded thrice daily using symptom diary cards. Results Fifty-three volunteers (active, n = 27; pbo, n = 26) were challenged with RSV-A. Quantitative viral assessments were consistently lower in active than pbo. The primary endpoint of the study was met: the area under the curve (AUC) for RSV VL over time (via qRT-PCR) was significantly lower in active pbo (P = 0.012). Median peak VL was lower for active (0 log10 copies/mL) than pbo (5.4 log10 copies/mL). Median AUC for RSV VL over time (quantitative culture) was lower for active than pbo (0 vs. 109, P = 0.002). Disease severity was lower for active than pbo, with a median AUC total symptom score of 35 (active) vs. 167 (pbo) (P = 0.002). Overall, RSV infection (defined by qRT-PCR alone or combined with symptoms) and disease severity over time were lower in active vs. pbo. Conclusion RSV infections, VL, and RSV disease severity were consistently lower in healthy adults receiving Ad26.RSV.preF vs. placebo, demonstrating promising protection from RSV infection and disease. This was the first time that antiviral prevention was observed against RSV after active immunization. Ad26.RSV.preF warrants further evaluation in field trials for efficacy against natural RSV infections in populations considered at risk of severe RSV disease. Disclosures All Authors: No reported Disclosures.

The sunshine induced placebo effect in major depressive disorder patients exhibits gender differences

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S411-S412
Author(s):  
J. Gailledreau ◽  
B. Gailledreau ◽  
P. Desbonnet ◽  
P. Khalifa Soussan ◽  
N. Desbonnet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Placebo Effect ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Sunny Weather ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Variable Weather

RationaleSunshine increases placebo effect in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients (Gailledreau et al., 2015). Kokras et al. (2014) showed that sunshine induces different responses in female than male mice in preclinical models of depression.ObjectiveTo determine whetehr the sunshine induced placebo effect exhibits gender differences in human.Materiel and methodsData from 9 double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies of antidepressants conducted by the French GICIPI network were reviewed. MADRS (5) or HAM-D 17 (4) were used as the main efficacy tool. For each patient, variation of scores (Delta MADRS/Delta HAM-D) between two consecutive visits were correlated with the average sunshine index observed at noon between these visits. Sunshine indexes were provided by Météo-France. Correlations were computed with Microsoft Excel.ResultsAnalysis of both genders (n = 52) showed no statistically significant (NS) correlation (r2 = 0.0064) between sunshine and score variations. Analysis of males (n = 8) failed to demonstrate any significant correlation in cloudy (< 1000 Joules/cm2), variable (1000–2000 Joules/cm2) or sunny (> 2000 Joules/cm2) weather. Analysis of females (n = 44) showed NS correlation as well for cloudy or variable weather (r2 = 0.0016), but a strong correlation was observed for females exposed to sunny weather: r2 = 0, 315, n = 20, P < 0.01. This correlation was even stronger in the subpopulation of females aged less than 50 years: r2 = 0.6398, n = 12, P < 0.001.DiscussionThe hypothesis underlying this correlation between sunshine index and variations of MADRS/HAMD scales will be discussed.ConclusionSunshine increases placebo effect in female patients aged less than 50. This insufficiently known effect may be responsible for failure of a number of double-blind, randomized, studies of antidepressant compounds.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Bodies in Both Worlds

2018 ◽  
pp. 156-182
Author(s):  
Sarahh E. M. Scher
Keyword(s):  
Visual Communication ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Close Study ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Coastal Peru

The Moche people of northern coastal Peru (c. 100 B.C.E–850 C.E.) left behind a great deal of visual communication in their art, which is unusual in its relative naturalism and realistic portrayal of human and animal figures. Although their stylistic choices appear to allow for a close study of artistic imagery and its relationship to Moche life, the Moche were selective in what they included in their iconography; their art is not a comprehensive catalogue of their culture. Nevertheless, by comparing the results of a iconographic analysis of human costume in Moche ceramics with the work of scholars who have studied Moche supernatural representations in the same medium, it is possible to move toward a deeper understanding of mid- to late Moche culture and status as depicted in their art. By focusing mainly on art produced in the middle to late Moche periods (AD 200–550), this essay provides an inquiry into general ideas in Moche culture about the supernatural, ideas which of course would have varied in their details over time and space.

The Journey

Sweet Greeks ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
Ann Flesor Beck
Keyword(s):  
Women Immigrants ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Cultural Mores ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Greek Immigrants

Chapter 2 recounts the first-generation Greek immigrants’ journey to America. Travel from Greece to America, settlement in urban and rural areas, and adaptation to new social/cultural mores are examined. Women immigrants’ lives and the lives of the women left behind in Greece are highlighted.

Conclusions

2021 ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Nick Williams
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Entrepreneurship Research ◽  
Global Migration ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Over Time

Chapter 9 closes the book with a comparative analysis of the key theoretical frameworks employed in the book in order to illuminate the contribution of returnee entrepreneurs to post-conflict economies. As global migration continues to grow, the role of returnees are becoming an ever more important aspect of entrepreneurship research. The chapter articulates the specific components of isolation and assimilation, detailing that while individuals are returning to complex homelands, their contribution is not currently being maximised. They are not assimilated within the economy, often avoiding policy actions designed to engage with them. This will have a lasting impact on the potential of returnees to contribute to their homeland, especially given that the emotional ties of the first generation are stronger than subsequent generations and thus interest in homeland return may diminish over time.

Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 136-150
Author(s):  
Crawford Gribben
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Mass Culture ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Political Strategies ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Marketplace Of Ideas ◽  
Moral Majority ◽  
Religious Conservatism ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Over Time

Paradoxically, the failure of the first generation of Christian Reconstructionists to cohere, either personally or ideologically, has worked in the movement’s favor, creating an internal marketplace of ideas by means of which competing groupings within political and religious conservatism have been able to appropriate and adopt their central arguments. Recognizing that a “moral majority” does not exist, and therefore abandoning the top-down political strategies of earlier evangelicals, the believers who participate in the migration to the Pacific Northwest work to build communities that will expand organically and over time to renew America and to replace the supposed neutrality of its legislative base. The project is working. But it is not clear whether the integrity of these ideas will continue as their audience base grows. Mass culture routinizes what was once regarded as radical, with effects that may not easily be predicted at the “end of white, Christian America.”

Muslim Origins and Destinations

2019 ◽  
pp. 29-44
Author(s):  
Tahir Abbas
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Global North ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Downward Social Mobility

Patterns of racism in the Global North are correlated with the changing nature of globalization and its impact on individual economies, especially over the last four decades. The ‘left behind’ are groups in society who have faced considerable downward social mobility, with some becoming targeted by the mainstream and fringe right-wing groups who do this to release their pent up frustration towards the center of political and economic power. How this form of racism has evolved over time to focus on race, ethnicity, culture and now religion is explored in relation to the UK case, discussing the rise of Trump and the issue of Brexit as symptoms of a wider malaise affecting societies of the Global North. These forms of tribalism act to galvanize the right, combining racism with white supremacy, xenophobia and isolationism.

scholarly journals Assessing Early Behavioral Indicators of Tolerance in Infants Receiving Formula with Added Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 998-998
Author(s):  
Fabiola Gutierrez-Orozco ◽  
Cheryl Harris ◽  
Jennifer Wampler ◽  
Carol Lynn Berseth
Keyword(s):  
Infant Formula ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Lactobacillus Rhamnosus ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Infantile Colic ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Behavioral Indicators ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the nutritive effects of an infant formula with added LGG on early behavioral indicators of tolerance in infants experiencing crying and fussing often associated with infantile colic. Methods In this single-center, double-blind, controlled, parallel, prospective study, infants (14 to 28 days of age) determined to cry and/or fuss ≥3 hours/day for ≥3 days/week (in a one-week period) were randomized to receive one of two formulas over a 21-day feeding period: marketed partially hydrolyzed (PH) cow's milk-based infant formula (PH: n, 35) or a similar formula with added LGG (PH-LGG: n, 36). Parents/caregivers used a validated parent-report diary to record crying/fussing and awake/content behavior at three time points: Study Days 2–4 (baseline), Days 10–12, and Days 18–20 (Study End). The primary outcome, duration (hours/day) of crying/fussing (averaged over each three-day period), was analyzed by repeated measures, mixed-effects models. Results Birth characteristics (sex, race, weight) and age (days; mean ± SE) at study entry (PH: 19.7 ± 0.8; PH-LGG: 19.3 ± 0.8) were similar for study groups. No group differences in mean study formula intake (g/day) or mean achieved weight (g) at any study time point were detected. Completion rates were similar through Day 21 (PH: n = 33, 94%; PH-LGG: n = 33, 92%). Duration of crying/fussing (mean ± SE) decreased over time with no significant differences detected in the PH vs PH-LGG group at Baseline (4.8 ± 0.3 vs 4.0 ± 0.3; P = 0.086), Days 10–12 (3.5 ± 0.3 vs 2.6 ± 0.3; P = 0.056), and Days 18–20 (2.1 ± 0.3 vs 1.5 ± 0.3; P = 0.227). Duration of awake/content behavior increased over time with no significant differences detected in PH vs PH-LGG: Baseline (1.0 ± 0.5 vs 1.2 ± 0.5; P = 0.786), Days 10–12 (1.3 ± 0.5 vs 1.6 ± 0.5; P = 0.627), and Days 18–20 (2.1 ± 0.5 vs 2.2 ± 0.5; P = 0.884). By Study End, only 8 (24%) in the PH and 9 (27%) in the PH-LGG group continued to cry and/or fuss ≥3 hours/day for ≥3 days/week. Conclusions In the present pilot study, we identified a study population of infants early in life experiencing crying and fussing often associated with infantile colic. Both study formulas were well tolerated. Crying/fussiness decreased and awake/content behavior increased in both study groups over the course of the study. Funding Sources Mead Johnson Nutrition.

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