Alcoholism

The breakthrough study on the application of Neurofeedback / EEG Biofeedback to alcoholism was performed by Eugene Peniston, psychologist on the staff at Fort Lyons Veterans Administration Hospital in Colorado. The treatment outcome for alcohol addiction treatment for Viet Nam veteran pilots was abysmal at the time. Peniston had personally experienced biofeedback and Neurofeedback at the Menninger Clinic where an early research group in EEG biofeedback was continuing its work. The group was aware of the benefits of EEG biofeedback for alcoholism, but that was not their real interest.

Peniston took the method back with him to Fort Lyons where he undertook a controlled study. The results were striking. Every veteran who did the Neurofeedback (ten out of ten) was no longer abusing alcohol after the training, whereas everyone in the control group, which received the regular in-patient treatment, continued the pattern of addiction after release. The contrast could not have been more dramatic.

These results were then replicated by others, including our own research group (see Addictions, above). The result is that we now have a technique for the remediation of alcohol dependency that has high predictability. The problem with the acceptance of these results is that they are seem too good to be true, given the dreadful outcome record of traditional addictions treatment. That is in fact the key problem with a lot of claims around Neurofeedback. They sound too good to be true, so the information is simply not processed by people steeped in mainstream thinking.

Other Resources:

Subtstance Abuse and Addictions Research