Several areas of the brain work together in the learning process. These separate parts of the brain communicate with each other at extremely fast speeds. If the timing of the communication is even slightly off, there can be impairment in the ability to learn.
Neurofeedback training can improve the coordination and communication between different areas of the brain. Improved timing in the brain has a significant impact on a person's ability to learn. To use an analogy, even with good timing it is difficult to hit a baseball or volley a serve. Imagine how difficult it would be if your timing was entirely wrong. This is what it’s like to try and learn when the timing of communication in the brain is off. Neurofeedback directly targets the coordination and communication between areas of the brain to improve timing, and therefore learning.
Research shows that neurofeedback training is able to consistently increase focus, concentration, attention span, understanding, and recall of learned information.
With practice and training, the brain learns to make healthier patterns on its own consistently, with better connectivity and timing. The result is an improved ability to learn, which is long-lasting once patterns are established and holding.
Many of the methods used and promoted to help people with learning disabilities are intended to help a person compensate for, or work around, their learning difficulties.
Instead, neurofeedback actually improves learning skills by training the areas of the brain relevant to learning or execution skills such as math, reading, and auditory and visual processing.
Neurofeedback is increasingly being used to treat learning disabilities because it is:
- effective
- non-invasive
- painless
- has no undesirable side effects