Balancing And Nourishing The Brain Helps Resolve Many Health Challenges

Brain imaging is changing the way we understand and treat neurobehavioral disorders, which have exploded in our current generation. At the Brain Health Center of Chicago, we use brain imaging to look beneath the surface of conditions like ADHD and autism. ADHD is diagnosed in a significant portion of school aged children. A research survey of parents shows that approximately 11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have ever been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011. Autism statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identify around 1 in 68 American children as on the autism spectrum. This is a ten-fold increase in prevalence over the last 40 years. Studies also show that autism is four to five times more common among boys than girls. An estimated 1 out of 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States. ASD is estimated to affect more than 2 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide. We are seeing many cases of anxiety and depression in kids as young as 4.
Many of these problems are manageable by balancing the brain and improving nutrition. By finding out what is over-firing and under-firing, we can offer a non-drug option to many of the families dealing with these health challenges. For many years the healthcare establishment had to guess what was happening in the brain of the patient. That no longer is the case. We can now find the cause with a painless 20-minute brain imaging session, officially known as a qEEG or “Q” for short. You can read more on our qEEG brain mapping page.

qEEG or Brain Imaging

Common brain imaging techniques such as MRIs, CAT scans and x-rays are built to measure brain structure. An EEG measures brain activity. An EEG uses surface sensors to detect the brain’s electrical patterns (known as brainwaves). It is these electrical patterns, the brain’s activity, that is important to us. An EEG tells us what your brain is doing, moment to moment.
Getting an EEG is non-invasive and painless. Much like a heart monitor which only records your heart rate, the sensors only record the electrical activity of the brain; it is not invasive in any way. Brain imaging, also called brain mapping, was introduced more than 30 years ago as a means to measure and diagnose brain function. It has become a primary tool in neuroscience. Medical professionals use QEEGs in research centers all over the world to study:

• ADHD.
• Autism Spectrum Disorder.
• Depression.
• Bipolar Disorder.
• PTSD.
• Anxiety Disorders.
• Learning Disabilities.
• and Emotional Conditions of Every Sort.

Once brain imaging reveals what is happening in your brain, we can pair it with neurofeedback therapy at the Brain Health Center of Chicago to help retrain those patterns. To find out how brain imaging can help you or your child, contact us today.