Colton Grubbs

By combining neurofeedbacklab with Unity game engine, I created a 3D neurofeedback application that streams EEG data from a Muse 2 commercial EEG headset and outputs real-time feedback to a 3D application.

The intensity and volume of the fire corresponds to brain oscillations within the theta (3.5-6.5Hz) frequency range at AF7. This frequency range and location was selected based upon findings in the study Closed-Loop Frontal Midlineθ Neurofeedback: A Novel Approach for Training Focused-Attention Meditation – PMC (nih.gov). It is thought that frontal theta oscillations are inversely correlated with default mode network (DMN) activation and that increasing these oscillations may improve focused-attention meditation.

Although a viable proof-of-concept, neurofeedback has a long way to go (in my opinion) before it is ready for widespread adaptation among everyday people. My primary concern about neurofeedback is an overemphasis on select frequencies and less emphasis on the actual task participants engage in during neurofeedback. In the video above, the real-time feedback of the fire may help train frontal theta oscillations and even increase baseline frontal theta activity with practice. However, how this transfers to real-world improvements in cognition and well-being is still a significant point of controversary. The training of focused-attention meditation is promising in that it may improve cognition by orchestrating domain-general cognitive and attentional networks within the brain.

A more practice application of neurofeedback may be facilitating application of emotion regulation strategies. If these strategies can be taught and even improved upon with practice, the use of neurofeedback could help people learn how to better regulate their emotional state, which may have significant real-world consequences in emotional health and well-being.

Special thanks to Arnaud Delorme for development of neurofeedbacklab, and my friend Kevin for helping me develop the Unity application.

Therapeutic Ketamine continues to rise in popularity for treatment of treatment-resistant depression. Recently published articles such as Smiling faces might help the drug ketamine keep depression at bay highlight the importance of environmental intervention following ketamine administration to enhance and/or prolong the antidepressant effects of ketamine.

These articles are based upon a recently published study A Novel, Brief, Fully Automated Intervention to Extend the Antidepressant Effect of a Single Ketamine Infusion: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Reviewing the articles supplementary material covering the intervention used in the study reveals important features, including:

1. Two of the three tasks participants partook in did not involve photos or smiling faces at all. They involved words only.
2. The final task that did involve photos always included a picture of the participant. Specifically, a picture of the participant was displayed momentarily before a picture of a random individual with a positive or neutral face was presented. In some trials, a picture of a random face was even followed by a negative face.

As a student of cognitive psychology, I believe a photo of the participant being presented was an essential ingredient to the study (although I cannot know for certain without conducting a separate experiment). The photo used for each participant was highly controlled for as well, with a specific angle, distance, and all with a neutral expression. Looking at smiling faces alone may provoke an acute positive response, but the long-term effects are likely mediated by associating positive faces with one’s self. In other words, changing beliefs we have about ourselves.

I have developed a website employing similar methodology used in the studies first two tasks. It is a self-association training task that may help you change how you think about your self. It should take no more than ten minutes. It only involves briefly displaying words, no images at all.

Here’s the website: https://cdn.coltongrubbs.com/asat/

No data or results are recorded. The server I host on may save your IP address temporarily, like every other website ever, but I can’t even access it. This is purely to serve as a potentially helpful tool for those looking to extend therapeutic ketamine’s effects.

It’s designed to be as simple as possible and works on desktops and mobile devices (you may need to rotate your device into landscape mode for it to display correctly).