Non-Prescription Help With Adult ADHD

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Although many associate ADHD or ADD diagnosis with children, the syndrome is not age specific. Since ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is the syndrome recognized by the American Medical Association, it is the term we reference here at INDY Neurofeedback.

How do you know if you have ADHD? In 2013, the FDA approved brainwave testing to diagnose ADHD by measuring brainwave patterns.  Christy Foreman, a director at the FDA, said in a statement that the protocol would help health care providers more accurately determine whether ADHD was the cause of a particular behavioral problem.

In addition to identifying ADHD, brain wave testing also provides the basis for neurofeedback training which can be used to help alleviate many of the symptoms associated with ADHD.  In October of 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report that is intended to serve as a guide for medical doctors in choosing appropriate treatment interventions for many childhood conditions.  The report lists neurofeedback as a Level One, Best Support Treatment for ADHD – as effective as medication but without dangerous side effects.

The following are common symptoms medical practitioners recognize as frequently occurring in adults with ADHD:

  • Impulsiveness
  • Disorganization and problems prioritizing
  • Poor time management skills
  • Problems focusing on a single task
  • Excessive activity or restlessness
  • Low frustration tolerance.

“If you have been diagnosed with ADHD, there are ways to help with your symptoms safely – over and above taking prescribed medications (which come with their own drawbacks),” says Leanne O’Neil, owner of INDY Neurofeedback.

“At INDY Neurofeedback, we can work with you to retrain your adult ADHD brain using neurofeedback techniques.”

Beginning with a consultation and a self-administered questionnaire, we’re happy to talk with you about your symptoms. If you wish, we can move forward with an initial QEEG brain mapping appointment to help you better understand what parts of your brain are most affected. (LINK to FEB BLOG #25, “My experience with brain mapping at INDY Neurofeedback”)

Next, we can set up a series of guided EEG biofeedback (a/k/a neurofeedback) with a trained professional to address your specific issues. The sessions are fascinating!

What else can you do to help address adult ADHD symptoms? Here are a few helpful recommendations:

  • Exercise regularly. And if you don’t exercise much, you aren’t doing your brain any favors. Physical activity can improve your memory as well as help you make decisions and pay attention.
  • Make healthy eating choices: Restaurant food and fast food is packed with calories, sugar, salt, and fat, and low on fruits and veggies. Limit junk food. Eat at home and plan your diet around healthy choices.
  • Get more sleep. Lack of sleep and ADHD often go hand in hand. Lack of sleep doesn’t just make you tired, it can also worsen symptoms such as lack of focus and problems with motor skills. Anxiety, depression, and stimulant medications can be to blame. Be frank with your doctor about your symptoms and quality of sleep.
  • Get a good diagnosis. If you have been diagnosed with ADHD, consider a QEEG brain mapping to fully understand the dysregulation.

Know that:

  • ADHD meds don’t always work well if you have substance abuse problems.
  • Drugs for major depression can make ADHD worse.
  • Some ADHD medications can make anxiety worse.
  • Don’t skip breakfast. Your first morning meal can help keep you focused longer as the day progresses. Choose healthy proteins.
  • Get rid of clutter. Messy homes and offices can make ADHD symptoms worse. Clearing the clutter can make you more productive and reduce stress.
  • Reduce screen time. Doctors have found numerous links between ADHD and over dependence on cell phones, screen time (including games) and Internet use. Stay on top of your screen habits – especially just before bed.

At INDY Neurofeedback, we can help with ADHD symptoms. Ask for a consultation to find out how we can help you.

Brain Mapping Can Identify ADHD

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In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first objective brain wave test to help properly diagnose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (commonly referred to as ADHD). Christy Foreman, a director at the FDA, said in a statement that the testing would help healthcare providers more accurately determine whether ADHD was the cause of a particular behavioral problem. Since that time, neurofeedback therapy, using brain wave mapping technology, has helped healthcare providers and parents get an accurate determination of whether ADHD is the cause of a child’s struggles and provided therapy for a true health solution.

In fact, in 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report as a guide for medical doctors in choosing appropriate treatment interventions for many childhood conditions.  The report listed neurofeedback as a Level One, Best Support Treatment for ADHD – as effective as medication but without dangerous side effects.

This is great news for parents who don’t wish to medicate their children, as their young brains are still rapidly developing. Another thing to consider is that every medication comes with side effects, and every child processes medication differently.

“In fact, states Leanne O’Neil, owner of INDY Neurofeedback, “The  techniques used by INDY Neurofeedback have been used by many healthcare providers all over the world for the past 35+ years. In addition to identifying the brain wave patterns associated with ADHD, the testing also provides the basis for neurofeedback training.”

INDY Neurofeedback has helped children and adolescents overcome many of the symptoms associated with brain wave imbalance. The non-invasive brain mapping identifies unbalanced brain wave patterns that may be related to focus and attention issues. The results of this mapping are used to design a program to teach children how to better regulate their brain wave patterns.

Leanne O’Neil says, “We find that when a child (or adult) learns how to self-regulate brain imbalances, many behavioral issues improve. Students become calmer in class, more focused, and better able to concentrate. Confidence improves. Grades often go up. Behavior outside of school usually improves, too.”

Neurofeedback has been shown to help numerous other conditions in addition to ADHD, including: autism, dyslexia, insomnia, anxiety, chronic pain, headaches, memory loss, stress disorders, and post-concussion syndrome.

If you have a question about how neurofeedback can help you or your child, please call us at 317-888-8500, or email us at office@indyneurofeedback.com.

Neurons, The Amazing Building Blocks Of Our Brains

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“The human brain is nothing short of amazing,” says Leanne O’Neil, owner of INDY Neurofeedback. “From speaking, pattern recognition, reading, thinking ahead, and memorizing – to breathing, walking, digesting, and organ function — all begin with the fundamental unit of the brain, the nerve cell or neuron. It really is fascinating.”

brain mapping and neuronsThe human brain contains an estimated 90 billion neurons, each one a different size and shape. Interestingly, just one neuron can reach from one side of the brain to the other. But no matter the length or shape, each neuron links to hundreds upon hundreds of others in an amazingly complicated network.

Some of these chains of neurons send information to the brain from the body’s extremities, registering foot placement while walking or balance while climbing stairs, for instance. Others send information from the brain to the body, signaling the need to sleep, the sense of being full, or sending a complicated series of exercise instructions to the appropriate muscles of the body. Still other neuron chains share data among themselves to construct subconscious or conscious thoughts, store memories, and acknowledge emotions.

“Even the network of neurons in and of itself forges trillions of connections throughout the brain and body,” adds O’Neil. “That makes the human brain – as far as we know — the most complicated organ on the earth.”

Scientists hope to be able to map out the entire brain with all its connections. This knowledge will help us to more completely understand the distinct areas of the brain containing cells with similar structure, function and connectivity, and how and why they are connected to other areas.

We are well underway in this brain mapping process. Neuroscientists have already charted an equivalent map of the brain’s outermost layer, called the cerebral cortex. They have been able to subdivide each hemisphere’s folds into 180 separate parcels. Some ninety-seven of these areas have never previously been described, despite showing clear differences in structure, function and connectivity from their neuron neighbors.

“The brain mapping we do at INDY Neurofeedback is different, but just as fascinating,” says O’Neil. “It relies on information from a Quantitative EEG. Our software performs thousands of statistical calculations correlating the functions of brain location with the functions of each dimension of each component band. The software then takes these calculations and correlates them with the 50k normal and abnormal brain maps in the database. The items chosen for analysis are derived from functional MRI research and traditional neurological texts. It is amazing how much we can know about areas of the brain.”

If you have a question or a concern about brain function, let’s talk, neurons to neurons!

New Study Shows How Neurofeedback May Help Brains Self-Regulate

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Cognitive behavioral therapy, commonly known as CBT, can help people better control their emotions by teaching them new ways of thinking. A recent study suggests this approach could be strengthened by using neurofeedback.

“To understand this study, you first need to understand how the brain works,” says Leanne O’Neil of INDY Neurofeedback. “The healthy regulation of our emotions involves our prefrontal cortex, responsible for the regulation of activity in many other areas of the brain, including the amygdala. The amygdala is an almond-shaped cluster of neurons located on each side of the brain, and is involved in memory processing, decision-making and emotional responses.”

“Problems like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety and panic disorders – which we see at the INDY Neurofeedback center every week — are associated with heightened amygdala activation. So, targeting this heightened activation area of the brain with neurofeedback could be beneficial, according to a group of scientists, who set out to prove their hypothesis.”

Scientists from the US, Germany and Switzerland joined forces recently to investigate whether the response of the amygdala to stress could be increased by providing participants with feedback on their amygdala activity while they tried to regulate their emotions using an fMRI brain scanner.

How the study worked

  • In the study,15 participants with good mental health were placed in a neurofeedback group while 11 others were placed in a control group. All participants underwent four weekly real-time fMRI emotional training sessions that involved looking at a sequence of negative emotional images (to provoke amygdala activation) and asked them to try to regulate their emotional reaction using a reality check
  • The reality check strategy involved using phrases such as “these are only pictures” and “I am participating in an experiment” (a form of cognitive reappraisal).
  • Only participants in the feedback group received visual feedback on their amygdala activity while they looked at the pictures and attempted to regulate their emotions.
  • Participants in the feedback group were also provided with visual feedback in the form of changing colored squares that corresponded with their amygdala activation. In the control group, these color squares changed randomly and the control participants were told they were meaningless.

What the study showed

  • By the fourth week, when participants performed the reality check, the feedback group showed significantly decreased amygdala activation as compared to the first week.
  • Interestingly, no such decrease of amygdala activity was observed in the control group even though they used the same reality check exercises.
  • The feedback group also exhibited better task-related communication between the amygdala and other brain areas involved in emotional control.

In short, although the sample sizes were small, this study strongly suggests that amygdala regulation can be trained and regulated. It also supports existing research showing promise for the application of neurofeedback in the treatment of problems like PTSD, anxiety, addiction, and depression that are associated with heightened amygdala activation.

Leanne O’Neil and her INDY Neurofeedback center team work with many clients suffering from anxiety disorders. If you would like to see if we can help you, give us a call to set up a free consultation.

You Really Aren’t Losing Neurons As You Age

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You may be chalking up those small moments of occasional forgetfulness to getting older. That’s because for years we’ve been hearing that the older we get, the more brain cells or neurons, we lose.

But according to Christopher Jarrett, author of Great Myths of the Brain (2014), that is a common myth and just not true. Jarrett points to mid-twentieth century studies, which suggested that adults lose approximately one percent of their brain cells every year throughout adulthood. Alarmingly, this meant that older adults would lose between 35% and 55% of their total brain neurons depending on how long they lived.

More thorough recent studies, however, found that many early theories about the brain came from animal studies and ‘best guess’ theories. Now that we can actually see into the brain with 3-D imaging and other techniques, research is much more accurate.

We now know that while aging brains do get a little smaller, they retain most of their neurons, which just become more densely packed, according to Jarrett.

Here’s what is true about aging and your brain:

  • Ageing naturally leads to the attrition of between 2% and 4% of the 100 billion neurons each of us has.
  • Any memory decline (or other natural – rather than injury-based –aging mental disability) appears to be related to just where those few lost neurons were located.
  • It is the density of neurons in your brain that matters.

“That’s why everything you do to keep your brain challenged, nourished, exercised and rested is so important,” says Leanne O’Neil of INDY Neurofeedback. “Taking excellent care of your brain will increase your brain density, which will help ensure that your brain and memory will keep working well for you right into your 80s, 90s and beyond.”

INDY Neurofeedback can help keep your brain in optimal working order with peak performance training. We can assess your current brain functioning with a non-invasive brain mapping and provide neurofeedback to support your specific needs. We also provide Cognitive Performance Testing that you perform in the privacy of your home at the times that best suit you. We look forward to working with you at our neurofeedback center.

Neurofeedback Can Help Those On The Autism Spectrum

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child playing alone, austism speaksAutism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that seems to be on the increase. In 2018, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) occurs in approximately one in every 59 children, with boys four times more likely to be diagnosed than girls.

ASD actually represents a group of disorders, including Autism, PDD-nos, Rett’s Disorder, Child Disintegrative Disorder, and Asperger’s Disorder.

Reliable diagnosis can occur as early as two years, but many children are still being diagnosed after age four. A child is diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum when s/he exhibits:

  • lack of appropriate eye contact
  • lack of appropriate facial expression
  • poor social interaction and/or communication, and
  • restricted, often repetitive behavior.

“Research has shown that related symptoms of ASD are the result of brain dysfunction in several regions of the brain,” says INDY Neurofeedback owner Leanne O’Neil. “Through the use of EEGs and functional neuroimaging, studies have shown ASD to be linked to abnormal neural connectivity problems.”

ASD brains display areas of excessively high connectivity in some regions of the brain, and deficient connectivity in others. In other words, some areas of the brain are chatting excessively with themselves, while simultaneously failing to communicate normally with other relevant regions.

Studies have shown that Neurofeedback is capable of remediating brain connectivity disturbances as a part of ASD treatment planning. Hyper-connectivity seen in clients with ASD can be also be remedied with coherence training and other Neurofeedback approaches. Connectivity-guided Neurofeedback is capable of significantly remedying these anomalies and reducing the severity of autistic symptoms. This evidence raises the hopes for a behavioral, psychophysiological intervention to moderate the severity of ASD.

If you have a child on the Autism Spectrum and would like to come in for a consultation, we at INDY Neurofeedback would be happy to meet with you and talk about what we can do to help.

8 Ways to Lower Your Dementia Risk

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No one wants to suffer with dementia in old age — or for that matter, at any age. Are there steps one can take to minimize the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease?

Leanne O’Neil of INDY Neurofeedback says, “The short answer is yes, researchers believe so. But more studies are needed to uncover what causes dementia in some people and not in others. It helps to understand the complicated nature of the development of dementia. In the majority of cases, dementia and Alzheimer’s, like other relatively common chronic conditions, develop as a result of complex interactions between heredity, physical health and the environment in which you live.”

Researchers have been trying to parse out which of the interactions including age, genetics (heredity), environment, lifestyle, and any and all coexisting medical conditions, might be the most important.

Researchers note that some risk factors, such as age and DNA, cannot be changed, but other risk factors most certainly can be minimized. This is especially true when you consider unhealthy habits such as smoking or heavy drinking, which can be curtailed or stopped. Another lifestyle change to reduce dementia risk is exercise. Lack of exercise spells trouble, both in the physical body (atrophy of muscles) and the mind (exercising the body also benefits the brain). Ongoing research in multiple areas may lead to new ways to detect those at highest risk.

Ongoing research in multiple areas may lead to new ways to detect those at highest risk. Meanwhile, here’s what we know that you can do to help mitigate your risk of developing dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease:

  • Do not use anticholinergic drugs (Here is a LINK to the November 6, 2018 blog that addresses this issue.)
  • Don’t smoke (or if you do, quit as soon as possible).
  • Keep active and exercise regularly. Even walking counts.
  • Maintain a healthy weight. If you are overweight, begin to make changes to your diet and exercise regimen to lose weight gradually and permanently.
  • Eat a healthy, balanced diet full of fruits and vegetables.
  • Drink very moderately, if at all.
  • Keep cholesterol and blood pressure at a healthy level.
  • Keep regular social connections and interactions strong.
  • Learn something new every day. Travel. Try new foods. Take up a new hobby or activity. Intellectual activity is very important.

Although we are a long way from knowing everything about why some of get dementia and others do not, we are learning more and more all the time.

Take charge of your health! Make the changes noted above now to stay ahead of deteriorating brain health – and be as healthy as possible as you age. 

My experience with brain mapping at INDY Neurofeedback

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What’s it feel like, exactly, to have your brain mapped at INDY Neurofeedback? I decided I wanted to find out for myself. (Full disclosure, as a blogger for INDY Neurofeedback, I wanted insight into what I was going to be writing about.)

A couple of weeks before my QEEG brain mapping appointment, INDY Neurofeedback sent me an email including several questionnaires. I was asked to complete a Profile, History and Metabolic sections, including questions pertaining to age, general health and wellbeing, smoker or non-smoker, drinker or abstainer, medications taken, that sort of thing.

I was also asked what in particular I wanted to understand about my brain — such as brain clarity, headaches, ruminating, memory, mood swings, poor concentration, anxiety, and/or organizational thinking. Had I been in any car accidents? Had any concussions? Taken any falls involving my head as an adult, or even as a child?

Since most of my prior trips to a health professional have not involved a lot of questions about brain wellbeing, it was interesting to – no pun intended – wrap my head around this. What, if anything, was I concerned about my brain health? What self-behaviors did I wonder about? What answers about how I think, react, emote, remember, and/or obsess about might I be looking for? Talk about being circumspect! I took my time with my answers (about 30-40 minutes), and sent back the questionnaires.

When I went to meet Leanne O’Neil over a week later, I wore comfortable clothes, and arrived very curious. Here’s what I learned right off the bat:

  • I needn’t have worried about fixing my hair for our meeting. Something akin to a bathing cap was comfortably placed over my head, rendering useless any styling techniques I might have employed.
  • Next, Leanne put a small dab of clear goo on several places on my head, and then attached several flexible wires to the cap. No wires stuck into me. Nothing itched. It was all very comfortable.
  • I sat in a softly lit room on a comfortable chair, facing forward. Leanne sat to my left, looking down at her computer monitor. She had placed a square sheet of paper with a black circle in the middle on a shelf a few feet away from me. She asked me to stare at the circle, blinking as little as possible, as she ascertained where various activity centers of my brain were.
  • She moved a few wires. I repeated the circle stare several times. I began to get better at not blinking.
  • Most frequently asked new client question: “Can you see what I’m thinking?” Answer: No. The scanner only reads brain region activity, nothing more.
  • “Can you feel or sense the scan?” Another no. I heard Leanne typing up the numbers she saw on her screen. I neither heard nor felt anything else.
  • “Is it like a lie detector? Will I be asked any compromising questions?” Not at all. The process is very quiet. Just a few instructions about relaxing and eye blinking as Leanne maps the areas of your brain.

The full mapping process took about an hour, plus another 30 minutes or so back in Leanne’s office to talk about the results. (Plus about 10 minutes between those time allotments to wipe a little goo from your scalp and fluff up your hair.)

Back in Leanne’s office, I sat across from her. She had about six pages of printed out results, including several easy to understand bar graphs and pictures showing the primary areas of my brain, and what each area was responsible for.

Leanne began the discussion with something like, “Here are your brain mapping results. Most likely, you already know most of what these results substantiate. There really shouldn’t be any surprises here. This just gives you concrete terms with which to understand what you are already aware of.”

I saw how each area of my brain was performing, taking clues from the graphs and print outs in front of me. Some areas were underperforming (dysregulated brainwave patterns) and others were more regulated. Since I am a question-asker, I asked quite a few. But someone else could have quietly listened, and taken it all in without a discussion, and that would have been fine, too.

I left Leanne’s office with my paperwork, knowing my results were confidential. INDY Neurofeedback follows all HIPAA regulations.

What might the next steps be? Well, the baseline scan numbers were right in my hands. If I wanted to strengthen or re-train any dysregulated areas of my brain, I could set up a series of sessions called biofeedback or neurofeedback. With the help of a brain scan and working with a trained professional, I would be able to help whatever areas of my brain I chose, such as strengthening memory, or re-directing pain signals, or helping regions affected by stroke or injury. The list is virtually endless, and it is guided by the patient herself. I would be able to see the results of any improvement I made with my next scan.

I have to say, I left fascinated. And intrigued to learn more.

If this sounds interesting to you for yourself or on behalf of a family member, it’s very easy to contact Leanne O’Neil with your questions or concerns. (P.S. She is real easy to talk to.)

New studies show Neurofeedback can reduce pain and increase quality of life for cancer patients

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A new study from the renowned University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center researching neuropathic pain found that cancer patients using neurofeedback experienced less chronic pain and an increase in the quality of life. The 71-person study was designed by the department of Palliative, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine.

The research began by isolating the location of brain activity responsible for the physical and emotional aspects of the patients’ chronic pain. Pain centers were identified through the use of electroencephalogram (EEG) tracking (attaching small metal discs with thin wires on the scalp).

Many hospitals report that Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) is a very common side effect in cancer patients, affecting 71 to 96 percent of patients after a month of chemotherapy. Peripheral neuropathy is felt in patients as pain, burning, tingling and loss of feeling caused by damage to nerves that control the sensations and movements of arms and legs.

As EEG sensors track and records brain wave patterns, the sensors send signals to a computer to record the results. A computer screen allowed cancer patients to modify their own brain activity through the (EEG) biofeedback/neurofeedback.

MD Anderson study participants completed initial assessments that determined the brain activity related to their pain, the amount of pain perceived, and their quality of life. After neurofeedback therapy was completed the participants repeated the EEG and assessments to determine changes in pain perception, cancer related symptoms, and general quality of life. After neurofeedback therapy, 73 percent of patients reported improvement in pain, less numbness, and reduced how much pain interfered with daily activities.  

Through the use of neurofeedback, cancer patients were able to retrain their brains to form new connections and change existing (painful) nerve routes.

Since there is only one medication approved to treat CIPN, which has some negative side effects and is quite expensive, doctors at MD Anderson were very encouraged to see significant improvements in multiple patients’ quality of life after utilizing neurofeedback therapy  –especially since there were no side effects.

“Even better,” says Leanne O’Neil of INDY Neurofeedback, “neurofeedback is customized to the individual and is relatively inexpensive. It not only works for those in pain, it also works for those seeking to retrain their brains to promote better health habits. Neurofeedback is a wonderful non-invasive, non-addictive tool to address all kinds of pain, discomfort and suffering.”

Screen Time and Your Child’s Brain

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The medical community has known for the past 30 years that spending large amounts of time in front of a TV or computer screen had a negative effect on a child’s developing brain – but specifically what parts of brain development were affected and for how long, have not been well researched or understood.

Thanks to new longer-term research studies, we now have more comprehensive, useable data. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently reported in JAMA Pediatrics that an increase in screen viewing time is linked to poorer progress on key young childhood developmental measures over time, including communication and language skills, memory, attention span, problem solving, and social skills.

This pronouncement is the result of a far-reaching psychological study from the University of Calgary in Canada, where 2,441 mothers and children aged two to five were studied over the course of three years. Initial baseline data were collected at the start of the study, when the children were two years old, then again when they were three and five.

By following the children over many years, the University of Calgary study learned more about how screen time and early child brain development intersect. Mothers reported on how much time their children spent in front of a television or computer screen on a typical day. They also reported on their child’s developmental measures by answering questions about their child’s behavior, communication skills, and social interactions. The study found that on average, the young children in the study were spending about 2-3 hours per day in front of a screen. (It’s worth noting that The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that young children spend no more than one hour a day watching quality educational programming.)

Children who spent more time using TV or computers did indeed show poorer performance on developmental measures. (Interestingly, the study did not find evidence that the opposite was occurring. In other words, children with developmental issues were not more likely to spend time in front of a screen.)

These measurable links remained strong even after researchers accounted for other factors that can influence development, such as parents’ education, children’s physical activity levels, and whether parents read to their children regularly.

“The study results show that there is a lasting influence of screen time, especially when children are two to five years old, when their brains are undergoing a period of tremendous development,” according to the JAMA Pediatrics article.

“It also strongly supports expert guidelines that recommend limiting screen time for young children,” notes Leanne O’Neil of INDY Neurofeedback. “When the brain is rapidly developing new connections, it learns from every kind of experience it receives. So when watching a screen, the child is missing out on the opportunity for interacting with others and the surrounding environment.”

It is important to note, however, that not all screen time is detrimental to brain development. Families can develop healthy media habits by watching with their children, pointing out and discussing interesting ideas to contribute to language, skills and learning, making the time beneficial.