“I think the thing I most appreciate about NeurOptimal® is the way it takes advantage of the central nervous system’s quite amazing ability to take in and use information.

NeurOptimal® respects the ability of the individual brain to reorganize itself using the information provided, in the way and at the pace that is right for that person. There is no pushing or pulling of the brain in a direction.” – NeurOptimal Trainer

Your brain is the center of your central nervous system (CNS). It is the locality of a sophisticated command and control center that is controlling ALL the other systems in your body. No matter whether we are talking about physical, emotional or mental systems — your brain is controlling all of these functions. It receives and processes information arising from your body and coming in from the environment and then enables you to process and store information and formulate appropriate responses. Most of this happens without any conscious awareness from your part. What makes all of this possible is an extensive neural network called the central nervous system.

It is estimated that the human brain is formed of 15-33 billion neurons. Each neuron in turn may have as many as 100,000 synaptic connections with other neurons. This is vastly more complex than the entire worldwide internet, and yet all of this exists inside your head! Neurons communicate with each other using electrical signals. These electrical signals can originate within the individual neurons, but they also emerge dynamically from groups of neurons and wider networks. These larger groups pulse at specific frequencies, a bit like a strobe light. These groups then engage in an intricate dance across other groups and larger networks. It is this larger dance that we can measure on the scalp – the electroencephalogram (EEG).

These voltage fluctuations are very small compared to the surrounding electromagnetic fields that include wall current, radio waves, microwaves, X-ray equipment and many other types of electromagnetic activity. Traditionally, these voltage changes on the scalp have been described as “brainwaves” and are represented by squiggly lines on flat pieces of paper. The reality, however, is far more complex and useful than the description as “brainwaves” would imply. In NeurOptimal® this is referred to as Cortical Activity.

“Phenomenal tool to facilitate change. People need to understand it as a catalyst and not as a cure.” – NeurOptimal Trainer

The frequency range of the voltage fluctuations are measured in cycles per second (hertz or Hz). 1 Hz (or 1 times a second) reflects very big and slow activity in the realm of the brain, whereas 40 Hz, for example, is considered relatively small and fast. In the past researchers have grouped some of these frequencies together and given them names (alpha, beta, theta etc) based on the order in which they were discovered. Now given advances in computer technology, and the possibility to obtain very precise digital data compared with that obtained from old analogue, paper-based equipment, the old definitions has become imprecise. At Zengar, the use precise frequency labels such as 3 Hz and 5 Hz has been favored, rather than the general term of Theta, or 14 Hz rather than SMR, but the names do persist. Zengar has tried to bridge what they do with the more linear world in their Cartography of Consciousness, a sort of map which details many of the the frequencies they work with.

Starting at the bottom, the biggest slow waves of 1 Hz and 2 Hz are called Delta waves, and these are dominant in a person who is sleeping. Next come “Theta” waves. Theta has been hotly debated in the field of linear neuro-feedback, where some practitioners would down-train Theta in some circumstances and up-train Theta in other circumstances. At Zengar more precisely two types of Theta have been identified, depending upon the frequencies that are being referring to. “Bad” Theta waves predominantly pulse at 3Hz and 5Hz, which can be observed in people carrying emotional and cognitive reactivity. Old traumas can be reflected there. But “good” Theta waves, or 7 Hz, can bring with them tremendous healing and sometimes insightful realizations. Alpha is 8-13 Hz (these numbers can vary a little depending upon the researcher and the equipment they were using), and is predominant particularly in a relaxed state, with eyes closed. It can be experienced as a feeling of well-being and peacefulness. However, you want these to be reduced when you open your eyes. Because it is different with eyes open and eyes closed, at Zengar this has been called a “swing” frequency, and they have identified 10Hz as the problematic frequency if it is present with eyes open. Sensory Motor Rhythm or SMR is 14 Hz. This is called the “cat frequency”, because cats produce a lot of these while sitting very still with their eyes open. But if something small and furry were to cross in front of them, they would pound on it in a flash. So 14Hz is associated with a state of great physical stillness yet with full awareness of what is going on both in the body and the surrounding world — but without any thoughts about it. 15-18 Hz is commonly called Beta waves and they dominate in a very focused narrow attention on something. Unfortunately they are also present in the stress response! So while they can improve narrow focus and attention, they can be accompanied by some very unpleasant side effects (like feeling anxious, headaches, neck tension etc). Zengar stopped working with Beta waves quite a long time ago, as there are other frequencies to work with that lead to all the focus and attention and other benefits you want but without any of the unpleasant side effects. Working with these requencies higher up in the frequency range is both original and unique to Zengar. You can read about some of them on the Cartography of Consciousness.

In linear neurofeedback, the goal is to increase the amplitude (amount) of a limited set of chosen frequency bandwidths while decreasing others. Sometimes other parameters are chosen (like coherence or ratios), but the point is still the same: Increase some specific range of “brainwaves” while decreasing some other. What gets up- and down-trained depends on the assessment of the practitioner, their diagnosis of what your issues are, and the protocols recommended by the manufacturer. It is a very narrow way of working, basically trying to chip away at an issue by focusing on one or two frequencies at a time. When you work in this way, it is possible that your central nervous system can be badly thrown off by being pushed too much in one direction, or too little into another. this means that a big part of the practitioner’s job is watching for unwanted side-effects. Also the practitioner will ask how you were in the days after the session to determine whether to continue with what they were doing, or to try something different. Zengar’s NeurOptimal® systemdoes not train frequencies up or down — it just provides information to the brain about what it is doing, allowing the brain to make its own decisions as to what to do with the information that is presented. Furthermore, NeurOptimal® works across a very complete range of frequencies, so no matter what your initial ‘state of mind’ is, you “get” everything! It is also a very safe way to train your brain this way because the effects of working with one frequency are naturally balanced by working with its equal and opposite “sister”. So if, for example, there is a relaxing and “letting go” effect by working with one, there is simultaneously an enlivening and focusing effect by working with its companion. Everything balances itself perfectly. And it all happens naturally!

“After searching for a way to help my children, it provided me the opportunity to change the quality of their life. There are no words! Thank you.” – NeurOptimal User

In linear neurofeedback a practitioner works in a limited way by doing only one or two things, so he had better be exactly right in what to do! One protocol may call for up-training Theta and another protocol may call for down-training Theta. Selecting the wrong protocol can be a major problem for a client in terms of side effects. Secondly, a practitioner must be very skilled, carefully observing his choice of protocol for side effects. No single brief training course can provide anyone with the necessary skill to work effectively with protocols. It actually takes a lengthy apprenticeship of about two years to become skilled, and even then the practitioner still largely relies on the client’s side-effects to guide the decision-making. And further to that, one of the big challenges to the field is the fact that changes in amplitude and other linear measures of these “frequency bands” are not well correlated with changes in symptoms! Despite all these problems, such approaches continue to be embraced by traditional neuro-feedback practitioners.

To summarize: when training with NeurOptimal® the brain is given information about the ENTIRE frequency range of activity encoded within the electrical activity of the brain. Moreover, NeurOptimal®, gives information to your brain about what is happening across all of that activity in a simple way, and the brain sorts out the rest for itself. The brain knows exactly what needs to happen and will seamlessly (re-)organize itself. This has been found to be true NO MATTER THE SEVERITY OF THE SYMPTOMS. Truly EVERY brain has its innate intelligence, no matter what state it is in. Once the brain can “see” itself” in the “mirror” provided by NeurOptimal®, it can optimize and re-organize itself. Aided by NeurOptimal®’s unique Dynamical Thresholding® and the progression through its ZenModes, NeurOptimal® offers unprecedented possibilities for safe, NATURAL change, without any unwanted side effects.