Cynthia Kerson: Connectivity Findings in ADHD Cohort

This is lecture 4 in a series that is co-sponsored by Sadar Psychological and Applied Psychology Education. Join 1 talk for $95 or the full series for $695. For $50, 10 CES are available for those who attend all talks.

Cynthia Kerson, 2(PhD), QEEGD, BCN, BCB, BCB-HRV is currently the founder and Director of Education for APEd (Applied Psychophysiology Education) and associate professor at Saybrook University, Dept. of Applied Psychophysiology. She is BCIA certified in Biofeedback, Neurofeedback, and Heart Rate Variability ,holds certification as a diplomate in QEEG, and mentors applicants for all certifications.
Her role with APEd is to develop and teach introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in the specialized areas of brain training and EEG analysis. She teaches the EEG Biofeedback, QEEG, Advanced Neurofeedback, HRV, and Neuropsychophysiology courses at Saybrook as well as supports dissertations in applied neuromodulation and assessment. Her research interests are in neuromodulation and uses of applied psychophysiology for ADHD, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. As well as training and mentoring certificants from throughout  the US, she has ushered the first certificants from Hong Kong, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, and Indonesia, making these certifications truly global.
Dr. Kerson is an awardee and co-investigator of the NIMH grant for the 5-year ICAN study, which has looked at neurofeedback for ADHD and is currently publishing on its findings. Dr. Kerson has published many articles and chapters on biofeedback and neurofeedback and is the co-editor of Alpha-Theta Neurofeedback in the 21st Century and Joe Kamiya: Thinking Inside the Box. Cynthia is the vice president of the Board of Directors for the Behavioral Medicine Research and Teaching Foundation (BMRTF) and has served on the Board of AAPB, as executive director and vice president of FNNR (Foundation for Neurofeedback and Neuromodulation Research), twice as president of the AAPB Neurofeedback Section and is two times past president of the Biofeedback Society of California. She is an advisor for the QEEG Certification Board.

Connectivity Findings in ADHD Cohort
This presentation will focus on the EEG connectivity findings of the ICAN study’s cohort of 120 ADHD children, who underwent theta-beta ratio training. Using swLORETA analyses, looking at Brodmann area and network connections, the data was compared to the NeuroGuide age-matched normative database. Additionally, pre and post analyses were done and using machine learning, we discovered EEG features that were strong predictors of improvement in the subjects.
Obj 1: Explain the difficulties associated with designing sham conditions in the ICAN study.
Obj 2: Describe 2 associations between specific Brodmann areas and the relevance to ADHD in children.
Obj 3: Describe how theta-beta ratio neurofeedback affected the connectivity metrics of the ADHD cohort