QEEG-guided neurofeedback effective in treating bedwetting

For children, nighttime bedwetting is a common problem, often requiring intervention. The use of medicine and other treatments has met with limited success. Targeting neuronal activities of the brain through neurofeedback, however, has shown promising results.

The current issue of the journal Biofeedback includes an article on the use of quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG)-guided neurofeedback to treat bedwetting, or enuresis. The author reports 11 successful cases, and no failures, thus far.

A variety of causes contribute to enuresis, including being a deep sleeper, being sensitive to foods, and having a low functional bladder capacity. Only 15 percent of children who wet the bed during the night will overcome the problem without any intervention. When traditional treatments end, bedwetting often recurs.

QEEG-guided neurofeedback exercises areas of the brain, normalizing behaviors through consistent feedback. While little or no activity was seen at the Oz site in the mid-occipital region of the brain among non-enuretic individuals, those with enuresis registered low-frequency activity in this area. Eleven patients received neurofeedback training for five to seven sessions, 20 minutes per session, twice a week.

Bedwetting stopped for all 11 of these neurofeedback patients and has not recurred for at least 12 months. The author surmises that cortical control of emptying the bladder is defective in enuretic individuals. Oz beta training can enhance that control quickly and sustain it over the long term.