Brain Based Therapy
Specific treatment techniques that stimulate certain areas of the brain to increase proper function and decrease dysfunction are utilized in Brain Based Therapy.
- Auditory Stimulation utilizes certain frequencies of sound to increase the firing of impulses to the cerebral cortex via the inferior colliculus of the mesencephalon to improve function.
- Visual Stimulation uses many different methods to increase function such as looking at checkerboard patterns, red or green light, faces (familiar or unfamiliar depending upon the condition), eye exercises, mazes/ word searches, and large letters made of small letters.
- Olfactory Stimulation (stimulating smell) through one nostril is used to increase the frequency of firing of impulses to the temporal lobe of the same-side brain.
- Warm Caloric places warm water in the ear to stimulate the cerebellum on the same side via the semicircular canals of the ear and the vestibular nerve.
- Auriculotherapy is a healthcare procedure in which stimulation of the auricle of the external ear is utilized to alleviate health conditions in other parts of the body, like acupuncture, but without the needles.
- Oxygen is fuel for the brain, the brainstem, and especially the cerebellum. Concentrated oxygen increases the vascular supply of the much needed fuel to the brain tissues to increase function.
- Physiotherapy modalities like TENS, Ultrasound, Heat, Intersegmental Traction, Vibration, and Upper Body Ergometer (UBE) all help to stimulate the Intermedial Lateral Spinal Pathway (cuneo-cebellar and spino-cebellar tracts) of the spinal cord to the brain through the cerebellum to increase frequency of firing.
