Brain Mapping in Dalls-Fort Worth
Evaluating brain and autonomic nervous system function to optimize diagnosis and treatment.
What is Brain Mapping?
Brain mapping is a visual representation of brain wave patterns, which are made by electrical signals. These patterns are captured during an electroencephalogram (EEG) test, then quantitatively compared to maps of “typical” brains (qEEG) to show any potential deviations that may cause symptoms and inform treatment. Put simply, a brain map is a color-coded picture of your brain at work.
Benefits of Brain Mapping
At Mind + Body Medicine in Dallas-Fort Worth, Dr. Howard Cohen uses brain mapping as a diagnostic tool as well as to monitor the progress and efficacy of certain treatments. Many conditions for which patients turn to a mind/body practitioner like Dr. Cohen for treatment are notoriously difficult to diagnose because they could be attributed to multiple causes or contributing factors. For example, is a patient finding it difficult to maintain focus because he or she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or could a previous brain injury or even a medication be affecting concentration? Once Dr. Cohen knows the true cause of a patient’s symptoms, he can treat them effectively.
Dr. Cohen also uses brain mapping to monitor and optimize certain treatments, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), or to evaluate the progress of treatment. For example, by comparing pre-treatment evaluation of a patient’s autonomic nervous system to brain mapping taken after chronic pain management interventions, Dr. Cohen can gauge the progress and effectiveness of treatment.
In some cases, brain mapping may have medicolegal benefits, such as in helping determine the neuropsychological repercussions of brain injuries or brain diseases arising from stroke, encephalitis, or epilepsy.
Your Brain Mapping Test Session
Before you undergo brain mapping tests at Dr. Cohen’s DFW offices, he will give you clear instructions about fasting and which medications you should or should not take. At the beginning of your session, a cap embedded with electrodes will be placed on your head. And cardiovascular sensors will be applied to your skin. A handheld device will also help Dr. Cohen monitor your brain function.
You’ll be asked to look at a computer screen and you may also be asked to open or close your eyes at certain points of the testing. The way your brain and autonomic nervous system respond to these stimuli will be recorded, and your session will be completed in about an hour. There is no pain involved in brain mapping.
After your session is completed, computer algorithms will be used to render a color-coded representation of your brain, which Dr. Cohen will analyze. Once his analysis is completed, usually in about a week, you’ll return to the office to review the results of your qEEG brain mapping and discuss a proposed treatment plan.
What Conditions Can Brain Mapping Help Treat?
Dr. Cohen has found brain mapping tests to be an immeasurably helpful tool in the evaluation and treatment of a number of conditions, including:
- Chronic pain
- Memory loss
- Difficulty with concentration, focus, or attention
- Depression
- Brain injury
- Brain disease
- Visual and auditory deficits
- Cardiovascular conditions related to the autonomic nervous system
