Tampa Bay Online had a great and detailed look at brain fitness games across all age groups today.

The nice thing about the article is that it talks about what is "marketing hooey" as well as what has been proven to work; we at Somatic Vision are very committed to the success of our games, and the article very much reflected our point of view. Some important excerpts:

• "It's similar to going to a health club and deciding you want to work on your biceps or your abdomen," says Alvaro Fernandez, a neuroscientist and co-founder of SharpBrains, an independent science-based clearinghouse that evaluates brain fitness games.

• "It's similar to going to a health club and deciding you want to work on your biceps or your abdomen," says Alvaro Fernandez, a neuroscientist and co-founder of SharpBrains, an independent science-based clearinghouse that evaluates brain fitness games.

• Brain fitness requires more than memory games and mental stimulation. It also involves nutrition, physical fitness and stress management, Fernandez says. Studies also have shown that socialization is important.

• Working adults — Stress management is critical at this busy time of life, but it's an oft-neglected area of brain fitness. Fernandez says the best exercises blend mental challenges with meditation and other calming practices. Even better are ones that offer biofeedback, immediate reads on body functions such as blood pressure and heart rate, so the user can adapt and improve. Finger sensors you wear while playing the game actually help you learn how to relax. Women, in particular, will respond to these stress-busting games, Fernandez says.

• Older adults — Teaching an old dog new tricks is critical for older adults who want to get their brains moving, Fernandez says. Computer games are a good choice because older adults aren't as familiar or adept with them as say, crossword puzzles.

• BE A SHREWD SHOPPER. People looking to select a book or interactive game aimed at brain fitness should ask: Is the program based on published scientific evidence you can read for yourself? Does it claim to provide specific benefits, and if so, what skill or part of the brain is being exercised? Are you learning something new? Are you challenged, or just being entertained? Does this fit your personal goals and commitment?

A new study from Canada again finds a link between anxiety and physical pain/illness, the link that biofeedback products like Alive and Dual Drive seek to address:

Canadian researchers believe teenage anxiety can lead to physical and mental health issues.

Researchers from the Université de Montréal, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and McGill University found that insecure adolescents experience more intense pain in the form of frequent headaches, abdominal pain and joint pain.

Moreover, these teens were more likely to be depressed than peers with secure attachments.

Comments from Dr. John Grohol over at Psych Central:

We often try and highlight the connections between one’s mental health and their physical health complaints, to demonstrate that the two are inseparable. Yet another study has been published to show how our insecurity can even impact something as physical as the feeling of pain.

We've been working very hard on bringing Alive through development and into beta, pre-release, and now...the Introductory Version we are now offering at a great price.

What are the benefits of being an early purchaser of Alive?

Getting to start using it now! Without risk. We are working to incorporate auto-update features into Alive, and you will benefit from ongoing enhancements and improvements as we continue to bring this powerful software forward — at no extra cost.

In the works are new environments as well as a host of new Audio Workshops that make it easy to learn to relax in a traditional workshop sense...Close your eyes and follow the step-by-step instructions delivered by your own therapeutic session leader. You'll learn to breathe, use progressive muscle relaxation, and other techniques to build your ability to consciously relax and control your physical response to stressors.

The benefits of getting started with Alive before these features are fully incorporated are many, and you'll be the first to get the free updates as they become available.

Anyone attending the International Peak Performance Symposium on November 16th in Milan? If so, drop us a note about anything that was particularly interesting to you. The conference will focus on modern approaches of neurofeedback and biofeedback with leading international experts in the field — we wish we were able to attend to exchange ideas!

Somatic Vision spends a lot of time testing its products with consumers, and incorporating user feedback. We'd love to hear what you have to say, and we encourage you to connect with other users online. Here are two great ways:

1. The Somatic Vision Forum. Just click the link at the top of this page under the search bar, or click here, and you're on the discussion board, able to participate in all kinds of discussions surrounding biofeedback, stress reduction, health games, and much more.
2. Facebook. Yes, we have a page! Become a fan and begin to connect in a fun way with others who share your interests.

Meet the Rationalizer, an emotion-sensing system targeted at stress-prone home investors who trade heavily online. Developed as a concept by Philips Electronics, It acts as an 'emotion mirror' in which the intensity of the user’s feelings is reflected.

Research shows that home investors do not act purely rationally: their behavior is influenced by emotions, most notably fear and greed, which can compromise their ability to take an objective, factual stance. This insight led to the Rationalizer concept in which online traders are alerted when it may be wise to take a time-out, wind down and re-consider their actions.

It's generating a lot of commentary (some which pokes fun!) at places like Engadget and while its market seems almost impossibly narrow, I have no doubt the Rationalizer might be a good idea for helping people keep their cool under stress while they worry though the consequences of each fast-moving trade. The real-time skin-sweat measurement the Rationalizer takes is one of the measurement inputs used by Somatic Vision in its products, and this particular measurement reflects the stimulation vs. relaxation biological range. You can watch some videos of the Rationalizer at Engadget.

According to Dr. Joshua Wootton, a psychologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (a Harvard teaching hospital), a 22-year-old psychology student named Jennifer tried a variety of medications and trigger-point nerve block injections to treat the migraines she had suffered since she was 10, though none of these approaches really worked. Then she found out about biofeedback and meditation.

Read her inspiring story, in which she finds biofeedback training and meditation "completely zap the pain."

Wootten explains his process of using biofeedback to treat migraine pain:

“People can actually see on a computer screen what is happening in real time,” he says. “By increasing their awareness of how their bodies respond, patients can more easily devise strategies for improved response. For headache pain, we focus on musculoskeletal tension and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. Patients can see that by just being in pain they are raising their adrenaline levels and putting further strain on the system, exacerbating their pain and making it less treatable. I teach them an easy form [of relaxation] and ask them to practice it twice a day for 15 minutes each time.”

Jennifer's story is not unique: Behind Somatic Vision games and software tools, such as Alive, is Yuval Oded, a clinical psychophysiologist with long experience in the field treating many like Jennifer. Like Dr. Wootten, Oded combines biofeedback with cognitive behavioral therapy in his practice. Somatic Vision has crafted its Alive Workshops around his work and its results, and has included many of Oded's proven off-screen techniques in the Alive User Guide and in the Alive & Beyond 8-Week Program.

The Somatic Vision games you know about are used by home users interested in using heart rate and skin sweat feedback for stress reduction and peak performance.

Did you know that modified versions of these same games are used clinically to treat brain-related conditions using brainwave biofeedback, called neurofeedback?

Somatic Vision games form the backbone of the Cygnet neurofeedback system by EEG Info, which is used worldwide by psychologists and doctors in one-on-one sessions addressing brain-related disorders.

I would encourage Somatic Vision customers to learn more about neurofeedback, and its potential uses when dealing with more challenging issues than can be easily addressed at home.

If you want to learn more about neurofeeback, I recommend any of the following:
A Neurotopia video showing how neurofeedback works and benefits people
Neurofeedback videos on ouTube

According to a story in the Washington Post, video games are being proven to offer significant mental health benefits.

After being contacted by a customer who found the popular game "Bejeweled helped her better manage her depression, the makers of Bejeweled hired some researchers to study the possible mental health benefits of the game. The findings show why video games are gaining credibility as a medical intervention for those suffering from stress, depression, and anxiety:

Some games seem to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which can reduce the heightened tension that's a natural response to stress.

The researcher hypothesized that one reason for the apparent mental health benefits of video games is that many people in Western countries find it impossible to switch off; they're always alert and stressed out. When those Type A people try to relax, they get bored because they've come to require a certain level of stressful arousal.

Playing certain video games offers just enough mental challenge to keep such people occupied while putting them into a state of relative mindlessness. That state appears to have salutary effects on stress and other mental problems.

The story also shines a light on the power of biofeedback in gaming, the core concept behind all Somatic Vision games:

Researchers said that one of the breakthrough ideas in combating stress and other mental disturbances was manipulating a factor known as heart rate variability. Different emotions seem to produce heart rhythm "signatures," and several devices have been invented to measure that variability.

Companies such as HeartMath, of Boulder Creek, Calif., have developed video games in which winning requires players to regulate their heart rate variability, thus gaining greater control over their emotional responses to stressful situations.

HeartMath's "emWave" system, for example, has a sensor that can pick up a person's heart rate variability and feed those measurements into a computer. The screen then displays a game that gives people feedback about their heart rhythms and challenges them to play in such a way as to smooth them out.

The biofeedback allows people to see how they can control their stress levels through conscious effort.

The company put a Post reporter in touch with Rollin McCraty, a psychophysiologist who directs research at the Institute of HeartMath. He said dozens of studies demonstrate that the intervals between a person's heartbeats are linked with various emotional states.

Iowa State University has opened a Biofeedback Center for students to help them deal with stress.

Directed by Student Counseling Service staff psychologist Todd Pietruszka, the center is free and open to all ISU students.

The university is first of the three Regents’ universities to offer a biofeedback service to address students’ emotional needs.

The center has adopted technologies like video games and guided meditations to teach relaxation techniques, concentration skills and healthy coping responses. Some important take-aways about biofeedback from the discussion surrounding this new student center:

• Biofeedback is really a way to have a coach. It basically lets you know when relaxation techniques are working.

• A good comparison: When you take your temperature and find you have a fever, you might call the doctor.