Sue Othmer is a scientist and a neurofeedback practitioner. She was always interested in the brain and how it determines our view of life and behavior. With the goal in mind of obtaining a doctorate in neurophysiology, Sue majored in physics at Cornell University. This is an important aspect of Sue Othmer’s training. Her physics background makes the study of brainwaves almost second nature. The new insights about neural networks, the plasticity of the brain, and mathematics describing dynamic systems are in line with the theories Sue has been developing in the clinic for the past twenty years.

Sue developed a Decision Tree for use in finding the optimal reward and inhibit bands for each client. While more specific tactics are used for individual clients, the fundamental principle involves the level of awakeness or arousal. Some people are wound tight and tend to respond to a protocol that rewards them for increased activity in the low frequency wave ranges. Others are more flat-footed and tend to find comfort in the higher frequency wave ranges. Beyond the arousal curves, each client may respond to a neurofeedback tactic that aims at a specific problem, such as headaches, seizures, or inattention.

[Arousal Curves – with enhanced caption (Yerkes-xxx)

The Othmers discovered the idea of neurofeedback when the method was in its infancy. Their young son, Brian, had seizures and had a miserable time fitting into both the social and educational structures in school. They had tried everything, including drug therapies. Then, Sue attended a lecture about a new technique called EEG biofeedback or neurofeedback. The subject was rewarded when the EEG (electroencephalograph) reading showed the brainwaves were in the desired frequency. A scientist at UCLA, Dr. Barry Sterman, had discovered that cats who were ready to pounce on a food reward, had high levels of activity in the range between 12-15 Hz, which he called the sensorimotor (SMR) range. Sterman had learned that the cats could be trained with either conventional or EEG based operant conditioning to increase the SMR activity. EEG was used to train the brains to maintain a state in which attention and anticipated were well-focused. If it could work for cats, why not try it with people. This was the theme of the lecture Sue attended. Since she had emphasized her undergraduate and graduate studies on this area, she immediately saw the implications for Brian.

Sue and Siegfried took Brian to a practitioner in Los Angeles, and the rest is history. He responded very favorably. He suddenly acquired social abilities that had seemed to be unavailable prior to the neurofeedback sessions. He was steadied, and he was able to reduce his seizure medication. Neurofeedback worked.

The Othmers had come upon a breakthrough that could benefit so many children and their parents. They decided to focus their efforts on bringing awareness to the world. First, they wanted to make it easier. As described below, the Othmers and a software programmer, Ed Dillingham, designed a system in which the client’s EEG was connected to a videogame. Brainwave activity in the reward range moved the Pac-Man figure ahead, put the colors in the box, and most importantly, delivered soothing beeps – to which the brain responds positively. The Othmers and Dillinghams formed a company and took neurofeedback to the world.

Sue spent most of her time developing an understanding of how neurofeedback works. Children with ADHD formed the main part of the early client base, but adults with all sorts of problems have also found neurofeedback to be unimaginably helpful. Sue started by following the protocols first tried by Dr. Sterman. From there she developed other approaches, placing electrodes on both sides of the brain, and setting the reward and inhibit bands in different widths. After twenty years, Sue has seen clients attribute their success in breaking alcohol, smoking, or other habits to neurofeedback. Many clients report immediate improvement in sleep. Others have turned to neurofeedback to solve the dilemma of migraine headaches. And, the ADHD children – and adults – have continued to report significant, life-transforming improvement after neurofeedback sessions.

Eventually, the Othmers formed a non-profit organization to concentrate on research and education, the Brian Othmer Foundation. In December 2002, the Othmers began working out of the BOF’s EEG Institute in Woodland Hills, California. They continue their life’s work today.