Papers by Kirtley Thornton
Four groups were treated with EEG biofeedback. The groups included normals, brain injured, learni... more Four groups were treated with EEG biofeedback. The groups included normals, brain injured, learning disabled subjects. All the groups were performing above normative values at the end of the treatment.
Using cognitive activation tasks while recording the QEEG a discriminant function was able to co... more Using cognitive activation tasks while recording the QEEG a discriminant function was able to correctly identify 100% of the cases who had experienced a head injury across all 5 tasks.

Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 2009
Interventions for improvement of cognitive problems in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI)... more Interventions for improvement of cognitive problems in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) include electroencephalography biofeedback, also known as neurofeedback. Quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) patterns are assessed in TBI patients and then compared to a database obtained from a normative population. Deviations in QEEG patterns from the normative group are the basis for an intervention plan. While QEEG patterns, obtained under an eyes closed, resting condition, provide information about deviations at rest, QEEG patterns obtained while the patient engages in cognitive tasks reflect specific deficiencies in brain functioning. This paper reviews and assesses QEEG patterns collected under both resting conditions as well as cognitive tasks. The article provides a theoretical and empirical base for QEEG interventions with TBI.
Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 2008
The onset of cognitive rehabilitation brought with it a hope for an effective treatment for the t... more The onset of cognitive rehabilitation brought with it a hope for an effective treatment for the traumatic brain injured subject. This paper reviews the empirical reports of changes in cognitive functioning after treatment and compares the relative effectiveness of several treatments including computer interventions, cognitive strategies, EEG biofeedback, and medications. The cognitive functions that are reviewed include auditory memory, attention and problem solving. The significance of the change in cognitive function is assessed in two ways that include effect size and longevity of effect. These analyses complement the previously published meta-reviews by adding these two criteria and include reports of EEG biofeedback, which is shown to be an effective intervention for auditory memory.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 2005
Reading disabilities present major challenges to the educational system. The estimated prevalence... more Reading disabilities present major challenges to the educational system. The estimated prevalence rate for learning disabilities is 15% of the student population [1], with 6.5 million children requiring special education in 2002 . Approximately 63% of these special education children have specific learning disabilities or speech and language problems without a concomitant physical disability. Between 28% and 43% of inmates in adult correctional facilities require special education (versus 5% in normal population), and 82% of prison inmates in the United States are school dropouts . Large financial and social costs are associated with programs to address learning disabilities. The federal government spent $350 billion over a 20-year period on special education programs [4], and New York City spends $55,300 per year for each incarcerated youth .

Eyes-Closed and Activation QEEG Databases in Predicting Cognitive Effectiveness and the Inefficiency Hypothesis
Journal of Neurotherapy, 2009
Background. Quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) databases have been developed for the eyes... more Background. Quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) databases have been developed for the eyes closed (EC) condition. The development of a cognitive activation database is a logical and necessary development for the field. Method. Brain activation was examined by QEEG during several tasks including EC rest, visual attention (VA), auditory attention (AA), listening to paragraphs presented auditorily and reading silently. The QEEG measures obtained in the EC and simple, non-cognitive attention task that were significantly related to subsequent cognitive performance were not the same variables which accounted for success during the cognitive task. Results. There were clear differences between relative power, microvolt, coherence and phase values across these different tasks. Conclusions. The conclusions reached are (1) the associations among QEEG variables are complex and vary by task; (2) the QEEG variables which predict cognitive performance under task demands are not the same as the variables which predict to subsequent performance from the EC or simple, non-cognitive attention tasks; (3) a cognitive activation database is clinically useful; and (4) an hypothesis of brain functioning is proposed to explain the findings. The coordinated allocation of resources (CAR) hypothesis states that cognitive effectiveness is a product of multiple specific activities in the brain, which vary according to the task; and (5) the average response pattern does not involve the variables that are critical to success at the task, thus indicating an inefficiency of the normal human brain.
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 1995
The use of the QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalography) in the detection of lies was explored e... more The use of the QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalography) in the detection of lies was explored employing a special electrode cap and specialized video recording and audio equipment. Four subjects were employed in this preliminary research. The methodology resulted in correct classification of 73% of both "true" and "false" events. For four events he results were too ambiguous to make a reliable prediction but none of the events was incorrectly classified. Thus the method offers the ability to decide when it can predict accurately and, when it can, it is 100% accurate if the criteria are met. Fwther research is needed with different subjects and expansion of methodological refinements to further validate this approach.

Journal of Neurotherapy, 2006
Previous attempts by the author to discern if the qEEG could be an effective instrument in the de... more Previous attempts by the author to discern if the qEEG could be an effective instrument in the detection of a lie resulted in positive results (100% effective, 73% of the time; Thornton, 1995). The procedure failed to make a decision in 4 of the 15 events being examined. A new design was created which requires no verbal response of the participant. The participant in the present study was presented with four instructions: (a) allow yourself to be anxious, (b) listen to stories of events of which you have no direct experience or knowledge, (c) listen to stories of self-reported true (real crimes) events which you participated in and feel guilty about your participation, and (d) block the real crime stories (events provided by participant) as they are read to you. The participant's eyes were closed during the entire collection of data and no verbal response was elicited. Analysis of the different cognitive/emotional states with qEEG measures revealed an intriguing predominant pattern of left hemisphere/posterior (dorsal) activation for the experience of anxiety, right hemisphere (right temporal, in particular) activation for the experiencing of guilt and more centrally located activations when the participant attempted to block the real stories.

Electrophysiological (QEEG) Correlates of Effective Reading: Towards a Generator/Activation Theory of the Mind
Journal of Neurotherapy, 2002
Introduction. An investigation into the relationships between Quantitative EEG (QEEG) and memory ... more Introduction. An investigation into the relationships between Quantitative EEG (QEEG) and memory scores for reading material was conducted employing 38 normal subjects. Method. There were three conditions during which QEEG data was collected: (a) subject reading a story silently, (b) subject engaging in an immediate recall period, followed by subject's oral recall, and (c) delayed recall assessment, followed by the same methodology of quiet recall and subsequent oral recall. The reading and recall performances were correlated with QEEG variables.Generator patterns were determined as a set of significant phase or coherence relationships, which all emanate from one location. The concept of emanate is an assumption based, in part, on previous literature of generator patterns and on the statistical need to reduce the number of variables. Degrees of activation values were determined as the differences in QEEG variables between two conditions (a relevant condition and the task condition). For the reading condition, a visual attention task served as the relevant condition, while for the recall tasks, the eyes closed served as the relevant control condition. Results. During the input (reading) condition absolute levels of F7 beta generator and T5 coherence alpha generator activity were associated with higher memory scores. Degree of activation (visual attention vs. reading) values indicated significant relationships (increased activation positively correlated with recall) between recall and eight generator patterns (coherence) in the alpha range.Immediate recall was positively associated with absolute levels of generator activity (coherence beta2, 32 to 64 Hz) from the F4 location and with the absolute level of activations in the theta frequency predominantly at frontal locations. Degree of activation (from eyes closed) analysis indicated that increased memory scores were associated with activations in the theta frequency range in diffuse locations, activations of beta frequencies at posterior locations and generator activity predominantly in the beta2 frequency from right hemisphere locations.Higher long-term recall was associated with higher absolute levels of generator activity (alpha set at .10) from right frontal locations and frontal theta activity. The higher the degree of activation (from eyes closed) of posterior beta activity and beta generator activity from several sites, the higher the long-term memory score. Discussion. The results provide a new perspective on brain functioning, which cannot be accounted for by any present day theories of brain functioning.
Electrophysiology of Auditory Memory of Paragraphs Towards a Projection/Activation Theory of the Mind
This chapter has two goals: to provide the reader with a general awareness of traumatic brain inj... more This chapter has two goals: to provide the reader with a general awareness of traumatic brain injury (TBI), mild in particular, and the multiple complex issues involved in this area, and to offer a detailed understanding of the role of quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) in the assessment and treatment of the cognitive defi cits of the TBI patient. Sections I-IV address the fi rst goal. Section I discusses defi nitions, sports, vulnerable groups, the concept of spontaneous cure, and roles of loss of consciousness and post-traumatic amnesia criteria. Section II addresses the biomechanics of a TBI. Section III discusses the physical damage to the brain caused by the TBI as measured by modern medical imaging. Section IV reviews the neuropsychological and emotional results of a TBI that may be clinically manifested in a patient.
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Papers by Kirtley Thornton