Biofeedback

Biofeedback training must begin with an auditory or visual signal to measure the activity of the organ being influenced and to indicate any changes that take place in it. Heart rate, for example, can be signaled by a beeping sound that occurs with each heartbeat. A subject can detect any increase or decrease in the number of heartbeats per minute by the increasing or decreasing rapidity of the beeping. A visual signal also could be devised—for example, spikes in a horizontal line that appear closer together or farther apart as the heartbeat changes. The ultimate objective is to develop a such a high level of consciousness that such changes can be determined without the signal device.

Biofeedback can be separated into three processes or steps. The first involves detecting the biological process being measured and amplifying it so as to be seen or heard. The second step is to convert the electrical signal into an easily understood form from which its alterations can be read. The third step is to make this signal available to the subject as soon as possible after the event being measured has occurred.