Chunk #83 — Studies of EEG Biofeedback in Substance Abuse Treatment — Continuing Research — Self-Perception and Experimental Schemata in the Addicted Brain
and relate this to the euphoric state produced by the drug (Lukas 1989, 1995). Winterer et al. (2003a, b) described higher left-temporal alpha and slow-beta coherence and higher slow-beta coherence at right-temporal and frontal electrode pairs in alcohol-dependent males and females. De Bruin et al. (2004) showed that moderate-to-heavy alcohol consumption is associated with differences in synchronization of brain activity during rest and mental rehearsal. Heavy drinkers displayed a loss of hemispheric asymmetry of EEG synchronization in the alpha and low-beta band. Moderately and heavily drinking males additionally showed lower fast-beta band synchronization. Decision-making processes and the ability to form a resistance to drugs, i.e., the ability to say no, involve numerous brain regions; including, the insular, somatosensory, orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, as well as the amygdala, hippocampus and thalamic nuclei (Bechara 2005).
