A technique in which a person uses information about a normally unconscious body function to gain conscious control over that function. Biofeedback training may help in the treatment of stress-related conditions, including certain types of hypertension, anxiety, and migraine.
The patient is connected to a recording instrument that measures one of the unconscious body activities, such as blood pressure, heart-rate, or the quantity of sweat on the skin. The patient receives information (feedback) on the changing levels of these activities from changes in the instrument’s signals. Using relaxation techniques, the patient learns to change the signals by conscious control of the body function. Once acquired, this control can be exercised without the instrument.
A technique whereby an auditory or visual stimulus follows on from a physiological response. Thus, a subject’s ELECTROCARDIOGRAM (ECG) may be monitored, and a signal passed back to the subject indicating his or her heart rate: for example, a red light if the rate is between 50 and 60 beats a minute; a green light if it is between 60 and 70 a minute. Once the subject has learned to discriminate between these two rates, he or she can then learn to control the heart rate. How this is learned is not clear, but by utilising biofeedback some subjects can control heart rate and blood pressure, relax spastic muscles, bring migraine under control and even help constipation.... biofeedback
(dental foundation training, DFT) a period of supervised training for dentists in general practice before they are allowed to work independently in the NHS. Foundation training is undertaken after graduation from dental school and lasts 1–2 years. In Scotland it is known as vocational training.... foundation training
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