Psychophysiology studies interactions between the mind and body by recording how the body is functioning and relating the functions recorded to behavior. Changes in the body’s functioning cause changes in behavior and vice versa. Psychophysiological recording techniques are generally non-invasive. That is, they record from the body’s surface and nothing goes into the person being recorded. Psychophysiological recordings are frequently used to help assess problems with how the body is functioning.

Biofeedback is providing real time information from psychophysiological recordings about the levels at which physiological systems are functioning. Biofeedback does not need to involve the use of computers, electronic devices etc. For example, a mirror is a perfectly good biofeedback device for many aspects of gait retraining. Electronic biofeedback devices are designed to record physiological functions non-invasively. Most record from the surface of the skin. The information recorded by surface sensors is frequently sent to a computer for processing and then displayed on the monitor and / or through speakers. The person being recorded and any therapist or coach who may be present can attend to the display of information and incorporate it into what ever process they are attempting to perform. The device does not send anything directly back into the person being recorded. The loop is completed only when the person being recorded attends to and uses the displayed information.

A tiny physiological signal (in this case muscle tension) is picked up by sensors (1) placed on the skin. The signal is sent to an amplifier (2) which makes the signal large enough to work with and is processed (3) into a display (4) people can learn from. The client then uses the display to recognize relationships between sensations and actual levels of function.	To learn more about what is happening here, watch our free slideshow presentation by clicking here or read about it by clicking here. (The slideshow presentation requires PowerPoint or the PowerPoint viewer. You can download the viewer for free here)

Biofeedback is used in many different environments including schools (for such activities such as improving concentration), in sports (for optimizing functioning), clinical environments (to help people learn to recognize when physiological systems are not responding normally and to learn to correct their functioning), and many others. To learn more about biofeedback, please watch the free slide show or read more about it. (live links)

Example: A typical instance in which a psychophysiological assisted assessment is combined with a biofeedback based intervention would be when a person reports jaw area pain not caused by the jaw joint. Tension in the muscles around and controlling the jaw would be recorded under different conditions (while relaxed, tense, open, closed, etc.) Abnormalities in function would be used as the basis for determining what training is needed to correct the abnormalities. The treatment may include showing the patient how tense the jaw muscles are under different circumstances and teaching the person to be recognize how tense the jaw muscles really are and to be aware of when they are inappropriately tense. The treatment would succeed to the extent that the person being trained learns and applies the skills. Details of the psychophysiological assessment and biofeedback intervention process are in the free slide show.

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What biofeedback and psychophysiology are and what they can do.
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