Research

Overview

Each moment that the brain is in balance, with its reward centers slightly activated, health and happiness improve.

Emotional brain training (EBT) is an evidence-based program that provides individuals with the techniques and support to achieve that brain state more frequently. Eighty percent of health problems are caused by the brain state of stress, so treating the root cause of the wiring of the brain offers a new paradigm in health care. EBT is based on 4 neuroscience concepts:

Neuroscience Concept #1. "It's not us. It's our wiring."

The way we respond to life is encoded in our wiring, and triggered in time that is measured in 10,000ths of a second.

Neuroscience Concept #2. "Wiring triggers brain states."

The wires that control how we respond to life lead to brain states. The more stressed we are from psychological, metabolic or physical stress, the more the brain state is controlled by primitive brain areas that are given to extremes of emotions, thoughts and behaviors.

Neuroscience Concept #3. "Brain states become persistent."

If our wiring isn't effective, or if life provides repeated hits of stress, the brain becomes wired for stress and stuck in extremes of emotions, thoughts and behaviors. This set point are the root cause of 80 percent of health problems.

Neuroscience Concept #4. "We can create new wiring."

Stunning discoveries in neuroscience have shown that the emotional wiring of the brain can be changed. EBT has been developed over the last 30 years, and it provides the tools, community and vision to assist people in rewiring their own emotional brains.

Our Vision: We can rewire our own emotional brains and transform our lives.

Instead of living with stress symptoms and being separated from the brain state of health, happiness, productivity and joy, we can use the tools of EBT day by day to gradually move up our emotional set point. The community is for people who want to take personal control over the quality of their lives. by using the best of brain science.

Early Research on EBT

Emotional Brain Training research began with a controlled clinical trial of obese adolescents in Northern California that was funded by the US DHHS Bureau of Maternal and Child Health that showed significant post-treatment improvements in weight, behavior, affect and knowledge. A two-year study of overweight adults, and a six-year follow-up of these subjects showed sustained improvements in weight, blood pressure, depression, affect and other variables. A study conducted by a University of Chicago at Illinois researcher of 134 program graduates showed the the same trends, including improvements in positive psychological variables and diabetic control.

Ongoing EBT Research

Researchers at the University of California, San Francico are actively engaged in EBT research. A National Institutes of Health project studying the impact of 8 weeks of EBT on pregnant women showed that stress levels, food dependency and positive self-appraisal improved significantly. A study of public health training in Maryland will investigate the impact of 8 weeks of EBT on depression, stress, blood pressure and weight. Research is also planned at Cornell Weill Medical School, and by the EBT Practice-based research group of Certified EBT Providers.

The Meaning of the Work

Elegant work by many stress researchers, including the stress pioneer Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University, have suggested a new paradigm. The problem is the brain's set point. The solution is changing that set point. Not only could that transform our lives as individuals, but it could change health care and the social problems that are rampant in the world. In essence, EBT is emotional sustainability.

Why EBT Tools Are Needed

The wires that cause most problems are stored in the lease plastic area of the brain. In order to change those wires they need to be open. One cannot "think" ones way to changing an emotional wire. In order to open a wire, we need skills to experience negative emotions and move through them effectively, then open the wire and rewire it. That is what we do in EBT.

Why Joy is the Solution

When we are stressed, even feeling balanced sounds like an impossibility. However, based on brain science, the most effective strategy is wire the brain for joy. The brain is not only driven by stress but by reward. By training the brain to move through stress back to states of reward from higher order sources (sanctuary, authenticity, vibrancy, integrity, intimacy, spirituality and freedom) the emotional drives for artificial rewards (sugar, alcohol, smoking and more) that ramp up stress naturally fade.

How You can be Part of the Solution

The science and practice of EBT amount to a revolution in health care. If you share our vision that people can transform their lives, join us in sharing these tools with others. Develop your own EBT Practice so that your joy radiates outward and benefits others, ask your corporation to sponsor EBT work site wellness and your insurer to cover EBT programs. Join our EBT Volunteers or donate to the EBT Community Fund. If you are a health professional become wired for joy yourself, and certified to train others in the method. If you are a researcher, inquire about protocols and support to study EBT.