Six-day hiatus from neurofeedback training. After 20+ days with the Mendi fNIRS device, something extraordinary has happened.
I have developed what can only be described as an additional extra-sensory ability — the capacity to activate my prefrontal cortex voluntarily, on demand, without the headset. Like discovering you can wiggle a muscle you didn't know existed.
Around day 18, I observed a SUBSTANTIAL reduction in TIC SEVERITY. With a lengthy history of Tourette Syndrome, attribution is always challenging. But the improvement is significant enough to warrant continued investigation and transparent reporting.
The Resistance Test
I stopped training intentionally to test "resistance levels" — how long does symptom improvement persist without active training? This is the question nobody seems to be asking in the neurofeedback literature.
Protocol Adjustments
- Shifting from daily blog entries to weekly training result uploads
- Reducing sleep loss from late-night writing sessions
- Maintaining evening session schedule when training resumes
Working hypothesis: intensive PFC exercise may work through dual mechanisms — reducing erratic neural signaling while building conscious control capacity similar to traditional tic suppression techniques. The difference is that this feels effortless compared to willpower-based suppression.
If any other Tourette patients are reading this and want to replicate the high-intensity protocol: please reach out. Validation requires more than n=1.