A new way of retraining the brain. Photo from Brain Science Brunei
While on a holiday meeting up with his friends in Penang, Malaysia, it was unbeknownst to Mr. Goh Kim Kooi that he would eventually stumble upon a revolutionary piece of technology that would springboard his interest in the human brain. That technology is called Neurofeedback training aimed to stimulate the development of neural cells in different parts of the brain, so as to improve and enhance the brain’s functionalities.
After taking a course at Kuala Lumpur and seeing the benefits that came out of Neurofeedback training, the rest – as they say – is history. Brain Science Brunei was founded on 23rd July 2018 and currently has a steadily growing number of appointments daily. We’ve sat down with the founder to understand more regarding their practice and how it has helped countless Bruneian children since their inception.
Understanding the process
Before diving into the benefits of Neurofeedback training, we first need to look at how it’s been done starting from diagnosis, all the way to the methodologies they use during training sessions.
The equipment
The equipment itself is simple on first glance. It consists of the NeuroBrain brainwave test equipment and Neurofeedback training system imported from Korea. By attaching a comfortable, padded harness to the head, the equipment is able to gather the wavelength output of the brain in which the system will be able to chart out the movement of electric pulses.
Examples of normal and abnormal brainwave activities. Photo from Nu-Brain International
With references to various graphs, they are able to identify and differentiate the types of brain activities occurring inside the brain. From there, they will be able to understand and properly diagnose the brain’s condition – followed by scheduling the appropriate training sessions afterwards.
The training
The weekly training sessions involves adding audio and visual rewards as feedback in response to the desired behavior. For example, at Brain Science Brunei, they utilize games in which the participant will be rewarded with a euphonious “BING” sound. This is similar to corrective behavior technique where with a reward provided at the end of the right behavior, the participant will feel more appreciated and is encouraged to continue that desired behavior (and no response for vice versa).
The goal of the end-to-end process is to rectify any abnormal brain activities. This builds up the brain’s neuroplasticity, enabling a balanced ratio of enhanced brain functionalities. According to Brain Science Brunei trainers, there are a few general factors that could cause abnormalities in the brain such as nutritional intake, poor sleep, stress and so on. Though they are not clear-cut reasons, it’s still worth noting as children in their development phase tend to be the most susceptible to its effects.
Bringing Neurofeedback training to Brunei
To date, Brain Science Brunei have had children as young as 3 years old to someone in their 30s doing their postgraduate studies. Most came from a special needs background but they are primarily focused on those dealing with hyperactivity and chronic procrastination. It was found that the demographic affected the most are young students especially when it comes to their studies. Parents would bring their children in under the notion that they are having difficulties learning – even after sending them for remedial classes in the afternoon or evening. This puts a lot of financial strain on the family as they have essentially poured effort into a solution with diminishing returns.
The brain is like a muscle – it gets better through consistent practice and use
Founder and trainer, Mr. Goh believes that it is never too late for anything and it does not mean that they cannot train the brain to be better. He wants to help the students in Brunei to be more proactive during their studies by rectifying their brain activities rather than piling more classes onto them.
Those who have problems with their brain activity and capability – extra foundation classes after morning classes does not really help the student to understand how to solve problems. With brain training this will help to reduces the time taken for the student to understand the lecture and help them to memorize better.
Mr. Goh clarifies in the interview
Although not all cases of poor learning capabilities equates to the need for neurofeedback training, the company’s pre-screening allows for a reliable diagnosis beforehand. Consequently those who do undergo the training would see an improved result in brain functionality for up to 24 months worth of progress. In the charts below, you can see the initial spikes (blue graph) slowly petering towards a median normal brainwave activity (red graph).
Brainwave progress from initial to 12 months to 24 months!
After hearing success stories from Mr. Goh himself, we can summarize the most profound improvements they have witnessed so far. These includes the children being:
- Able to form structured sentences when previously they only manage to utter a few words only or make inaudible sounds.
- Able to understand and comprehend communications with their parents. This makes it easier for the parents to inform and converse with their children regarding their school days, leisure time or even things they enjoyed in their latest holiday trips.
- Able to interact with others easily now. Plenty that came in pre-training were unable to express themselves verbally – often opting for throwing tantrums instead. Now they have become very talkative according to the trainers.
Results from Neurofeedback training with Brain Science Brunei
For those who are keen in bringing your children to Brain Science Brunei, here are the important bits for your future reference 
🧠 - What you're signing up for?
The treatment process lasts for as long as it requires to see improvements. An optimal amount would be the 12 weeks program but there are no mandatory participation for the full program. Ultimately, it depends on the satisfaction level towards the treatment’s effectiveness.
🧠 - What's the pricing?
An initial cost of BND$350 is required for an EEG assessment – this is inclusive of service charges for a specialist consultation from Kuala Lumpur which will return the full report of the diagnosis.
Following that, the training would cost BND$600 per month. There will be a minimum of 3 sessions per week, each lasting around 45 minutes. Breaking it down, it’s a reasonable charge of BND$50 per session for a once in a lifetime retraining program!
After 3 months of undergoing the treatment, a FREE EEG assessment will be provided to see any changes from the initial assessment.
🧠 - How to contact them?
They’re located at No.4, 1st Floor, Block A, Bgn Hj Ahmad dan Anak-Anak, Spg 88, Kg Kiulap, BSB BE1518 Brunei Darussalam. This is just right above Nasta’een restaurant, in front of BIBD Kiulap branch.
You can contact them at +673 873 4510 / 222 9347 during their working hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm (Monday through Saturday, closed 12:00pm to 2:00pm on Fridays*).
For more information, you can visit their website, Facebook or Instagram. They regularly post bite-sized information regarding the brain that you would find interesting – we certainly did!
Very informative .
Thank You