Rocket Fuel, Cats & the Birth of Neurofeedback | NeuroNoodle Neurofeedback Therapy Podcast

Jay Gunkelman has read more than half a million brain scans — and this week he and host Pete Jansons start with one of the strangest origin stories in brain science. Rocket fuel was making janitors convulse, Barry Sterman was mapping the dose in cats, and a handful of cats refused to seize. The reason: they had already been trained with SMR neurofeedback. From there Jay works through the questions from last night's Brain Bar: why there's no such thing as a "normal" EEG, how pilots' brainwaves tracked a 30% higher crash rate, what sleep deprivation does to your dreams and your seizure threshold, the alpha coma, Leucovorin and the B vitamins, and why "you can't cure autism because you can't catch autism." Then Jay reads a 2011 EEG of an eight-year-old with Asperger's and shows why some kids won't look at your face. Plus the neurofeedback billing-code fight, Jay's custom Italian monocle, and a preview of the Suisun City Summit. 🎙️ Panel: Jay Gunkelman (500K+ brain scans) — host Pete Jansons. 🧠 WHAT WE COVER:🚀 0:00 — Cold open: rocket fuel, cats & the accidental birth of SMR🧐 2:14 — Jay's custom Italian monocle + "Jay Gunkelman 6.0"👁️ 4:58 — Alpha blocking vs. alpha attenuation🧮 8:25 — There's no such thing as a "normal" EEG📊 9:09 — Why z-scores and statistics alone miss the pattern🐈 12:56 — Barry Sterman's rocket fuel and cat experiments✈️ 15:11 — Pilots' EEGs and a 30% higher crash rate🔌 18:19 — SMR vs. mu: the BCI mix-up🛌 19:33 — SMR, sleep spindles & customizing training🚪 21:42 — "K is for knock": the K-complex😵 23:25 — Sleep deprivation, microsleep & dreams leaking into the day🌊 25:42 — Three kinds of theta: frontal midline vs. ADHD theta💊 29:40 — Amphetamines, kids & the long-term question🫁 30:10 — Hyperbaric oxygen, Alzheimer's & the alpha coma🧪 32:37 — What is Leucovorin? B9, B12 & MTHFR🧩 37:37 — "You can't cure autism because you can't catch autism"💵 39:46 — Neurofeedback billing codes & payment changes🩺 42:44 — Too cheap to order the EEG: Medi-Cal & absence epilepsy〰️ 43:36 — EEG read: an eight-year-old with Asperger's🐶 46:40 — The song of speech: why some kids won't look at your face📈 49:45 — The power spectra, beta spindles & rhythmic slowing🪞 52:36 — Mu, mirror neurons & the anterior cingulate🎉 56:16 — Suisun City Summit preview + Jay's birthday📚 1:02:05 — Bonus: Joshua Moore on QEEG phenotypes 🔗 Updates & Links:🧠 Jay Gunkelman — Suisun City Summit: https://suisuncitysummit.com🎓 School of Neurotherapy: https://www.schoolofneurotherapy.com🧩 Joshua Moore — Neurofeedback Care: https://neurofeedbackcare.com ⚠️ Educational content only — not medical advice. 💪 Help keep NeuroNoodle Neurofeedback Therapy Podcast going!👉 Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NeuroNoodle🔔 Like, subscribe, share & hit the bell for weekly episodes #NeuroNoodle #NeurofeedbackTherapyPodcast #Neurofeedback #JayGunkelman #PeteJansons #EEG #QEEG #BrainMapping #MentalHealth #BrainHealth #Neurotherapy #SMR #BarrySterman #SleepDeprivation #Autism #Aspergers #Epilepsy #AlphaComa #Leucovorin #QEEGPhenotypes