Tainan, Taiwan, November 25, 2013 The National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Department of Psychology Distinguished Professor Dr. Shu-Lan Hsieh's research on neurofeedback training has proven to improve attention and working memory performance, the university revealed recently. Hsieh's training method has significantly improved brainwave and brain function and slowed down aging of brain. Her research titled "Neurofeedback training improves attention and working memory performance" was published in the June edition of the Clinical Neurophysiology journal. The neurofeedback training method has all these while been used in research on human health and diseases, particularly on slowing down symptoms of hyperactivity disorder in kids and improving intelligence of kids having learning disorders, Hsieh noted. She has carried out research on the elderly using neurofeedback training for the first time, focusing training on the theta wave at the frontal midline. In brainwave activity of a complex human brain, the theta wave is defined as the waveband of brainwaves at a frequency between 4 and 8 Hz, according to Hsieh. Previous research indicated that the theta wave could be the main reason causing the decline in brain function. Hsieh on the other hand has proven that the neurofeedback training method can effectively slow down aging. Using a sample of 16 elder people aged between 60 and 70 years old as subjects, Hsieh carried out the training on them for 12 times within a one-month period while successfully enhance the amount of theta wave activity. The principle behind this training is recording real-time theta wave activity and attempting to adjust brainwave activity through audio and visual feedback in order to achieve the desired target. After the 12-month training, Hsieh found that the subjects' attention and working memory performance has significantly improved, thus implying that subjects have experienced an improvement in brainwave and brain performance. "Many subjects noted that focusing their own attention or concentrating on thinking about an activity such as mental arithmetic or reciting poems could increase brainwave activity the most," Hsieh revealed. "Others also discovered that receiving such training in a relaxed, meditative state will also experience good effect of the training." According to the subjects in Hsieh's research, many of them revealed that their work efficiency tends to slow down as age catches up with them, leading to thoughts of becoming invaluable and useless. After undergoing this training, these subjects have experienced a significant improvement in work efficiency, thus giving them a psychological boost, security as well as meaning in their lives. Based on the latest figures, 15 percent of the total population is occupied by people with age 65 and above and this figure is estimated to increase to 26 percent in 2039, thus indicating an increasingly serious aging problem in the human population. Decline in health and brain function would lead to the deterioration of working efficiency, memory and many other functions which could cause psychological problems to the elderly, thus showing how important the problem of aging to us particularly in the future.