Brain Function Assessments
How Brain Function Assessments Guide Training
Many people know what they feel — overwhelmed, scattered, exhausted, emotionally reactive — but have never had anyone look at how their brain is actually functioning beneath those patterns.
Our assessment process combines brain mapping, cognitive testing, and integrative intake tools to help us understand how your nervous system is operating in real life — not just on paper.
No diagnosis. No labels. No “you’re broken.”
Just a clearer picture of the patterns your brain may have learned — and how they can begin to change.
Who Benefits From Brain Mapping & Cognitive Testing?
People often seek brain mapping and cognitive assessment when they experience:
- chronic stress and nervous system overload
- attention and focus difficulties
- brain fog and mental fatigue
- sleep disruption
- emotional over-reactivity
- cognitive slowing
- overwhelm and burnout
- performance inconsistency
- trauma-related nervous system patterns
Looking Under the Hood
Most people come to us after years of trying to manage symptoms through willpower, therapy, supplements, medications, or stress management tools.
Sometimes those approaches help. Sometimes they help partially. But many people still feel like their brain is working against them:
- constantly over-alert
- mentally foggy
- emotionally reactive
- unable to fully calm down
- exhausted but unable to rest
That’s because insight alone does not always change deeply learned nervous system patterns.
Our assessment process helps us move beyond guesswork by looking at:
- how your brain is regulating itself
- how attention and processing systems are functioning
- patterns of over- or under-arousal
- cognitive strengths and bottlenecks
- lifestyle and physiological factors that may be influencing performance
Brain mapping and functional assessments help us understand the patterns
we are working with before training begins.
From there, neurofeedback gives the brain real-time information it can use
to begin learning more regulated patterns over time.
To understand that learning process more clearly, see How Neurofeedback Works.
qEEG Brain Mapping
A qEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalogram) is sometimes called a “brain map,” but it is better understood as a functional snapshot of how your brain is communicating and regulating i
This is NOT:
- mind reading
- a diagnosis machine
- electricity being sent into your brain
It is simply a way of measuring electrical activity from the scalp and comparing patterns to large normative databases.
We record two short resting EEG sessions using sensors placed on the scalp. The recording is non-invasive and painless.
From there, we analyze:
- brainwave regulation
- timing and processing patterns
- communication between regions
- overactive and under-active patterns
- areas that may correlate with attention, emotional regulation, sleep, stress response, or cognitive efficiency
Unlike fully automated systems, our analysis is reviewed in-house and integrated with your history, symptoms, and real-life functioning.
Spectral Analysis
Examines the distribution and intensity of different brainwave frequencies across the brain.
This helps identify patterns of over- or under-activation that may correlate with challenges involving:
- stress regulation
- focus
- mental fatigue
- emotional reactivity
- sleep regulation
Helps us understand how the brain is regulating activation and recovery.
Source Localization Analysis
Provides deeper modeling of where specific patterns may be originating within larger brain networks.
This helps us examine:
- communication between regions
- functional network patterns
- areas associated with attention, emotional regulation, and cognitive processing
Helps us understand how different brain regions may be interacting.
Connectivity & Coherence Analysis
Looks at how efficiently different regions of the brain communicate with one another.
Some brains become overly rigid and over-connected under stress, while others show weaker communication and coordination patterns.
Balanced communication matters for:
- emotional flexibility
- attention regulation
- cognitive efficiency
- resilience under stress
Helps us evaluate how well brain networks coordinate and adapt.
No single image or score defines a person.
These tools are most valuable when integrated with lived experience, symptoms, cognitive testing, sleep patterns, stress history, and real-world functioning.
Cognitive Testing
Our testing platform, powered by Creyos®, a leader in cognitive testing since 2009, can provide insights into your patient’s competencies.
A 45 minute gamified version of traditional pen and paper testing makes compliance easy. It can be done in our office or on line!
A full statistical report is generated for each task immediately upon completion. No waiting!
Combine it with a robust list of validated questionnaires like the GAD7, PHQ9 and VADRS, just to name a few, and you can have a much better portrait of your patients function.
Test Of Variable Attention
TOVA is one of the most widely used continuous performance tests
for measuring attention regulation and inhibitory control.
It evaluates:
attention consistency
response timing
impulsive responding
sustained cognitive performance
For some clients, TOVA helps confirm what they already feel internally:
“I know I’m trying, but my brain cannot consistently hold regulation.”
That distinction matters
Our TOVA test is the QIK, a computerized assessment designed to measure attention, impulsivity, reaction timing, and consistency of performance over time.
It helps us understand whether the brain is:
- drifting in and out of focus
- becoming mentally fatigued
- overreacting to stimuli
- struggling with sustained attention
- showing inconsistent regulation patterns
Unlike subjective questionnaires alone, QIK gives us objective performance data that can be tracked over time as training progresses
We Don’t Treat Labels. We Look for Patterns.
Many people arrive carrying years of labels:
- anxious
- burned out
- ADHD
- trauma
- overwhelmed
- “high functioning”
- exhausted
But labels alone do not tell us:
- how your nervous system learned those patterns
- what is maintaining them
- where regulation is breaking down
- or how your brain may be capable of changing
Our goal is not to prove something is “wrong” with you.
Our goal is to better understand:
- how your brain is functioning now
- what may be interfering with regulation
- and how training can begin supporting more adaptive patterns.
WHAT EVALUATION DAY FEELS LIKE
Step 1 — Intake & Conversation
We review your history, symptoms, stress patterns, sleep, lifestyle factors, and goals.
Step 2 — Brain Mapping
Two short resting EEG recordings are collected comfortably in-office.
Step 3 — Cognitive Testing
Computerized attention and cognitive testing help us evaluate performance patterns.
Step 4 — Review & Recommendations
We integrate the data into a broader picture of brain, body, and nervous system functioning.
Understanding Creates Better Training
You are not a diagnosis.
You are not a collection of symptoms.
Your brain may simply be running patterns it learned under stress, overload, or survival.
The first step is understanding those patterns clearly.