Barbara B. Brown (1921–1999) was a research psychologist who popularized

biofeedback Biofeedback is the technique of gaining greater awareness of many physiology, physiological functions of one's own body by using Electronics, electronic or other instruments, and with a goal of being able to Manipulation (psychology), manipulate ...

and

neurofeedback Neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback that uses electrical potentials in the brain to reinforce desired brain states through operant conditioning. This process is non-invasive neurotherapy and typically collects brain activity data using elect ...

in the 1970s. ''Biofeedback Magazine,'' a publication of the

Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB) was founded in 1969 as the Biofeedback Research Society (BRS). The association aims to promote understanding of biofeedback and advance the methods used in this practice. AAPB is ...

(AAPB), noted that she was "among the first and most successful to make the public aware of the power and potential of biofeedback." Brown earned her Ph.D. in

Pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

College of Medicine in 1950. She went from a technician at the William S. Merrell division of pharmaceutical company Richardson-Merrell to heading Merell's Department of Pharmacology. From there, she went to Riker Laboratories, then to Psychopharmacology Research Laboratories. Brown later became an Associate Clinical Professor of Pharmacology at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Center for Health Sciences and at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

. She also lectured in the Department of Psychiatry at

. Brown created and popularized the word "

." She conducted her ground-breaking research when she was Chief of Experiential Physiology Research at the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

Hospital in

Sepulveda, California North Hills, known previously as Sepulveda, is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. North Hills was originally part of an agricultural community known as Mission Acres. After World War II, the newly dev ...

. Brown was co-founder and the first president (1969-1970) of the Biofeedback Research Society, which evolved into the Biofeedback Society of America and then into AAPB. From within that organization, Brown and her colleagues helped to advance and legitimize the study of biofeedback and neurofeedback. During the 1990s, Brown suffered a stroke; she died in 1999 at the age of 78, after living for several years after the stroke in a nursing home in

Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is a low-density desert community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Nestled along the foothills ...

, CA.Biofeedback Magazine, ibid.

Popular culture

Brown was featured in a 1960 episode of the television series ''

One Step Beyond One Step Beyond may refer to: Music * ''One Step Beyond'' (Dungeon album) or the title song, 2004 * ''One Step Beyond'' (Jackie McLean album), 1963 * '' One Step Beyond...'', an album by Madness, or the title song (see below), 1979 * ''One Ste ...

''. The episode, titled "The Sacred Mushroom," was a rare, documentary-style departure for the series and dealt with the search for psychedelic mushrooms in Mexico.

Bibliography

* ''New Mind, New Body: Bio Feedback: New Directions for the Mind'', Harper & Row, 1974, hardcover * ''The Biofeedback Syllabus: A Handbook for the Psychophysiologic Study of Biofeedback'', Charles C. Thomas Publisher Ltd., Feb. 1975, hardcover, * ''Stress and the Art of Biofeedback'', Harper & Row, Jan. 1977. * ''Between Health and Illness: New Notions on Stress and the Nature of Well Being'', Houghton Mifflin, 1984, hardcover * ''Supermind: The Ultimate Energy'', Bantam paperback 1983, * ''Infinite Well-Being'', Irvington Publishers, 1985, hardcover * "Biofeedback and Consciousness Commemorative Edition Audio Tape," recording of an invited address to the sixth annual meeting of the AAPB (then known as the BRS)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Barbara 1921 births 1999 deaths American women psychologists 20th-century American psychologists University of Cincinnati College of Medicine alumni 20th-century American women scientists