MNDLAB
Understanding Your LENS Dashboard
EEG Amplitude
Brainwave Frequencies
Brain Site Map
NeuroSync™ Score
Subjective Wellbeing
Advanced Biomarkers
01
What Is LENS Neurofeedback?
LENS (Low Energy Neurofeedback System) was developed by Dr. Len Ochs and is one of the most researched forms of direct neurofeedback available. Unlike traditional talk therapy or medication, LENS works directly with the brain's own electrical activity — reading it, then sending a tiny, imperceptible electromagnetic signal back that is slightly offset from what the brain is producing. This "interruption" gives the brain an opportunity to break out of stuck patterns and reorganize itself more efficiently.
Think of it like rebooting a frozen computer. The signal LENS delivers is roughly 1/300th the strength of a cell phone signal. You feel nothing during the session — but your brain registers the feedback and begins to self-correct. Clinical studies across 75,000+ people show average symptom ratings drop by 50% after ~20 sessions, with the fastest gains in the first 5–6 sessions.
02
The NeuroSync™ Score (0–100)
Your NeuroSync™ Score is MNDLAB's proprietary composite metric — one single number that reflects the overall state of your brain's health and regulation by combining three key data streams.
40%
EEG Amplitude Normalization
How much your total brainwave amplitude has decreased and normalized toward the optimal range. Lower amplitude = a calmer, more regulated nervous system. This is the single strongest predictor of clinical improvement in all published LENS research.
20%
Suppression Flexibility
How well your brain transitions between different states. Optimal range is 35–70%. Too low means the brain is "stuck." Too high can mean it's too reactive. This reflects neurological flexibility — the brain's ability to shift gears.
40%
Subjective Wellbeing Average
An average of your 10 self-reported wellbeing scores (sleep, anxiety, focus, mood, etc.) — weighted so that "positive" metrics (sleep, clarity) count positively and "negative" ones (anxiety, fatigue) are inverted. What you feel matters just as much as what the EEG shows.
What's a good score? Scores below 65 suggest significant dysregulation. 65–75 reflects a brain actively improving. 75–85 is strong functional wellness. Above 85 is peak brain performance territory. Most clients go from ~60 to ~80+ over a 12-session program.
03
EEG Objective Metrics Explained
These four numbers are the core objective data LENS captures at every session. They come directly from the EEG sensors and don't depend on how you're feeling or what you report — they're what your brain's electrical activity is actually doing.
Key Metric #1
Mean Total Amplitude (μV)
Amplitude is the size or "volume" of your brainwaves, measured in microvolts (millionths of a volt). Think of it like the volume dial on a stereo. A healthy resting brain has a natural gradient — quieter in the back, slightly louder in the front. When amplitude is too high across the board, it signals the nervous system is stuck in a state of chronic activation — like a car engine revving too high at idle.
What you want to see: A steady decline over sessions. Each session, the LENS signal invites the brain to "turn down the volume" toward a calmer baseline. Clinical research confirms the drop in amplitude at the Highest Amplitude Site is the strongest single predictor of symptom improvement.
Key Metric #2
Dominant Frequency (Hz)
Every second, your brain is oscillating at many frequencies simultaneously — but one tends to dominate. This number (in Hertz, or cycles per second) tells us which frequency is leading at each electrode site. A dominant frequency in the 8–12 Hz alpha range indicates calm, alert focus. Very low dominant frequencies (below 7 Hz) suggest fatigue, brain fog, or depression. Very high (above 20 Hz) can signal anxiety or hypervigilance.
What you want to see: Gradual movement toward the 9–13 Hz range (alpha/SMR). This corresponds to the alert-but-relaxed state associated with optimal functioning, clear thinking, and emotional stability.
Key Metric #3
Suppression / Flexibility (%)
Suppression is a unique LENS metric. It measures how responsive the brain is to the feedback signal — essentially, how easily the brain can "flex" and change state. A very low suppression percentage means the brain is rigid and stuck, unable to shift gears. Very high suppression can indicate hyperreactivity. The optimal window of 35–70% reflects a nervous system that is both responsive and stable — not too rigid, not too chaotic.
What you want to see: Movement into the 35–70% window. Many clients with PTSD, anxiety, or burnout start outside this range. Getting into the optimal zone is a milestone that typically correlates with major subjective improvements.
Key Metric #4
Highest Amplitude Site (HAS)
This is the single electrode location — out of all 21 sites — producing the most electrical amplitude at that session. In LENS protocol, the HAS is the primary treatment site. It's where the nervous system's dysregulation is most concentrated. In most clients, the HAS starts in frontal regions (Fz, Fp1, Fp2), which govern executive function, emotion regulation, and decision-making. A healthy brain has a posterior-to-anterior gradient — quieter at the back, gently increasing toward the front.
What you want to see: The HAS amplitude decreasing over sessions, and ideally the HAS location shifting — often from frontal sites toward more central or posterior sites — as frontal regulation improves. Research shows the HAS amplitude correlates directly with symptom severity scores.
04
The 5 Brainwave Bands
Your brain produces electrical activity across a wide spectrum of frequencies simultaneously. Scientists group these into five bands, each associated with different mental states and functions. The dashboard shows the relative power (%) in each band — and how that's shifted from your baseline.
δ
Delta
0.5–4 Hz
The slowest brainwaves, dominant during deep, dreamless sleep and profound relaxation. Delta is also associated with healing and cellular repair. Elevated delta during waking hours (called "delta intrusion") is strongly linked to brain fog, fatigue, depression, TBI, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Too High Awake → Brain Fog, TBI, Depression
Optimal at Night → Deep Restorative Sleep
Too Low → Sleep Onset Difficulty
θ
Theta
4–8 Hz
The creative, dreamy, twilight state — the zone between waking and sleep. Theta is associated with imagination, intuition, insight, and emotional processing. In moderate amounts during meditation it supports deep inner work. Excessive theta during the day is linked to ADHD, spaciness, and difficulty maintaining focus. Low theta can indicate emotional rigidity.
Excess → Inattention, ADHD, Daydreaming
Balanced → Creativity, Meditation, Insight
Deficit → Emotional Rigidity
α
Alpha
8–12 Hz
The "bridge" frequency and the hallmark of a healthy, regulated nervous system. Alpha is most prominent when you're calmly alert — eyes closed, relaxed, at ease. It's associated with reduced anxiety, improved mood, creativity, and the ability to access "flow states." Rising alpha across sessions is one of the clearest positive signs of LENS progress. Frontal alpha asymmetry (more alpha on the right vs. left front) reliably predicts emotional valence and has 75–85% accuracy in research studies.
Rising → Calm Focus, Lower Anxiety, Flow States
Low Alpha → Anxiety, Hypervigilance, Insomnia
β
Beta
12–30 Hz
The "thinking brain" frequency — active during focused attention, problem-solving, and alert engagement with the world. The lower end (12–15 Hz, called SMR or Sensorimotor Rhythm) is particularly beneficial and is associated with relaxed focus, good impulse control, and calm alertness. High beta (above 20 Hz) often signals anxiety, overthinking, and a nervous system that can't downshift. Beta asymmetry between hemispheres can indicate emotional processing difficulties.
SMR (12–15 Hz) → Calm Focus, Impulse Control
High Beta → Anxiety, Racing Thoughts, Tension
Low Beta → Poor Focus, Sluggishness
γ
Gamma
30–100 Hz
The fastest brainwaves, associated with peak cognitive performance, high-level information integration, and states of heightened perception. Gamma is prominent during intense concentration, moments of insight ("aha!" moments), and advanced meditation. Research links elevated resting gamma in certain regions to higher emotional intelligence and cognitive reserve. Gamma is often called the "binding frequency" — it's how different brain regions communicate and synchronize for complex tasks.
Rising Gamma → Peak Cognition, Perception, Integration
Low Gamma → Cognitive Dullness, Learning Difficulty
05
The 21-Site Brain Amplitude Map
This is a top-down view of your head showing all 21 electrode sites from the international 10-20 EEG system — the gold standard for clinical neurofeedback. Each dot represents one measurement location, color-coded by amplitude level. This map tells your practitioner exactly where the nervous system is most activated (and where it's calming down).
Optimal (≤15μV) — regulated, calm
Good (15–25μV) — mildly elevated, normalizing
Elevated (25–35μV) — actively treating this area
High (>35μV) — primary treatment priority
Midline / Frontal
Fz / Primary Treatment Sites
Lateral / Posterior
★ Highest Amplitude Site
Fp1 / Fp2
Frontopolar
The very front of the brain — governs emotional reactivity, self-awareness, and impulse filtering. Often elevated in anxiety and emotional dysregulation.
F3 / Fz / F4
Frontal
Executive function, decision-making, working memory, and emotional regulation. Fz (midline) is often the Highest Amplitude Site — a central treatment target.
F7 / F8
Frontolateral
Language processing (F7 left), emotional recognition (F8 right). Asymmetry here can relate to mood, verbal processing, and social cognition.
C3 / Cz / C4
Central / Motor Strip
Sensorimotor integration — movement, body sensation, and motor control. SMR (12–15 Hz) training here is a classic protocol for focus and calm alertness.
T3 / T4
Temporal
The ear-level electrodes covering temporal lobes — memory formation, emotional processing, and language. Dysregulation here often relates to trauma and mood.
P3 / Pz / P4
Parietal
Spatial awareness, sensory integration, attention, and the sense of self in space. Parietal dysregulation often appears in ADHD, dissociation, and sensory processing challenges.
T5 / T6
Posterior Temporal
Visual memory, object recognition, and reading. T5 (left) is associated with verbal/reading memory. T6 (right) with visual-spatial memory processing.
O1 / Oz / O2
Occipital
Visual processing center at the back of the brain. Typically the quietest region in a healthy brain — should show the lowest amplitude readings, creating the natural posterior-to-anterior gradient.
★ HAS
Highest Amplitude Site
The LENS protocol always starts treatment at this site. A star marker on the map shows exactly where. Tracking the HAS amplitude drop across sessions is the primary clinical outcome measure.
06
Subjective Wellbeing Indicators
Research by Dr. Stephen Larsen and colleagues at the Stone Mountain Center found that across 100 patients, 15 major symptom categories dropped from an average severity of 7.92 → 3.96 — a 50% improvement — and these changes were highly correlated with EEG amplitude reduction. These self-report scores are not "soft" data: they are clinically validated outcome measures that directly track real-world neurological change. (Larsen, S., Harrington, K., & Hicks, S. (2006). The LENS (Low Energy Neurofeedback System): A clinical outcomes study on one hundred patients at Stone Mountain Center, New York. Journal of Neurotherapy, 10(2–3), 69–78.)
😴
Sleep Quality
Rate the depth, ease of falling asleep, and how refreshed you feel on waking. Sleep is often the first metric to improve with LENS — typically within 3–5 sessions — because the nervous system is downregulating.
Often first to improve ↑
🌱
Groundedness
The felt sense of being present, connected to your body, and stable. Low groundedness often accompanies dissociation, trauma states, and nervous system dysregulation. Rising groundedness reflects growing ventral vagal tone.
Reflects nervous system stability
🌀
Anxiety Level
Scored inversely — a lower number is better. Rate your overall anxiety over the past week, including background tension, worry, and physical symptoms like tight chest or racing heart.
Lower score = better outcome ↓
💡
Mental Clarity
Rate how sharp, clear, and available your mind feels. This tracks cognitive fog, word-finding, processing speed, and the ability to think clearly under pressure.
Correlates with alpha rise ↑
🤝
Social Engagement
Rate your desire and ease of connecting with others. Social withdrawal often accompanies nervous system shutdown (dorsal vagal). Rising scores here indicate emerging social nervous system (ventral vagal) activation.
Polyvagal indicator
⚡
Energy Level
Overall vitality across the day — not just morning, but sustained energy without crashes. Chronic fatigue and energy dysregulation often co-present with elevated slow-wave (delta/theta) activity.
Tracks delta normalization
🌤️
Mood Stability
Rate the evenness and predictability of your emotional state — not whether you're happy, but whether your emotions feel proportionate and manageable. Mood lability often correlates with frontal amplitude dysregulation.
Tracks frontal regulation
🎯
Focus / Attention
Rate your ability to stay on task, resist distraction, and complete things. Closely tied to SMR (sensorimotor rhythm) activity at central sites and theta/beta ratios — the primary EEG marker for ADHD and attentional challenges.
Theta/beta ratio indicator
🪫
Fatigue
Scored inversely. Rate your level of tiredness, mental exhaustion, and the effort it takes to function. Chronic fatigue is one of the strongest indicators of elevated delta activity and a key outcome measure in all LENS research.
Lower score = better ↓
🧊
Pain / Physical Tension
Scored inversely. Rate chronic pain, headaches, muscle tension, and somatic discomfort. LENS has peer-reviewed evidence for fibromyalgia and TBI pain reduction, and physical tension is directly correlated with nervous system dysregulation.
Lower score = better ↓ · Clinical evidence
07
The Neurological Wellness Radar
The radar (spider) chart overlays your current session scores against your very first session (baseline). The teal shape should be growing outward over time — expanding in all directions means your brain and nervous system are improving across every dimension simultaneously. The white inner shape shows where you started.
How to read it: Each of the 10 spokes represents one wellbeing dimension. Points farther from the center = better (except for anxiety, fatigue, and pain, which are inverted so "better" still means larger). A balanced, full teal shape means your brain has achieved broad-spectrum regulation — not just improving in one area but transforming across the board.
08
Advanced Biomarkers: Theta/Beta Ratio, Frontal Alpha Asymmetry & HRV
Theta/Beta Ratio (TBR)
Focus & Attention Index · Cz Site
The Theta/Beta Ratio compares the power of slow theta waves (4–8 Hz) to fast beta waves (12–30 Hz) at the Cz electrode site on the top of the head. Theta is associated with daydreaming, drowsiness, and inattention — beta with active, focused thinking. A high ratio means slow waves are dominating over fast ones, which is the neurological signature of attention difficulties. This is the most clinically validated EEG biomarker for ADHD and has been used in FDA-cleared neuropsychological assessment. A healthy TBR sits between 1.0 and 2.5. As neurofeedback progresses, this ratio typically drops — meaning the brain is spending more time in focused, regulated states and less time in unfocused, slow-wave dominance. Your dashboard shows this as a gauge chart alongside a session-by-session trend so you can see your focus capacity changing over time.
Frontal Alpha Asymmetry (FAA)
Emotional Valence · F3 vs F4
Frontal Alpha Asymmetry measures the relative balance of alpha wave power between the left (F3) and right (F4) frontal electrode sites. The asymmetry index is calculated as: ln(F4 alpha power) − ln(F3 alpha power). Because alpha waves reflect cortical inhibition — the brain quieting an area down — a site with more alpha is actually less active. This means a negative asymmetry index (left-dominant alpha) indicates the left frontal lobe is more active, which research strongly associates with positive emotional engagement, approach motivation, and mood stability. A positive index (right-dominant alpha) means the right frontal lobe is more active — associated with withdrawal tendencies, anxiety, and depression risk. Research across hundreds of studies shows 75–85% accuracy in predicting emotional valence from FAA alone. It responds measurably to neurofeedback training and is one of the most powerful objective indicators of mood improvement. Your dashboard shows the alpha power values for each hemisphere as bar charts, and plots the asymmetry index on a left-to-right scale so you can see at a glance which direction you're trending.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
Autonomic Nervous System · RMSSD
Heart Rate Variability measures the millisecond variation in time between consecutive heartbeats, captured as RMSSD (Root Mean Square of Successive Differences). Counterintuitively, a heart that beats with more variation between beats is healthier — it means your autonomic nervous system is flexible and responsive, able to shift smoothly between activation and rest. A higher RMSSD (above 40–60ms) indicates strong vagal tone and parasympathetic dominance — your rest-and-digest system is engaged. A low RMSSD (below 20ms) is associated with chronic stress, trauma, anxiety, and poor recovery capacity. HRV is the gold-standard peripheral biomarker of nervous system health and is used by elite athletes, clinical programs, and wearable devices alike. It rises in parallel with successful neurofeedback outcomes because both reflect the same underlying shift: a nervous system moving out of chronic hyperactivation. Your dashboard also shows the LF/HF ratio — the balance between low-frequency (sympathetic) and high-frequency (parasympathetic) components — and a vagal tone indicator. When your HRV rises alongside your EEG amplitude normalizing, it confirms that regulation is happening throughout your whole body, not just your brain.
09
How to Read Your Progress Over Time
Looking at your dashboard session-to-session, here's what meaningful progress looks like across all the metrics together.
Positive signs of brain change: Declining Mean Total Amplitude · Dominant Frequency moving toward 9–13 Hz · Suppression entering 35–70% window · HAS amplitude dropping · Alpha band increasing · Subjective scores improving · NeuroSync™ score rising · Radar chart expanding outward
Temporary processing signs (normal): Mild fatigue or vivid dreams after early sessions · Temporary amplitude increases at new sites (the brain reorganizing) · Emotional surfacing between sessions — these are signs the nervous system is actively processing, not regressing.
The LENS research baseline: Published clinical data shows that after an average of 20 sessions, symptom scores drop by 50%, EEG amplitude at the HAS drops significantly (p < .0001), and improvements persist long-term. The most rapid change happens in sessions 1–6. Your MNDLAB dashboard lets you watch this transformation unfold in real time — which is something no other therapy can offer.