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Posted on Mon, Oct. 25, 2010
Barry Shmavonian, 83, pioneer in biofeedback
By Sally A. Downey
Inquirer Staff Writer
Barry Shmavonian, 83, of Mount Airy, a professor of medical psychology
at Temple University who did groundbreaking biofeedback research, died
Tuesday, Oct. 12, at Wissahickon Hospice of complications from a fall.
Dr. Shmavonian taught for 10 years at Duke University School of
Medicine before joining the Temple faculty in 1968.
In 1971, he was interviewed by The Inquirer about biofeedback, then a
new technique doctors were using to teach patients how to manipulate
various physiological functions. At the time, Dr. Shmavonian was
experimenting with heart-rate control at his research lab at Eastern
Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute.
He told The Inquirer, "As of now I'm not convinced" that humans could
learn to achieve much specific control over individual organs of the
body. But he added, "I'm not so skeptical that I won't continue the
work."
By 1975, Dr. Shmavonian had developed a computer-training program that
could help patients control hypertension, migraine and tension
headaches, cardiac rates, and muscle abnormalities.
In an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, he said: "What we
are doing with the help of machines is trying to get the patient be
more in touch with his body."
In the experiments, the patient lay in a room with music
playing. Wires were attached to a finger and arm to record electrical
impulses produced by nervous responses. As long as the patient kept
the responses within certain limits, the music played. If the patient
failed, the music stopped and the patient had to regain control.
In the case of migraine headaches, the patient tried to direct the
flow of blood away from the forehead into the hands. The increased
blood flow warmed the hands and caused a tingling sensation.
Dr. Shmavonian's many publications and preventions covered his work in
biofeedback, sensory deprivation, and the psychophysiology of
aging. He also led seminars and conducted research on sensory
deprivation for the U.S. Air Force.
After retiring from Temple in 1992, he saw patients in private
practice in Mount Airy for several years.
Born in Tabriz, Iran, to Armenian parents, Dr. Shmavonian grew up in
Tehran. He left Iran at 15 and lived in Lebanon for several years
before moving to the United States in 1946. He earned a bachelor's
degree from the University of Southern California and master's and
doctoral degrees in psychology from the University of Washington,
where he met his future wife, Verna Andersen.
Dr. Shmavonian played trumpet and had an abiding love of jazz and jazz
musicians, his daughter, Nadya, said. His other lifelong interests
included sports cars, electronics, collecting clocks, and cultivating
roses.
Besides his wife of 57 years and daughter, Dr. Shmavonian is survived
by a son, Karl; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be private.
Donations may be made to the Jazz Foundation of America, 322 W. 46th
St., New York, N.Y. 10026.
Read more:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/obituaries/20101025_Barry_Shmavonian__83__pioneer_in_biofeedb ack.html#ixzz13NCreWrw
From: A. Papazian
Barry Shmavonian, 83, pioneer in biofeedback
By Sally A. Downey
Inquirer Staff Writer
Barry Shmavonian, 83, of Mount Airy, a professor of medical psychology
at Temple University who did groundbreaking biofeedback research, died
Tuesday, Oct. 12, at Wissahickon Hospice of complications from a fall.
Dr. Shmavonian taught for 10 years at Duke University School of
Medicine before joining the Temple faculty in 1968.
In 1971, he was interviewed by The Inquirer about biofeedback, then a
new technique doctors were using to teach patients how to manipulate
various physiological functions. At the time, Dr. Shmavonian was
experimenting with heart-rate control at his research lab at Eastern
Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute.
He told The Inquirer, "As of now I'm not convinced" that humans could
learn to achieve much specific control over individual organs of the
body. But he added, "I'm not so skeptical that I won't continue the
work."
By 1975, Dr. Shmavonian had developed a computer-training program that
could help patients control hypertension, migraine and tension
headaches, cardiac rates, and muscle abnormalities.
In an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, he said: "What we
are doing with the help of machines is trying to get the patient be
more in touch with his body."
In the experiments, the patient lay in a room with music
playing. Wires were attached to a finger and arm to record electrical
impulses produced by nervous responses. As long as the patient kept
the responses within certain limits, the music played. If the patient
failed, the music stopped and the patient had to regain control.
In the case of migraine headaches, the patient tried to direct the
flow of blood away from the forehead into the hands. The increased
blood flow warmed the hands and caused a tingling sensation.
Dr. Shmavonian's many publications and preventions covered his work in
biofeedback, sensory deprivation, and the psychophysiology of
aging. He also led seminars and conducted research on sensory
deprivation for the U.S. Air Force.
After retiring from Temple in 1992, he saw patients in private
practice in Mount Airy for several years.
Born in Tabriz, Iran, to Armenian parents, Dr. Shmavonian grew up in
Tehran. He left Iran at 15 and lived in Lebanon for several years
before moving to the United States in 1946. He earned a bachelor's
degree from the University of Southern California and master's and
doctoral degrees in psychology from the University of Washington,
where he met his future wife, Verna Andersen.
Dr. Shmavonian played trumpet and had an abiding love of jazz and jazz
musicians, his daughter, Nadya, said. His other lifelong interests
included sports cars, electronics, collecting clocks, and cultivating
roses.
Besides his wife of 57 years and daughter, Dr. Shmavonian is survived
by a son, Karl; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be private.
Donations may be made to the Jazz Foundation of America, 322 W. 46th
St., New York, N.Y. 10026.
Read more:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/obituaries/20101025_Barry_Shmavonian__83__pioneer_in_biofeedb ack.html#ixzz13NCreWrw
From: A. Papazian