Brainwave Entrainment - An Introduction

 

Brainwave Entrainment: Definition

 

Brainwave entrainment refers to the brain's electrical response to rhythmic sensory stimulation, such as pulses of sound or light.

 

When the brain is given a stimulus, through the ears, eyes or other senses, it emits an electrical charge in response, called a cortical evoked response. These electrical responses travel through the brain to become what you "see and hear".  Scientists measure this activity using sensitive electrodes attached to the scalp.

 

When the brain is presented with a rhythmic stimulus, such as a drum beat for example, the rhythm is reproduced in the brain in the form of these electrical impulses. If the rhythm becomes fast and consistent enough, it can start to resemble the natural internal rhythms of the brain, called brainwaves.  When this happens, the brain responds by synchronizing its own electric cycles to the same rhythm. This is commonly called the Frequency Following Response (or FFR).

 

FFR can be useful because brainwaves are very much related to mental state. For example, a 4 Hz brainwave is associated with sleep, so a 4 Hz sound pattern would help reproduce the sleep state in your brain. The same concept can be applied to many other mental states, including concentration, creativity and many others.

 

Demonstrating the Power of Entrainment - Research Results

 

Brainwave Entrainment is not a new technology. It has been studied extensively for over 70 years.  The research results reported below, as well as the description of the Neuro-Progammer software in later sections, are taken from the documentation of Neuro-Programmer 3, Ultimate Edition (Transparent Inc. 2010). 

 

Numerous studies have found that Beta training (12-20 Hz) can greatly increase cognitive abilities, enhancing memory, increasing focus and mental speed, and reducing "slow-wave" disorders such as ADD (attention deficit disorder).

 

Harold Russel and John Carter of the University of Houston did several studies in which they used brainwave entrainment to treat ADD and other learning disorders. After a short period of treatment they observed 5 to 7 point increases in IQ.  Michael Tansey used a similar protocol to increase 11 - 19 Hz brainwaves in people suffering from dyslexia and other learning disorders.  He reported a 19 point average increase in IQ.

 

Doctors Siegfried and Susan Othmer found, in a controlled study, that beta training in the 15-18 Hz range produces average IQ increases of 23 percent with ADD children. In cases where the starting IQ value is less than 100, the average IQ increase was 33 points! They also found significant improvements in memory, reading and arithmetic. In a one year follow-up, trainees showed major improvements in self-esteem, concentration and self-expression.

 

Psychologist Michael Joyce used brainwave entrainment with a group of 30 children and observed vast improvements in reading level and a half year advancement in grade level as well as substantial improvements in attention, reaction and a reduction in impulsivity and variability.

 

In a 1999 study Thomas Budzynski worked with 8 struggling college students. After undergoing audio-visual brainwave stimulation, the students outperformed a control group and significantly increased their GPA. The GPA’s of the 8 students continued to rise even after treatment was discontinued!

 

These studies were done using groups of people who probably needed an IQ increase. For those who are already overachievers, these sessions may have less effect. We do believe, however, that they will be of great benefit to most people.

 

Entrainment is widely used as a way to reduce stress and anxiety. Very few reports on brainwave training fail to mention stress reduction as a goal or healthy side effect.

 

It has been found that people with addictive personalities have low activity in the Alpha region (8-12 Hz). Research done using Alpha training during the 1980's yielded incredible results with a 70% success rate in a three year follow up. Henry Adams of NIMH and head of the alcoholism programs at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, found that alcoholics showed a 55% decrease in alcohol consumption after a single relaxation session combined with a brief anti-alcohol affirmation.   Alpha/Theta (0.2-3 Hz) neurofeedback resulted in some 80% of those addicts properly trained becoming non-craving, healthy people with well adjusted neurochemistry.

 

It has also been found that those with lower SMR (12-15 Hz) levels tend to be more likely to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol. Low SMR levels can lead to an inability to relax or control levels of arousal. People suffering from chronic anxiety, panic attacks and ADD also tend to lack the SMR brainwave. However, in one case study a 29 year long-time sufferer of panic attacks completely rid herself of her disorder by using Alpha training.

 

Brainwave entrainment therefore has the potential to address at least the need for study, exam and thinking skills development and the management of stress, anxiety and addictions among our students – all important factors in academic performance.  Exactly how this can be done is spelled out in the next few sections.

 

Neuro-Programming Software to Create Sessions

 

The software we have chosen (Neuro-Programmer 3) uses complex sound filters and modulations to create sessions.  This functionality enables it to effectively alter brainwave patterns as the user listens to the sessions.

 

Brainwave patterns have a huge impact on our daily lives. There are very specific patterns which correlate to specific mental functions. For example, by looking at a person's brainwave pattern you can tell whether the person is tired, energetic, focused, day dreaming, anxious, angry and more. People with ADD have very specific brainwave patterns. So do people with depression and a number of other common disorders. By changing and optimizing brainwave patterns, a wide range of problems can be dramatically reduced and many other factors of the brain can be enhanced. For instance, memory, focus and mental speed can be enhanced using brainwave stimulation (as was illustrated above).   Sleep and advanced states of meditation can be induced.

 

Consistent, rhythmic stimuli entrain and stimulate brainwaves and promote specific mental states in the process. Isochronic tones are the most effective form of rhythmic stimulus. In essence, an isochronic tone is an evenly spaced tone-based pulse which simply turns on and off at a specified rate per second. Because the tones turn off so quickly, they produce extremely strong responses in the brain, which leads to most effective possible brainwave stimulation.

 

The Neuro-Programmer also provides 2 other types of tone-based pulses (besides the isochronic), using Sine and Triangle waves, namely monaural and binaural beats. Though they may not be as effective, they can be more relaxing in some cases.

 

When two or more tones of any frequency are played together the waves add or subtract from each other, forming a single wave. Monaural and binaural beats occur as a result of the sum of two waveforms which are so close together that they add and subtract enough from each other to be perceived as a pulse, or beat, which can then be used to entrain the brain (rhythmic stimulus). The frequency of the beats is the same as the difference between the pitches of the 2 tones. So for example, if 2 tones, one with a pitch of 200 Hz and the other using 210 Hz, are played at the same time, a pulsating rhythm of 10 Hz will result, the difference between the two.

 

The software enables the user to crate its own sessions via a powerful session editor (see figure 2).  It allows, inter alia, the inclusion of isochronic, monaural and binaural beats, noise and background sounds (which can be customized) in a session, it has an easy to use user interface that makes setting frequencies and durations very easy and it allows for separate stimulation of left and right hemispheres.  A session can also be exported in mp3 format to be played on any compatible device, including iPod’s.  This session editor was used to create the brainwave entrainment sessions within StudyWell4Life, AffirmWell4Life, SuggestWell4Life, VisualizeWell4Life and HypnotiseWell4Life.  These new products will be described in the next few sections.

 

Figure 2: The Session Editor of the Neuro-Programmer Software