hey, brain nerds

[rmd]

The idea of inducing brain state by means of binaural beats: debunked? Not, like, "BINAURAL BEATS MAKE US TELEPATHIC", but something like "listening to these can help people get to a meditative state faster than not" level of results.

I've played around with a light/sound machine a couple of times. Some of the sessions, I felt about the same as when I had spent a similar amount of time meditating, and one time I came out feeling like Dave Bowman going through the monolith. Does this actually have an effect on my brain beyond what is self-induced?

Comments

[maellenkleth]

I don't have a really clear idea of what goes on when one messes about with binaural inputs, but from my own experience, it is an excellent tool for reaching a 'quiet mind' state, and it fits well with other disciplines such as guided imagery and blank-mind remote viewing. The latter might be viewed by some as excessively woo-woo, but I can vouch for its utility in certain settings.

Good luck!

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

Allegedly what happens is, the brainwave frequencies closest to the "synthesized" beat end up getting reinforced. In theory, the effect should be similar to meditating while strapped to a biofeedback rig and deliberately bringing a particular brainwave to the front.

See, the beat is not being created by physics, like it is with monaural beats (assuming you're using decent headphones). It sounds like it is, but it's an illusion created by the brain instead of actual beats created by interfering wave patterns. Your brain creates the beat at the given frequency. The theory goes that the created beat thus "pulses" through your brain in a way that reinforces the brain waves with similar frequencies.

I'm quite interested in whether or not it can be used to strengthen beta and/or delta waves, myself. Some folks report good results with biofeedback-monitored meditation as a tool for managing ADHD, you see... yeah, some kids might be able to get high on this, but a subset of the population might also be able to use it to focus more and get more work done (and maybe without the nightly ritalin crash).

The theory doesn't sound inherently implausible to me. I hope more research is done.

I don't know which waves "the kids" are trying for. Alpha? Theta? Got a pointer to an MP3 or something?

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Oh, the 'kids getting high' stuff sounds like utter craptastic silliness.

As I understand the general concept on creating that interference in the brain, I agree that, yeah, it sounds plausible. Hence my curiousity.

I think alpha is the mellow near-trance state, and theta is the deep relaxation. Delta, iirc, is the extra deep stuff. I thought beta was normal waking state.

You can create your own using audacity or other audio editing programs. With a light and sound machine, you can get visual and audio stimulation, synchronized, and it'll run through different frequency offsets. Some of them, you can even feed other audio into it as well. (The one I played with was a 'nova pro' model)

I don't have any audio files handy, though. I've only done this a couple of times, using someone's light/sound machine.

If I learn more, I'll let you know.

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly, think about what "beta [is] normal waking state" means.

What happens if you reinforce it shortly after your alarm goes off in the morning, while you're still groggy from sleep? Cybercoffee, anyone?

What happens if you reinforce it while you're trapped in an ADHD hyperfocus pseudo-trance?

Do Want!

[mietteloaf.livejournal.com]

I have been told an anecdote about using the blinky helmet on ADHD kids and having it be very helpful to them, and more helpful over time. Retraining the brain into new pathways, handwave handwave.

For my money, if kids are getting high on binaural beats, assuming it's actually working for them without the blinky glasses and with the crappy earbuds, well I'm happier with that than if they're drinking, smoking, snorting, shooting, etc. There's a binaural beats app on the iphone, I hear, so I suspect the kids are starting there.

Wired article on Scare News from a week ago:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/digital-drugs/

Whether it helps you get your zen on probably depends on which program you're running and how often.

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

I completely agree, I'd rather have kids in particular (whose bodies are still growing/developing) experiment with things that don't distress the lungs, that don't have to be filtered out by the kidney and/or liver, that can't leave residues behind in fatty tissues as they're deposited...

Many (but not all) of the real problems I see with drug abuse (and sometimes even responsible use) are due to the fact that they're biological/biochemical agents. Take the "biochemical agent" out of the equation and I at least am considerably happier.

Heck, if this could substitute for my own Methylphenidate HCl (which I do not believe, but do intend to test at some point), I'd love that.

I'd even help my nieces and nephews build and test such a rig, if they asked me and if their parents were cool with it (and I believe they would be, as most of my in-laws have functioning brains in their heads).

[firni.livejournal.com]

My shrink and my therapists both say no studies have been done to make them believe in their efficacy.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. EMDR did help my PTSD, but we weren't using sound.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

Alas, the results of these studies do not look promising:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17388762
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12722933

[dfjdejulio.livejournal.com]

Don't tell "the kids"! Getting high off of a placebo effect is even better than getting high off of an emergent behavior of the brain's auditory centers! Plus it sounds safer than smoking banana peels.