The Science Behind Brainwave Entrainment Techechnology at Transparent Corp

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BIRF: The Science Behind Brainwave Stimulation

BIRF has published an article The Science Behind Brainwave Stimulation about the technology behind Transparent Corp's software. Here is an excerpt from the article.

What are Brainwaves? When a neuron is fired in the brain it emits a charge of electricity for about a millisecond. Since billions of neurons are constantly firing on and off in the brain, this tends to produce a "wave" effect that has been popularly referred to as brainwaves. Sensitive medical equipment (EEG, electroencephalography), is used to detect brainwaves by measuring the electricity levels over areas of the scalp.

With the discovery of brainwaves came the discovery of various bands and subcategories of brainwaves (measured in hertz or "frequencies" ranging from .3 - 40). Depending on what is going on in a person's head, the brain emits a large variety of brainwaves. For instance, the brainwaves of a sleeping person are vastly different than the brainwaves of someone wide awake.

Over the years, more sensitive equipment has brought us closer to figuring out exactly what various brainwaves represent and with that, what they mean about a person's health and state of mind.

Entrainment

Entrainment is a principle of physics. It is defined as the tendency for two oscillating bodies to lock into phase so that they vibrate in harmony. It is also defined as a synchronization of two or more rhythmic cycles. The principles of entrainment are universal, appearing in chemistry, neurology, biology, pharmacology, medicine, astronomy and more.

CASE IN POINT: While working on the design of the pendulum clock in 1656, dutch scientist Christian Huygens found that if he placed two unsynchronized clocks side by side on a wall, they would slowly synchronize to each other. In fact, the synchronization was so precise not even mechanical intervention could calibrate them more accurately.

A clock is a simple example of a system responding to entrainment, but the same rules apply to more complex systems such as the brain. For example, when the brain is presented with a stimulus, it emits an electrical charge in response, called a cortical evoked response. If presented with a repeating stimulus, the brain responds by synchronizing these electric cycles to the same rhythm. This is commonly called the Frequency Following Response (or FFR ). The stimulus itself can be nearly anything – a physical vibration, a flash of light or a pulse of sound, which is what our programs focus on providing.

What is Brainwave Entrainment?

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 (shown below). These electrical responses travel throughout the brain to become what you "see and hear". This activity can be measured 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 nearly all mental states, including concentration, creativity and many others. It can even act as a gateway to exotic or extraordinary experiences, such as deep meditation or "lucid dreaming" type states.

If you listen closely to most NP2 Audio/Visual Sessions, you will hear small, rapid pulses of sound. These pulses may be harder to detect if you turn off Tones, but Noise and Background Sounds are also embedded within them. As the session progresses, the frequency rate of these pulses is changed slowly, thereby changing your brainwave patterns and guiding your mind to various useful mental states.

To get the latest Brainwave Stimulation Technologies, visit Transparent Corp here.