The term brain entrainment refers to the phenomenon of brain waves autonomically synchronizing their frequency rate to match any repetitive stimulus that falls within brain wave parameters, i.e. approximately 1 to 40 cycles per second.
Not long after the discovery of the Alpha brainwave by Hans Berger in 1929, researchers found that the strength of the wave could be "driven" beyond its natural frequency using flickering lights. This is called "Photic Driving", which is another word for brainwave entrainment using photic (light) stimulation. In 1942 Dempsey and Morison discovered that repetitive tactile stimulation could also produce entrainment and in 1959, Dr. Chatrian observed auditory entrainment in response to clicks at a frequency of 15 per second. Brainwave entrainment was first identified in 1934, although its effects had been noted as early as Ptolemy.
Brainwave entrainment, also known as "brainwave synchronization", is concerned with frequency following response, a naturally occurring phenomenon where the human brain has a tendency to change towards the frequency of the dominant external stimuli applied to it. Brainwave synchronization with binaural beats is said to help 'synchronize the two hemispheres of the brain', hence the most famous incarnation of this example, Hemi-Sync (by Monroe Institute).
How It Works On The Brain When signals of two different frequencies are presented, one to each ear, the brain detects phase differences between these signals. "Under natural circumstances a detected phase difference would provide directional information. The brain processes this anomalous information differently when these phase differences are heard with stereo headphones or speakers. A perceptual integration of the two signals takes place, producing the sensation of a third "beat" frequency. The difference between the signals waxes and wanes as the two different input frequencies mesh in and out of phase. As a result of these constantly increasing and decreasing differences, an amplitude-modulated standing wave -the binaural beat- is heard. The binaural beat is perceived as a fluctuating rhythm at the frequency of the difference between the two auditory inputs.
How Does Entrainment For Headache Relief Work?You simply listen to the MP3 or CD whenever you have a headache. When your headache disappears you'll be fully aware, but you'll feel relaxed and alert. You will find no difference between paying up to $15.00 for a supply of aspirin and listening to the recording. Your brain listens and responds to the unique way the rhythms are created.
Why Entrainment Will Relieve Your Headache? Your brainwaves may be a little different than everybody else’s as every normal person has their own "thought" pattern, however it has been discovered that various conditions such as headaches and migraines especially correspond to a certain pain frequency in the brain. An EEG can measure these differences in how you feel before and after a headache.
Aural Stimulation Will Not Harm You? Aural stimulation can do you no more harm than listening to the birds in the trees on a spring day. With Repeated Listening, You Will Find Your Headaches Are Relived Faster?You will find, as I have discovered, that you will get headaches less often because your brain has returned to its normal healthy state. When you listen to the CD or MP3 more often, you will find it easier for your headaches to be relieved. Learn More About Entrainment
By the 1960s entrainment started to become a tool rather than a phenomenon of the brain. Anesthesiologist M.S. Sadove, MD, used photic stimulation to reduce the amount of anesthesia needed for surgery. Bernard Margolis published an article on brainwave entrainment used during dental procedures, noting less anesthesia required, less gagging, less bleeding and a general reduction in anxiety.
Brainwave synchronization (entrainment) may be achieved when audio signals are introduced to the brain causing a response directly related to the frequency of the signal introduced, called binaural beats. Two tones close in frequency generate a beat frequency at the difference of the frequencies, which is generally subsonic. For example, a 500 Hz tone and 510 Hz tone will produce a subsonic 10 Hz tone, roughly in the middle of the alpha range. The resulting subsonic tone may affect the state of mind of the subject. The "carrier frequency" (i.e. the 500 Hz in the example above), is also said by some to affect the quality of the transformative experience.[
In a 1973 issue of Scientific American, Dr. Gerald Oster examined how combining 2 pure tones resulted in a rhythmic beat which he called Binaural and Monaural Beats. In comparing Binaural beats against Monaural beats, Oster noted that Monaural beats were shown to elicit extremely strong cortical responses, which is the electrical activity responsible for entrainment. Oster concluded that while Binaural Beats produced very little neural response (because the depth of a Binaural Beat is only 3db or 1/10 the volume of a whisper), they could be useful in diagnosing certain neurological disorders. In the 1980's studies continued with Dr. Norman Shealy, Dr. Glen Solomon and others researching entrainment for headache relief, Serotonin and HGH release, as well as general relaxation. Michael Hutchison wrote his landmark book MegaBrain in 1981, outlining the many possible uses of entrainment from meditation to super-learning. In 1980, Tsuyoshi Inouye and associates at the Department of Neuropsychiatry at Osaka University Medical School in Japan found that photic stimulation produced "cerebral synchronization". Dr. Norman Shealy later confirmed the effect, finding that photic stimulation produced synchronization in more than 5,000 patients. In 1984, Dr. Brockopp analyzed audio-visual brain stimulation and in particular hemispheric synchronization during EEG monitoring. He said "By inducing hemispheric coherence the machine can contribute to improved intellectual functioning of the brain."
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