It must be something about the way my brain came wired.
As a child, I lucid dreamed chronically. And at will. I could drop myself into a 'day'-dream if I chose. And through early teen years, I would constantly just find myself 'somewhere', know I was dreaming, and wait to see where I was and what was going on.
As my teen years progressed, my lucid dreaming (and what I later understood were called "out of body" experiences) were still chronic but the "invoke at will "capacity seemed to fade.
When I was 18, I read a book about both lucid dreaming and out of body experiences. It was a disaster. It might have been reverse psychology; the authors spent so much effort telling everybody how it was possible it had almost the reverse effect; it was clear they did not truly expect people to believe that, fundamentally.
It might be that it moved it from something I never thought about -- "a given" I thought was normal to everybody -- to something kind of "woo woo". I was something of an official skeptic, left-brain snotty intellectual around that era of life, and it threw it into "that side" of my mental models which it had never faced before.
It might be that it invoked some hidden fears I didn't know I had. For example, all my life, I could sleep in any position except my right side. No idea why. Just couldn't do it. The day I read the OBE book, it mentioned something like that this was less common if people were sleeping on their right. I was unable to sleep in any position but on my right side for years after that point!
After that time, I still had lucid dreams and out of body experiences -- I was glad to have names for these experiences -- but they were more 'common-occasional' than chronic. As I got older, they became more occasional than chronic. And gradually they started getting fairly rare.
By now, at age 43, it's something unusual when I actually have either one.
Remote Viewing when sleep deprived brought on a spate of "nested" lucid dreams a couple years ago. I had a crazy number of sessions I never even begun. I would sit down with my lab book to view and the minute I relaxed, I'd be deeply asleep. I'd wake up the next morning in the exact position I went to sleep in -- sitting up with the light on and my lab book in my lap. I wanted to view desperately, but I also wanted to accomplish something online. I worked more than full time and I had a full time job worth of hours for 'online RV hobby projects' (programming, communicating, design), and I have a pre-teen who wants pretty much every minute I am willing to give her. If I wanted to do even a tiny fraction of the programming work I had to deduct those hours out of my sleep. Then when I'd finally pull off the miracle of making time to view, I couldn't do it.
I started feeling like a poser just talking about RV. The number of unfinished and usually unstarted sessions built up until I had nearly a few hundred, over the course of over a year when I tried almost daily and sometimes more than once. I'd cry about it in frustration sometimes when I woke up. I realized that I had simply trained myself to sit down with a lab book and go to sleep, eventually. It was probably my angst about this and my wish to stay awake despite my body's demands that brought them on.
I would sit down to view, and do a whole session. It felt good. I couldn't wait to see feedback. So I start opening the envelope -- and wake up. And realize I dreamed all of it -- session included. But a session inside a lucid dream might still work. So I decided I would write it all down. I didn't remember it quite as well of course, but still pretty good. So I would write down everything that I recalled, including that it was a lucid dream, and then I would open feedback. Or try. Then I would wake up again, and realize that, too, had been in another layer of dream.
By now I would remember maybe half of the data. And be a little upset because it had all seemed so real. It makes you question reality, frankly. But grim and annoyed, I would determine to capture as much of that data as possible and write it down THIS time, now that I was finally awake. So I would write it down, frustrated that I couldn't recall it all, and in some sad disappointment, go to open feedback -- and wake up. Was it real?
Was this life, or Memorex? I would have no idea. It didn't feel any more or less real than any of the others. What about the session? I didn't remember any of the data at all. I'd be seriously pissed off about that, and very weirded out by the "layers of reality" experience. That went on for a few months, until I realized it was probably a side effect of my so adamantly wanting to view that I was dragging it into the sleep that was happening whether I wanted it to or not. I decided I would not do that anymore and it stopped.
I haven't had a lucid dream since, probably for a year, I think the longest time in my life I've ever gone without lucid dreaming. Usually a "degree" of it is often present even when full blown lucidity isn't, but not the last year.
Today I fell asleep in the daytime. I was sleep deprived and had a blood sugar crash (knew I shouldn't have eaten that chicken pot-pie!) and there I went. I woke up in the normal position -- sitting up with my laptop computer and the light on.
But I had lucid dreamed. The novelty of it was great. I wonder if the brain-stim stuff has something to do with this? I'm embarrassed to admit it wasn't even a great dream. Usually when I'm lucid it has some feeling you might call 'grander' than a normal dream.
This was as proletarian as they come. I was in a dream and this woman was being a total bitch to me for some reason I can't recall. Real snotty. She'd done something bad like kill someone and was implying she was going to blame it on me. (My pathological artificial guilt complex, if it doesn't have enough complete BS to project it on, will drag it into dreams. It's a childhood blame/shame side-effect I've learned to recognize.) I grabbed my cell phone and dialed 911 -- but messed up the dialing.
Focus!, I told myself sternly. Go slow, get it right. I was very careful, and I got it right, but when I looked at the number on the cell phone screen, it was all messed up again -- not even all numbers.
I'm dreaming!, I realized out loud. Well, that seemed to solve everything. I put my cellphone in my pocket and walked toward her, said, "Hey!" and when she turned around, I punched her in the head as hard as I could. Then I just punched her repeatedly until she wasn't getting up again soon.
I turned around and stomped over to find the person she had allegedly killed, but I didn't find any body. I went outside and some guy started harrassing me about how I couldn't go outside. "But I'm dreaming!," I explained to him so reasonably, and then punched him in the head.
And here most people think lucid dreaming is some kind of spiritual evolution. LOL.
That's all I remember! After a whole life of LD I don't think I ever remember using getting lucid as an excuse to beat people up. That's kind of novel!
Anyway, I wondered if going to sleep with these delta programs that have all the lights on the eyes could be resulting in these. I'm an exceptional hypnotic subject and I have a high tendency to lucidity even when in impossibly deep trance or sleep -- I had years of problems once I attribute now to some kind of "delta activity while waking" (among other things) -- maybe light that seems to keep me awake a bit and sound that helps put me asleep contributed. I had listened to that last night -- but not this afternoon when I fell asleep spontaneously about 40 minutes after eating.
PJ
.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Neuroprogrammer 2, Procyon, Thought Sounds
I did my first 'neuroprogrammer'-sourced session this evening. OK, I only did a small part of one, but enough to get some idea of it.
To make this happen I opened NP2 software and listed the preset sessions. I plugged the cord (1/16 jack) from my computer headphone port into the auxilliary port of the Procyon, then plugged in the headphones and goggles. I changed the mode on the Procyon to "AS" (audiostrobe, as that is what is encoded in the NP2 file(s)). And then I pressed play on my computer, for that NP2 session.
The sound is certainly better. It's my understanding that MindPlace's "Proteus" unit, which was released prior to the Procyon, is actually way better with sound, just not as advanced with light. One assumes their next product will combine the best of those worlds. In the meantime that is why I got NP2 software, so I could handle the sound in great detail.
The light is only red and green (no blue) because that is what the AudioStrobe format (which NP2 is putting out so that the Procyon can read it for the goggles) defaults to. Maybe AS will upgrade their own options at some point but for now that's the tradeoff. It was ok. I mean the colors were not as interesting but the sound was better. I would say it was equal as a result.
I was using the NP2 present "Hypnotic Relax Example" because I had begun by looking at the session file, considering when I'll have time to begin building one of my own to start experimenting. I did not expect any preset to be all that great frankly so I did not intend to do a whole session, just to maybe sit through 10 minutes of something, anything, and see what the difference was between using this as a session-source vs. the Procyon's stuff.
I noticed at one point that I had just suddenly shifted into serious trance and felt good. I interrupted myself to pull off my goggles and lift up my laptop screen so I could see what the session was doing at that point.
It was just at a change point, just before-during-after that point somewhere, about two (2) minutes in. All the various things going on are at 12 Hz and 10 Hz; the 12 had finished a cycle of coming down from 14 Hz and the 10 had finished a cycle of coming up from 8 Hz. On the other side of the point they had shifted the other way, the 8 starting a ramp toward 12 and the twelve starting a ramp toward 9.
I stopped the session at that point as I was interrupted by "the real world", which apparently is filled with people who think me sitting around in the dark with headphones and matrix-like reflective shades flashing colored lights is kind of odd.
(What I really need is a black light Crowley poster just to freak everybody out.) (Just kidding.) (I'm really not 16 anymore, I swear.)
I actually wondered why I would respond so well to this compared to the sessions I've done with the Procyon presets. I hypothesize that my being more geared to sound as a primary sensory, and perhaps that this multi-track session had only two tones but more cross-confirmation of those tones between the various track options, maybe that made some difference.
(On the left: frequencies are up the left side, timing is across the bottom.)
Next topic: Thought-Sounds:
I got a chance to look this over. Interesting approach they took here. Basically, they provide you all these nice sounds but they are only 6 minutes long each! They provide you software to help you loop them. (I will see if Audacity will let me loop it also.)
I haven't yet listened to any of them, but if the descriptions are any clue, I may need some Nag Champa incense, Ingo Swann paintings, and maybe some feathers and crystals when I do. Heh. I think it'll be cool though.
PJ
.
To make this happen I opened NP2 software and listed the preset sessions. I plugged the cord (1/16 jack) from my computer headphone port into the auxilliary port of the Procyon, then plugged in the headphones and goggles. I changed the mode on the Procyon to "AS" (audiostrobe, as that is what is encoded in the NP2 file(s)). And then I pressed play on my computer, for that NP2 session.
The sound is certainly better. It's my understanding that MindPlace's "Proteus" unit, which was released prior to the Procyon, is actually way better with sound, just not as advanced with light. One assumes their next product will combine the best of those worlds. In the meantime that is why I got NP2 software, so I could handle the sound in great detail.The light is only red and green (no blue) because that is what the AudioStrobe format (which NP2 is putting out so that the Procyon can read it for the goggles) defaults to. Maybe AS will upgrade their own options at some point but for now that's the tradeoff. It was ok. I mean the colors were not as interesting but the sound was better. I would say it was equal as a result.
I was using the NP2 present "Hypnotic Relax Example" because I had begun by looking at the session file, considering when I'll have time to begin building one of my own to start experimenting. I did not expect any preset to be all that great frankly so I did not intend to do a whole session, just to maybe sit through 10 minutes of something, anything, and see what the difference was between using this as a session-source vs. the Procyon's stuff.
I noticed at one point that I had just suddenly shifted into serious trance and felt good. I interrupted myself to pull off my goggles and lift up my laptop screen so I could see what the session was doing at that point.
It was just at a change point, just before-during-after that point somewhere, about two (2) minutes in. All the various things going on are at 12 Hz and 10 Hz; the 12 had finished a cycle of coming down from 14 Hz and the 10 had finished a cycle of coming up from 8 Hz. On the other side of the point they had shifted the other way, the 8 starting a ramp toward 12 and the twelve starting a ramp toward 9.
I stopped the session at that point as I was interrupted by "the real world", which apparently is filled with people who think me sitting around in the dark with headphones and matrix-like reflective shades flashing colored lights is kind of odd.
(What I really need is a black light Crowley poster just to freak everybody out.) (Just kidding.) (I'm really not 16 anymore, I swear.)
I actually wondered why I would respond so well to this compared to the sessions I've done with the Procyon presets. I hypothesize that my being more geared to sound as a primary sensory, and perhaps that this multi-track session had only two tones but more cross-confirmation of those tones between the various track options, maybe that made some difference.
(On the left: frequencies are up the left side, timing is across the bottom.)
Next topic: Thought-Sounds:
I got a chance to look this over. Interesting approach they took here. Basically, they provide you all these nice sounds but they are only 6 minutes long each! They provide you software to help you loop them. (I will see if Audacity will let me loop it also.)
I haven't yet listened to any of them, but if the descriptions are any clue, I may need some Nag Champa incense, Ingo Swann paintings, and maybe some feathers and crystals when I do. Heh. I think it'll be cool though.
PJ
.
Day 6 and 7.
OK this is the last of the named-dailies. Yesterday and today I've used the presets on the Procyon for a couple sessions a day. #5 and #2 for alertness. The sudden abrupt shifts in light/sound in those programs startle me but the 'alert' sessions do seem to result in more alertness.
They don't have the slightest effect on making the body more alert though which really is odd. I mean normally when anything makes you 'feel more alert' in some fashion, your body is going there too (like with caffeine). It's just "odd" to have the mind increase alertness when the body doesn't change at all. I feel some lack of "sync" between body and mind in this area at those time.
I missed a couple nights this week but I've tried to go to sleep while listening to some delta program, lying on my back. When I have done this, I have to admit that I seem to feel better after 3-4 hours sleep than I would have at that little sleep without the tech. On the other hand, falling asleep with anything but delta, such as an alpha-theta, seems to result in me feeling more groggy the next morning or day.
Actually, listening to that stuff seems to result in my feeling a little groggy after the session no matter what. Not right after, but awhile after. I think most people are expected to feel "relaxed and peaceful" or something. I just feel woozy. But maybe this is because I am sleep deprived or something.
I received my "thought-sounds" product from Transparent Corp. (Humor: so you know that mind control is infamously linked to all forms of 'braintech', right. Well, the ultimate black ops groups are out in the open working in what is called, in the intelligence industry, a 'transparent corporation'. Funny naming on that one.) The TS is a collection of audio files designed to be seamless, loop-able, quality soundtracks for use in anything from videos to hypnosis sessions. They have a variety of different 'kinds' (spacey, naturey, ethnic, etc.), plus 'variations' on them, and some software that helps loop them seamlessly if your session is longer than the clip.
So I think I have everything I need now. My intent was to create sessions that combined:
1 - Audio track using various tone-pulse-technologies for brainstim at certain frequencies
2 - The above would be intermittant, with periods of hypnosis spoken script
3 - At beginning, end, and during the speaking portions, there would be some nice subtle background music (to go with binaural beats which I wouldn't use for the main stim parts but could use along with the spoken parts)
4 - There might actually be scripted parts for using the glasses -- literally on and off depending on the session -- in any case, the RGB photic is planned to be a big part of it, but not the only part.
I'm going to start simple, with some short sessions, perhaps some kind of generic ones. When I was doing major self hypnosis for years, using pretty deep trance and self-made cassette tapes (this was the 80s), I found it interesting that some of the most influential tapes seemed to be the ones where I just said nice things to myself, vs. the ones where I outlined some specific thing. I'd like to do another chakra exercise script since if I'm going to meditate I may as well do something useful during it, and one or two shamanic-archetype meditation and prayer scripts just to encourage myself to do more of these and do it in deep trance without falling asleep. Brief stuff. After that I'll consider longer more complex stuff.
I hope to have time this weekend -- despite I am totally swamped with stuff for a project having a July party -- to design at least one simple brief custom session in Neuroprogrammer, and one photic session in the Procyon, designed to be used at the same time. The presets are ok but the sound is kinda thin, and I'd like to have something I could use without the goggles sometimes.
PJ
.
They don't have the slightest effect on making the body more alert though which really is odd. I mean normally when anything makes you 'feel more alert' in some fashion, your body is going there too (like with caffeine). It's just "odd" to have the mind increase alertness when the body doesn't change at all. I feel some lack of "sync" between body and mind in this area at those time.
I missed a couple nights this week but I've tried to go to sleep while listening to some delta program, lying on my back. When I have done this, I have to admit that I seem to feel better after 3-4 hours sleep than I would have at that little sleep without the tech. On the other hand, falling asleep with anything but delta, such as an alpha-theta, seems to result in me feeling more groggy the next morning or day.
Actually, listening to that stuff seems to result in my feeling a little groggy after the session no matter what. Not right after, but awhile after. I think most people are expected to feel "relaxed and peaceful" or something. I just feel woozy. But maybe this is because I am sleep deprived or something.
I received my "thought-sounds" product from Transparent Corp. (Humor: so you know that mind control is infamously linked to all forms of 'braintech', right. Well, the ultimate black ops groups are out in the open working in what is called, in the intelligence industry, a 'transparent corporation'. Funny naming on that one.) The TS is a collection of audio files designed to be seamless, loop-able, quality soundtracks for use in anything from videos to hypnosis sessions. They have a variety of different 'kinds' (spacey, naturey, ethnic, etc.), plus 'variations' on them, and some software that helps loop them seamlessly if your session is longer than the clip.
So I think I have everything I need now. My intent was to create sessions that combined:
1 - Audio track using various tone-pulse-technologies for brainstim at certain frequencies
2 - The above would be intermittant, with periods of hypnosis spoken script
3 - At beginning, end, and during the speaking portions, there would be some nice subtle background music (to go with binaural beats which I wouldn't use for the main stim parts but could use along with the spoken parts)
4 - There might actually be scripted parts for using the glasses -- literally on and off depending on the session -- in any case, the RGB photic is planned to be a big part of it, but not the only part.
I'm going to start simple, with some short sessions, perhaps some kind of generic ones. When I was doing major self hypnosis for years, using pretty deep trance and self-made cassette tapes (this was the 80s), I found it interesting that some of the most influential tapes seemed to be the ones where I just said nice things to myself, vs. the ones where I outlined some specific thing. I'd like to do another chakra exercise script since if I'm going to meditate I may as well do something useful during it, and one or two shamanic-archetype meditation and prayer scripts just to encourage myself to do more of these and do it in deep trance without falling asleep. Brief stuff. After that I'll consider longer more complex stuff.
I hope to have time this weekend -- despite I am totally swamped with stuff for a project having a July party -- to design at least one simple brief custom session in Neuroprogrammer, and one photic session in the Procyon, designed to be used at the same time. The presets are ok but the sound is kinda thin, and I'd like to have something I could use without the goggles sometimes.
PJ
.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Day 5
I used #37 Preset Procyon again today. I was very sleepy and it seemed to result in my being even more spacey and sleepy for hours -- the opposite of what I wanted, dang it.
I think this is a lesson in that what you choose to listen to also depends on your state of being at that moment. Had I been super beta, it would have left me relaxed and alert. Because I was theta, it just kept me still in the alpha-theta range apparently.
And it's also I think a lesson about entrainment. It's not always going to happen for every change that goes on in your session. I think my brain happily picked up the lower frequencies but didn't get anywhere remotely near the 22 Hz the program says it ends at, probably would have needed a program that just gradually ramped up to that and stayed there longer.
Maybe the judgement about program is a 'balance/compensation' thing. If you're very sleepy, maybe you choose the highest beta, not because you want to be at that highest beta, but because in the compromise formula between where you are + where it offers = where it ends up, it would just be a more alert state than choosing a low beta or high alpha that might seem more ideal, but would actually result in a slightly lower end-point, who knows. It seems logical that maybe the brain entrains better or more quickly to frequencies nearer where it is when the process begins. Not sure if that's true though.
PJ
.
I think this is a lesson in that what you choose to listen to also depends on your state of being at that moment. Had I been super beta, it would have left me relaxed and alert. Because I was theta, it just kept me still in the alpha-theta range apparently.
And it's also I think a lesson about entrainment. It's not always going to happen for every change that goes on in your session. I think my brain happily picked up the lower frequencies but didn't get anywhere remotely near the 22 Hz the program says it ends at, probably would have needed a program that just gradually ramped up to that and stayed there longer.
Maybe the judgement about program is a 'balance/compensation' thing. If you're very sleepy, maybe you choose the highest beta, not because you want to be at that highest beta, but because in the compromise formula between where you are + where it offers = where it ends up, it would just be a more alert state than choosing a low beta or high alpha that might seem more ideal, but would actually result in a slightly lower end-point, who knows. It seems logical that maybe the brain entrains better or more quickly to frequencies nearer where it is when the process begins. Not sure if that's true though.
PJ
.
Day 4
So I went to bed way too late. Went to sleep with some program I cannot recall, delta hopefully, my intent to be to sleep deeply more quickly than normal. Woke up this morning understandably sleepy, but feeling better than I would have otherwise.
Decided before work to try an upper-session so I used Procyon Preset #5, a 10 minute session called 'Quick Alertness', description: 7-28 Hz, concentration of Alpha/SMR (7 to 16 Hz), Bb 7-16 Hz. That was ok. The changes were fairly abrupt in light and sound and startled me several times, I didn't like that part much. The result reminded me of that funny quip about how drinking coffee does not sober you up, it just makes for a wide-awake drunk. I did not feel even slightly less tired in body after this but did feel alert.
Later when I had a brief break at work I decided to try Procyon Preset #13, an 18 minute session called 'Performance Intensive', description: 16-30 Hz, Bb2, Focus 16 Hz. That was fine, nearly fell asleep a couple times in that but felt fine when it was over. Once I got off work I thought about the 'rumor' that 'half an hour of a delta session equates to 3 hours of sleep' (I guess because the serious part of sleep is the delta), but I couldn't find a delta session of interest as there only seems a few, mostly the same just different lengths, and I'd done those. So I put on Procyon Preset #39, a 60 minute session called 'Middle Mind Centering', description: 9-24 Hz, Bb 1-2, Segs:22-14, 14-9, 9,10,11,12,13,13-9,9,9-14,14-24, Focus 9Hz. I liked that fine but ended up falling asleep in the middle.
I woke up late for something I was supposed to be to at 8:30pm darn it. After that, the kid and I watched "Troy". Basically that's a movie where you spend about 2 hours and 45 minutes learning to love and respect and admire the city of Troy and its royal family so that the last 20 minutes you can watch them all get slaughtered. I was pissed. Not my kind of movie. Yes, I prefer happy endings or at least not horrible endings. (The recent movie 'Knowing' was like that. I know people who really liked the ending. In the ending, the ENTIRE PLANET was annihilated. Who likes this kind of ending? Isn't that psychologically akin to liking slasher movies where your own species gets butchered? I mean come on! That's just sick!) So it made us a bit grouchy.
After the boyfriend call it's now nearly 4am and I have to get up in 3.5 hours yet again. I hate this schedule. I'm going to choose an hour delta and put that on lying on my pillow on my back and just fall asleep to it and hope it helps.
I do have to say that the alert ones don't make me feel as strongly "affected" as some of the others. In self-hypnosis I learned that it was really important to do it a LOT and to bring yourself deep down and then out again so you became able to radically shift states at will. It did more for keeping me out of natural hypnosis than putting me into it which really kinda saved me. I think for now, until I have time to focus on custom programs, I'm going to focus on doing some low theta or delta before sleep, some energy in the morning, some relaxation but upbeat in midday, and maybe a meditational in the late afternoon. In theory I'd like it if my brain kept that schedule anyway just for the sake of me getting things done and feeling good about it.
PJ
.
Decided before work to try an upper-session so I used Procyon Preset #5, a 10 minute session called 'Quick Alertness', description: 7-28 Hz, concentration of Alpha/SMR (7 to 16 Hz), Bb 7-16 Hz. That was ok. The changes were fairly abrupt in light and sound and startled me several times, I didn't like that part much. The result reminded me of that funny quip about how drinking coffee does not sober you up, it just makes for a wide-awake drunk. I did not feel even slightly less tired in body after this but did feel alert.
Later when I had a brief break at work I decided to try Procyon Preset #13, an 18 minute session called 'Performance Intensive', description: 16-30 Hz, Bb2, Focus 16 Hz. That was fine, nearly fell asleep a couple times in that but felt fine when it was over. Once I got off work I thought about the 'rumor' that 'half an hour of a delta session equates to 3 hours of sleep' (I guess because the serious part of sleep is the delta), but I couldn't find a delta session of interest as there only seems a few, mostly the same just different lengths, and I'd done those. So I put on Procyon Preset #39, a 60 minute session called 'Middle Mind Centering', description: 9-24 Hz, Bb 1-2, Segs:22-14, 14-9, 9,10,11,12,13,13-9,9,9-14,14-24, Focus 9Hz. I liked that fine but ended up falling asleep in the middle.
I woke up late for something I was supposed to be to at 8:30pm darn it. After that, the kid and I watched "Troy". Basically that's a movie where you spend about 2 hours and 45 minutes learning to love and respect and admire the city of Troy and its royal family so that the last 20 minutes you can watch them all get slaughtered. I was pissed. Not my kind of movie. Yes, I prefer happy endings or at least not horrible endings. (The recent movie 'Knowing' was like that. I know people who really liked the ending. In the ending, the ENTIRE PLANET was annihilated. Who likes this kind of ending? Isn't that psychologically akin to liking slasher movies where your own species gets butchered? I mean come on! That's just sick!) So it made us a bit grouchy.
After the boyfriend call it's now nearly 4am and I have to get up in 3.5 hours yet again. I hate this schedule. I'm going to choose an hour delta and put that on lying on my pillow on my back and just fall asleep to it and hope it helps.
I do have to say that the alert ones don't make me feel as strongly "affected" as some of the others. In self-hypnosis I learned that it was really important to do it a LOT and to bring yourself deep down and then out again so you became able to radically shift states at will. It did more for keeping me out of natural hypnosis than putting me into it which really kinda saved me. I think for now, until I have time to focus on custom programs, I'm going to focus on doing some low theta or delta before sleep, some energy in the morning, some relaxation but upbeat in midday, and maybe a meditational in the late afternoon. In theory I'd like it if my brain kept that schedule anyway just for the sake of me getting things done and feeling good about it.
PJ
.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Day 3
Alrighty then let's see.
Last night was Summer Solstice (12:36AM my time Sunday). I wanted to be meditating positively during that moment and I wanted to try my normal meditation style using the Procyon and see how the visual element might affect it.
I tried Procyon preset #22 'Deep Tranquility', a 60 minute session with the description: An hour's visit to the land of Hypnogogia -- mostly slow, deeply peaceful frequencies interspersed with unflickering baths of color.
In my first visualization, the photic visual did seem sort of interruptive. Then again if it felt hard to connect, I have to consider that (a) I'd only just begun the session and (b) I have not meditated with that approach for awhile so it likely would be a mild effect no matter what. Then I went to a different more common active meditation area. I was somewhere in the midst of requesting the positive things I wanted when I passed out. I had wanted to stay alert. However, since I was sleepy, and I was lying down, it's not surprising I fell asleep. I should have been sitting up.
And although you're supposed to be awake enough to 'perceive' whatever is going on for it to do you any good, the fact is I slept soundly for about 8.5 hours. This is a big deal. I have not sleep for that amount of time without waking in longer than I can even remember. It was so shocking that I was disoriented about time when I woke up; normally if I fell asleep around midnight I would be awake between 2 and 5 at the latest.
I consider that a good thing. If I had to boil down all my problems in life I think the #1 issue would be that I don't hardly sleep. The thing is, maybe most people would lie in bed trying and so they would say they were insomnic. Me, if I'm more than half awake, I'm DOing something and I'm happy to be alert enough to "get something accomplished." So I don't perceive profound and chronic insomnia as a problem, I perceive it as "I get a lot accomplished but I have to sacrifice sleep for it." However when I am objective and I look at my health and more, I see that this lack of sleep has got to be the cornerstone of a lot of not-good stuff. If AV-stim results in me actually sleeping like a normal human being, that alone will probably have been worth the money. Even though that is not actually my goal with it at all.
About an hour after waking I realized I had to do a remote viewing session for a deadline so I decided I would try my first AV-stim-as-remote-viewing-prep experiment. I wasn't worried about falling asleep given all the sleep I'd just had and that I was wide awake.
I used Procyon Preset #24 'Night Voyage', a 25-minute session with the description: A decent into slow washes of color, with emphasis on blues and greens; a somewhat longer version of the #23 with slower changes.
I liked this one, experientially. I like the slower beats. At one point there was a real low tone which I liked the feel of and I remember recently reading that some people respond badly to very low tones--no detail, just like some people maybe it frightens them or something else, will have to look into that. My body did reach the stage of feeling verrry relaxed to the point of being very still and my limbs feeling mostly asleep. I did have more interrupt than most people likely do because I am apnic -- even when awake I breathe too shallowly and too high -- so I several times had to force myself to take a deep low breath, and I expect that sort of thing interrupts the body falling asleep part. Anyway I had no real issue with my mind staying alert despite all that.
The session ended abruptly, as did the other sessions I have done on preset. Perhaps they are really ramping but still at the end of the ramp it seems abrupt. So far I've had the very very mild -- almost a 'sense of' rather than a feel of -- nausea after these waking sessions and I'm wondering if it's a somnatic shock thing and why they don't make those a lot more gradual.
There was some white noise (not session just the Procyon itself) still in the headphones a little plus I have a fan on next to me so I sat happily for a short time. That is around the levels where in hypnosis for example a subject could just sit there entranced with no desire to do anything. I used to drop to those levels so fast I always had to use taped instructions because I lost all volition very fast.
Then I did the session. My bleeping computer had shut down so going directly into it didn't work, took awhile a lot of light flashes and beta effort which was annoying and felt like it defeated some of the purpose of that as warmup. Anyway, the results were odd. I wasn't sure there would be any difference whatever, but I hope 'altered state' might actually help. I didn't feel very AS actually, once I got to the session.
But I did feel different. The only way I can describe this -- excuse me if it sounds retarded but we lack shared vocabulary here -- is that apparently, normally, I feel sort of "varied and variable and large and loose". Like my overall head and effort is a large very loose mass of soft tangled threads. I have never felt that; I only felt that this time, compared to previous times, that is how I must have felt 'comparatively'. But this time I felt "smaller and more condensed and more uniform." Since I have never felt that way before, I recorded it as session data as sometimes it comes through as a personal feeling, but I expect that to be wrong and this probably just to be an AV-stim effect.
The session experience didn't go well. I didn't really feel I could collect much of any data at all and nothing felt decent and even if everything I got was right it was still trivially irrelevant probably. I don't think that particular program worked well for the RV so next time I'll try something more theta and less delta. Feedback is in a couple hours but I don't have much hope.
Am planning to try another pre-set session later if I have time.
I feel this is making my eyes very tired. I have eye drops, when I had LASIK my doctor told me he felt the "GenTeal" brand especially the 'mild' was best for eyedrops (they certainly cost enough). I am going to keep a bottle of eyedrops with my Procyon and use these a few minutes before, and after, each session. LASIK really made me understand how profoundly the eyes are impacted by dehydration (it worsens that greatly) and I've already lost a lot of vision quality by not keeping my eyes and body hydrated enough, don't want to make that worse.
Updated 8pm: had a period today where it seemed like my body sort of fell asleep. My mind wasn't really but my body was slouching and I finally realized it was heavy and/or not-there in the same way as when it starts seriously falling asleep but you're still alert. I am not tired at all in my head but it's like it's trying to pull me down to that. I wonder if this is a side-effect.
PJ
.
Last night was Summer Solstice (12:36AM my time Sunday). I wanted to be meditating positively during that moment and I wanted to try my normal meditation style using the Procyon and see how the visual element might affect it.
I tried Procyon preset #22 'Deep Tranquility', a 60 minute session with the description: An hour's visit to the land of Hypnogogia -- mostly slow, deeply peaceful frequencies interspersed with unflickering baths of color.
In my first visualization, the photic visual did seem sort of interruptive. Then again if it felt hard to connect, I have to consider that (a) I'd only just begun the session and (b) I have not meditated with that approach for awhile so it likely would be a mild effect no matter what. Then I went to a different more common active meditation area. I was somewhere in the midst of requesting the positive things I wanted when I passed out. I had wanted to stay alert. However, since I was sleepy, and I was lying down, it's not surprising I fell asleep. I should have been sitting up.
And although you're supposed to be awake enough to 'perceive' whatever is going on for it to do you any good, the fact is I slept soundly for about 8.5 hours. This is a big deal. I have not sleep for that amount of time without waking in longer than I can even remember. It was so shocking that I was disoriented about time when I woke up; normally if I fell asleep around midnight I would be awake between 2 and 5 at the latest.
I consider that a good thing. If I had to boil down all my problems in life I think the #1 issue would be that I don't hardly sleep. The thing is, maybe most people would lie in bed trying and so they would say they were insomnic. Me, if I'm more than half awake, I'm DOing something and I'm happy to be alert enough to "get something accomplished." So I don't perceive profound and chronic insomnia as a problem, I perceive it as "I get a lot accomplished but I have to sacrifice sleep for it." However when I am objective and I look at my health and more, I see that this lack of sleep has got to be the cornerstone of a lot of not-good stuff. If AV-stim results in me actually sleeping like a normal human being, that alone will probably have been worth the money. Even though that is not actually my goal with it at all.
About an hour after waking I realized I had to do a remote viewing session for a deadline so I decided I would try my first AV-stim-as-remote-viewing-prep experiment. I wasn't worried about falling asleep given all the sleep I'd just had and that I was wide awake.
I used Procyon Preset #24 'Night Voyage', a 25-minute session with the description: A decent into slow washes of color, with emphasis on blues and greens; a somewhat longer version of the #23 with slower changes.
I liked this one, experientially. I like the slower beats. At one point there was a real low tone which I liked the feel of and I remember recently reading that some people respond badly to very low tones--no detail, just like some people maybe it frightens them or something else, will have to look into that. My body did reach the stage of feeling verrry relaxed to the point of being very still and my limbs feeling mostly asleep. I did have more interrupt than most people likely do because I am apnic -- even when awake I breathe too shallowly and too high -- so I several times had to force myself to take a deep low breath, and I expect that sort of thing interrupts the body falling asleep part. Anyway I had no real issue with my mind staying alert despite all that.
The session ended abruptly, as did the other sessions I have done on preset. Perhaps they are really ramping but still at the end of the ramp it seems abrupt. So far I've had the very very mild -- almost a 'sense of' rather than a feel of -- nausea after these waking sessions and I'm wondering if it's a somnatic shock thing and why they don't make those a lot more gradual.
There was some white noise (not session just the Procyon itself) still in the headphones a little plus I have a fan on next to me so I sat happily for a short time. That is around the levels where in hypnosis for example a subject could just sit there entranced with no desire to do anything. I used to drop to those levels so fast I always had to use taped instructions because I lost all volition very fast.
Then I did the session. My bleeping computer had shut down so going directly into it didn't work, took awhile a lot of light flashes and beta effort which was annoying and felt like it defeated some of the purpose of that as warmup. Anyway, the results were odd. I wasn't sure there would be any difference whatever, but I hope 'altered state' might actually help. I didn't feel very AS actually, once I got to the session.
But I did feel different. The only way I can describe this -- excuse me if it sounds retarded but we lack shared vocabulary here -- is that apparently, normally, I feel sort of "varied and variable and large and loose". Like my overall head and effort is a large very loose mass of soft tangled threads. I have never felt that; I only felt that this time, compared to previous times, that is how I must have felt 'comparatively'. But this time I felt "smaller and more condensed and more uniform." Since I have never felt that way before, I recorded it as session data as sometimes it comes through as a personal feeling, but I expect that to be wrong and this probably just to be an AV-stim effect.
The session experience didn't go well. I didn't really feel I could collect much of any data at all and nothing felt decent and even if everything I got was right it was still trivially irrelevant probably. I don't think that particular program worked well for the RV so next time I'll try something more theta and less delta. Feedback is in a couple hours but I don't have much hope.
Am planning to try another pre-set session later if I have time.
I feel this is making my eyes very tired. I have eye drops, when I had LASIK my doctor told me he felt the "GenTeal" brand especially the 'mild' was best for eyedrops (they certainly cost enough). I am going to keep a bottle of eyedrops with my Procyon and use these a few minutes before, and after, each session. LASIK really made me understand how profoundly the eyes are impacted by dehydration (it worsens that greatly) and I've already lost a lot of vision quality by not keeping my eyes and body hydrated enough, don't want to make that worse.
Updated 8pm: had a period today where it seemed like my body sort of fell asleep. My mind wasn't really but my body was slouching and I finally realized it was heavy and/or not-there in the same way as when it starts seriously falling asleep but you're still alert. I am not tired at all in my head but it's like it's trying to pull me down to that. I wonder if this is a side-effect.
PJ
.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Day 2.
OK so let's say that yesterday and my first experiment constitutes Day 1. Since a lot of the alleged effects of brain stimulation are gradual and ongoing, not just at the moment of stim, I guess I should have a sort of journal, of sorts. I'll make a journal category for these. Oh wait I forgot the free blogs here at blogger don't have that option, only tags! OK fine a tag then.
Day 2
I barely slept last night, woke up and stayed up for an appointment early today. I finally went to do my night-sleeping, in the early afternoon. I wanted to do another session with the Procyon but I felt interestingly different as if I were in such a deep brain-state (not just tiredness) already I didn't even have the will to reach over and get it to put on. So I just fell asleep.
I had a terrible nightmare. Set in real life though maybe the past. Let's just say maybe increased blood flow was making me see blood haha. I woke up abruptly in it because my lawn guy was outside the window with the weedeater, so super loud. I was at a point in sleep where I'd expect to be in delta though, not REM, but I guess not.
I woke up with a headache. I almost never get them. It literally felt as if this tiny little spherical area inside the front middle of my brain was "slightly shrinking from dryness". Since they clearly SAY that it increases blood flow (etc.) which increases dehydration noticeably and you should drink water (I did!), maybe I just imagined that, expected it or something. But frankly I don't often imagine I can 'feel' my brain AT ALL, let alone some certain shape in some certain place inside it! I went and got more water to keep next to me.
Hoping tonight to do the 'deepest' one, I guess it's Delta stuff. I'd like to try and stay alert for that even if it keeps me out of much entrainment, but I used to be able to maintain lucidity even in the deepest states and I'm kind of interested to see if I can recreate that ability.
PJ
.
Day 2
I barely slept last night, woke up and stayed up for an appointment early today. I finally went to do my night-sleeping, in the early afternoon. I wanted to do another session with the Procyon but I felt interestingly different as if I were in such a deep brain-state (not just tiredness) already I didn't even have the will to reach over and get it to put on. So I just fell asleep.
I had a terrible nightmare. Set in real life though maybe the past. Let's just say maybe increased blood flow was making me see blood haha. I woke up abruptly in it because my lawn guy was outside the window with the weedeater, so super loud. I was at a point in sleep where I'd expect to be in delta though, not REM, but I guess not.
I woke up with a headache. I almost never get them. It literally felt as if this tiny little spherical area inside the front middle of my brain was "slightly shrinking from dryness". Since they clearly SAY that it increases blood flow (etc.) which increases dehydration noticeably and you should drink water (I did!), maybe I just imagined that, expected it or something. But frankly I don't often imagine I can 'feel' my brain AT ALL, let alone some certain shape in some certain place inside it! I went and got more water to keep next to me.
Hoping tonight to do the 'deepest' one, I guess it's Delta stuff. I'd like to try and stay alert for that even if it keeps me out of much entrainment, but I used to be able to maintain lucidity even in the deepest states and I'm kind of interested to see if I can recreate that ability.
PJ
.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sound Software
So there is this audio program called Audacity. I had a copy of it years ago. Thought it had been shareware but apparently it was free, or at least is now, as open-source. Adobe bought it, changed it into Adobe Audition, and it now costs $200. It figures!
Except apparently Audacity is still alive as an open source project. Not sure how that worked out... maybe Adobe just bought rights to it to 'build on it' so they weren't recreating the wheel up to a certain point? Not sure. Anyway you can get the program free here:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
It allows you to work with wave forms, filters, cut-clip-paste-stretch (etc.) wave forms together, and so on.
When I had used it previously, I had used some binaurals from BrainSync ('deep meditation') mixed with a combined progressive relaxation and intense chakra exercise (verbal hypnosis) which was also intentionally sexy. I promptly had a dream that night that I found this man whose head collapsed into dusty-ash when I touched him, because he had burned it from energy coming up through him, like spontaneous human combustion or something, except it wasn't apparent until I touched him, and I sensed on waking he clearly represented me (I often perceive myself as a blonde nordic-like man in dreams, though I'm a brunette light-olive toned female, probably because in some esoteric/spiritual areas "a part of me" looks like that). Then I dreamed about backed up and clogged yucky plumbing just ON and ON. I concluded from this that I was not 'clear' enough, and that the major energy I was running in that sexy chakra exercise had some burn-damaging effects or threat, so I did not use the file again. PS Thanks to this paragraph now you all know how weird and woo-woo I really am. I promise when I talk about science and measuring things I'm not as undiscriminating. :-)
But, the program was useful for recording and combining a verbal hypnosis/visualization track with someone else's binaural audio for a good end result.
It turns out that some brainwave technologies need a certain "header" (information at the very front of the file) in the audio file. For example, the Procyon's light-sound goggles in order to synchronize with separate audio, need a 'header' that sets some time point flags and so on. It's a little complicated and I'll go over it separately after I've done it a time or two.
Suffice to say that Audacity can do it free so you don't really need a program like Audition. The latter is now more advanced though, so I hear/suspect, so perhaps if the real goal is extensive options for vocal work (singing/speaking) there might some advantages to it.
Gotta go to work now,
PJ
.
Except apparently Audacity is still alive as an open source project. Not sure how that worked out... maybe Adobe just bought rights to it to 'build on it' so they weren't recreating the wheel up to a certain point? Not sure. Anyway you can get the program free here:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
It allows you to work with wave forms, filters, cut-clip-paste-stretch (etc.) wave forms together, and so on.
When I had used it previously, I had used some binaurals from BrainSync ('deep meditation') mixed with a combined progressive relaxation and intense chakra exercise (verbal hypnosis) which was also intentionally sexy. I promptly had a dream that night that I found this man whose head collapsed into dusty-ash when I touched him, because he had burned it from energy coming up through him, like spontaneous human combustion or something, except it wasn't apparent until I touched him, and I sensed on waking he clearly represented me (I often perceive myself as a blonde nordic-like man in dreams, though I'm a brunette light-olive toned female, probably because in some esoteric/spiritual areas "a part of me" looks like that). Then I dreamed about backed up and clogged yucky plumbing just ON and ON. I concluded from this that I was not 'clear' enough, and that the major energy I was running in that sexy chakra exercise had some burn-damaging effects or threat, so I did not use the file again. PS Thanks to this paragraph now you all know how weird and woo-woo I really am. I promise when I talk about science and measuring things I'm not as undiscriminating. :-)
But, the program was useful for recording and combining a verbal hypnosis/visualization track with someone else's binaural audio for a good end result.
It turns out that some brainwave technologies need a certain "header" (information at the very front of the file) in the audio file. For example, the Procyon's light-sound goggles in order to synchronize with separate audio, need a 'header' that sets some time point flags and so on. It's a little complicated and I'll go over it separately after I've done it a time or two.
Suffice to say that Audacity can do it free so you don't really need a program like Audition. The latter is now more advanced though, so I hear/suspect, so perhaps if the real goal is extensive options for vocal work (singing/speaking) there might some advantages to it.
Gotta go to work now,
PJ
.
First Experience With Brainwave Stimulation Procyon
I got my Procyon! I decided I would use a couple of the pre-set sessions for fun.
It figures, given this is me we are talking about, that I skipped the first 45 useful, targeted, therapeutic options and started with the 'experimental' section. First I chose #48, "Kaleidascopic Mind", a 20 minute 'Mind-Art' session. The description reads: Complex imagery, with an emphasis on Mandalas, vortexes, and spin-spaces.
The first thing I realized is something I knew already but the experience brought home: the only audio that the Procyon does on its own is a simple 'tone' that can be programmed for its Hz level. This level can change, will automatically ramp, can be synchronized with the lights, can be simply set to be controlled by one of the light channels for synchronization and ease. But it's just a single simple tone.
If you want rich complex audio, music, noise, etc. you need to either feed your audio file into the your computer and using what they call SynchroMuse, combine this with Procyon visual settings, then download to your hand-held unit. That's a little complicated and I'll cover it in a separate post. Or, run the include patch-cord from your MP3 player to your Procyon.
The second thing, which took about 10 seconds if that, was realizing what an odd effect the video had on my mind. This continued through the whole session although it was constantly changing with the lights.
It's like the visual part of my brain was creating "a real-time half-memory-in-the-present not-visual visual-impression," Not a real memory and not a real visual image but some bizarre place between them.
For example, even though visually, through my eyelids I could 'see' that it was just flashing color X or something, in my brain, I perceived a variety of pictures drawn that moved a bit -- like rotoscoping.
That's the name of a tech that is sketch-over-video animation. It was featured famously in that 80's video 'Take On Me' by Aha, but way more infamously by a satire-spoof in 2008 by Dustin McLean, which I wish I could link to but the bitchy record company forced it off youtube for copyright. (He'd replaced the vocals with a very literal description of what was going on in the kind of abstract video, which is so "mad stupid" in the words of one reviewer it was just can't-breathe-funny.)
The initial visuals and once-in-awhile visuals reminded me of some kind of mental rotoscoping. Entire settings and landscapes and visual situations, things that I couldn't figure out any memory related to or any reason for not-seeing, not-remembering, but something-halfway-between-those. For example, a man and woman are taking something like groceries out of the back of a car in the driveway in a suburban neighborhood. My perspective is about 10' above them to their left from about 10 feet away. Shift to some completely different scene which may or may not involve one or more of the first conceptual or visual elements. Shift again.
Some of them may move dynamically (fluidly), or move with visual slow staccato like a low-frame time-lapse-video effect, or are just like comic book 'stills', multiple related squared pictures where some movement/change has occurred between them, or they get larger or more focused as one element in them changes. When I first got it, it was the comic book fashion, that yielded to the slow visual staccato effect, finally into dynamic, but all with the sort of 'sketch-effect', which is what made me associate the experience to that video which is very much the same thing in the same sequence.
Except, just to make this really confusing, I really didn't see anything like that at all; I didn't "see" anything except some color flashing. And none of it was 'clear'. It was a lot like a lot of remote viewing (psychic) data, especially when I've not viewed in eons and am rather disconnected: some kind of super-intangible internal-impression that 'translates to' a visual impression inside me if I had to use words or categorize it, except not-quite. Humans don't even have a word anywhere near describing this, it's not a shared-experience we talk about.
That was just one initial and occasional form. More often through the session I got something I suspect was related to that but a bit different in effect. Imagine there is some sketch over photo (animated in some cases, like the above variations) and you've run it through some graphics filters so the only thing you actually 'see' of it are these teeeeeeeeny tiny 'sparks' of color (all the same color), like a barely-there short-stroke crosshatching effect on a high contrast mostly white image, except each of the tiny strokes is brighter at one side than the other, that creates a sort of "impressionist-almost-outline" which is set against something so 'subtle' you could call it not-white-on-not-white, which has an ineffable sense of slight-variable-depth, so that this combined with the limited micro-sparky color visuals, almost make sense, and seem to reveal (or barely not quite reveal, depending on how you look at it) the visual detail.
The reason I find this fascinating is because I thought I was going to see colors that then turned themselves into mandalas and geometry.
I haven't got a freaking clue why 3 LEDs would instead create--no matter how subtly, abstractedly, ineffably--quite detailed pictures, video-style scenes, and more. Well they didn't create that. It's more like something inside me "almost" created that but not quite -- almost like a "tip of the tongue can't quite remember" experience but just slightly more.
Philosophically just a little as I experienced it, it felt a tad like "I" as a larger entity, had this entire kaleidascope of combined lives/realities/etc., and the photic flashing was... almost-illuminating something inside-me, from that huge conglomerate of geometric physics-energy potential, and I was seeing just the traces of it with 'hints of context', reflected outside me, like the shadows on Plato's cave walls.
OK, and the rest of it was just neat-o colors and shapes and stuff. Heh.
I did work to relax first, and drink some water first, but when I was done I was kind of tired. Of course I was really sleep deprived so that made sense. But it felt like the tech had something to do with that too though. I wondered if it could cause eye strain. Or if changes in neural blood flow could matter. But I thought I should choose a session that was brief and would leave me feeling more mentally attentive.
So I chose preset #8, 'Attention Booster', a 20 minute session with the description: Alternates between 12 and 18 Hz, with pauses between each. Good for mental activation applications.
I would like to tell you what that experience was like, but apparently about 20 seconds into it I passed out. I woke up hours later. My impression is that I had some "tolerance threshold" that is not so much a gradual thing and I blew past it way too hard and fast. That combined with serious need for sleep, anyway.
I'll try another couple tonight when I'm off work.
PJ
It figures, given this is me we are talking about, that I skipped the first 45 useful, targeted, therapeutic options and started with the 'experimental' section. First I chose #48, "Kaleidascopic Mind", a 20 minute 'Mind-Art' session. The description reads: Complex imagery, with an emphasis on Mandalas, vortexes, and spin-spaces.
The first thing I realized is something I knew already but the experience brought home: the only audio that the Procyon does on its own is a simple 'tone' that can be programmed for its Hz level. This level can change, will automatically ramp, can be synchronized with the lights, can be simply set to be controlled by one of the light channels for synchronization and ease. But it's just a single simple tone.
If you want rich complex audio, music, noise, etc. you need to either feed your audio file into the your computer and using what they call SynchroMuse, combine this with Procyon visual settings, then download to your hand-held unit. That's a little complicated and I'll cover it in a separate post. Or, run the include patch-cord from your MP3 player to your Procyon.
The second thing, which took about 10 seconds if that, was realizing what an odd effect the video had on my mind. This continued through the whole session although it was constantly changing with the lights.
It's like the visual part of my brain was creating "a real-time half-memory-in-the-present not-visual visual-impression," Not a real memory and not a real visual image but some bizarre place between them.
For example, even though visually, through my eyelids I could 'see' that it was just flashing color X or something, in my brain, I perceived a variety of pictures drawn that moved a bit -- like rotoscoping.
That's the name of a tech that is sketch-over-video animation. It was featured famously in that 80's video 'Take On Me' by Aha, but way more infamously by a satire-spoof in 2008 by Dustin McLean, which I wish I could link to but the bitchy record company forced it off youtube for copyright. (He'd replaced the vocals with a very literal description of what was going on in the kind of abstract video, which is so "mad stupid" in the words of one reviewer it was just can't-breathe-funny.)
The initial visuals and once-in-awhile visuals reminded me of some kind of mental rotoscoping. Entire settings and landscapes and visual situations, things that I couldn't figure out any memory related to or any reason for not-seeing, not-remembering, but something-halfway-between-those. For example, a man and woman are taking something like groceries out of the back of a car in the driveway in a suburban neighborhood. My perspective is about 10' above them to their left from about 10 feet away. Shift to some completely different scene which may or may not involve one or more of the first conceptual or visual elements. Shift again.
Some of them may move dynamically (fluidly), or move with visual slow staccato like a low-frame time-lapse-video effect, or are just like comic book 'stills', multiple related squared pictures where some movement/change has occurred between them, or they get larger or more focused as one element in them changes. When I first got it, it was the comic book fashion, that yielded to the slow visual staccato effect, finally into dynamic, but all with the sort of 'sketch-effect', which is what made me associate the experience to that video which is very much the same thing in the same sequence.
Except, just to make this really confusing, I really didn't see anything like that at all; I didn't "see" anything except some color flashing. And none of it was 'clear'. It was a lot like a lot of remote viewing (psychic) data, especially when I've not viewed in eons and am rather disconnected: some kind of super-intangible internal-impression that 'translates to' a visual impression inside me if I had to use words or categorize it, except not-quite. Humans don't even have a word anywhere near describing this, it's not a shared-experience we talk about.
That was just one initial and occasional form. More often through the session I got something I suspect was related to that but a bit different in effect. Imagine there is some sketch over photo (animated in some cases, like the above variations) and you've run it through some graphics filters so the only thing you actually 'see' of it are these teeeeeeeeny tiny 'sparks' of color (all the same color), like a barely-there short-stroke crosshatching effect on a high contrast mostly white image, except each of the tiny strokes is brighter at one side than the other, that creates a sort of "impressionist-almost-outline" which is set against something so 'subtle' you could call it not-white-on-not-white, which has an ineffable sense of slight-variable-depth, so that this combined with the limited micro-sparky color visuals, almost make sense, and seem to reveal (or barely not quite reveal, depending on how you look at it) the visual detail.
The reason I find this fascinating is because I thought I was going to see colors that then turned themselves into mandalas and geometry.
I haven't got a freaking clue why 3 LEDs would instead create--no matter how subtly, abstractedly, ineffably--quite detailed pictures, video-style scenes, and more. Well they didn't create that. It's more like something inside me "almost" created that but not quite -- almost like a "tip of the tongue can't quite remember" experience but just slightly more.
Philosophically just a little as I experienced it, it felt a tad like "I" as a larger entity, had this entire kaleidascope of combined lives/realities/etc., and the photic flashing was... almost-illuminating something inside-me, from that huge conglomerate of geometric physics-energy potential, and I was seeing just the traces of it with 'hints of context', reflected outside me, like the shadows on Plato's cave walls.
OK, and the rest of it was just neat-o colors and shapes and stuff. Heh.
I did work to relax first, and drink some water first, but when I was done I was kind of tired. Of course I was really sleep deprived so that made sense. But it felt like the tech had something to do with that too though. I wondered if it could cause eye strain. Or if changes in neural blood flow could matter. But I thought I should choose a session that was brief and would leave me feeling more mentally attentive.
So I chose preset #8, 'Attention Booster', a 20 minute session with the description: Alternates between 12 and 18 Hz, with pauses between each. Good for mental activation applications.
I would like to tell you what that experience was like, but apparently about 20 seconds into it I passed out. I woke up hours later. My impression is that I had some "tolerance threshold" that is not so much a gradual thing and I blew past it way too hard and fast. That combined with serious need for sleep, anyway.
I'll try another couple tonight when I'm off work.
PJ
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Today's Miscellany
A few links to science papers/links:
http://www.northwest-neurofeedback.com/articles.html
I was minding my own business when my buddy Steph sent me a ref to this woman who is into Paleo eating (in short: lowsugar wholefoods) AND neurofeedback. What a great find! How many of us can there be? Except she knows what she's talking about and I don't, but let's not be picky. I'm learning. (And I'm just not bringing up the recent pesto pasta-breakdown ok.)
I have finished reading everything on the Transparent Corp public site, private members site, and their NP2 documentation (which is considerable), as well as everything I can find on the MindPlace public site, and the Procyon documentation. Excuse me while I rinse off my brain now, that is too much too fast. Unfortunately nearly all of this is "proprietary" documentation. It's even put into files you cannot copy from just to make it even more complicated to take notes in a text file. So it's not easy for me to condense what I am learning into my blog for my friends since I didn't even have a way to summarize it for myself as I went along. Grrr.
I'm having a frustration moment about a couple things. Minor trivia but still.
Procyon's product document just throws in as a tiny note like oh-by-the-way that whatever audio it is playing is automatically 'modulated by the video settings'. Well that set me back. What is the point of deliberately customizing audio and video--often to be pointedly different--if the video then tromps all over the audio? I want to do specific experimentation and hypnotic anchoring and controlling these things separately is important as a result. Maybe it isn't always. Maybe it's just if you do the audio there, not if you import it. I hope.
Update 6/19 ungodly hour AM: you can 'patch through' your own audio and it won't affect that. It only affects (as you choose) tones you create yourself in the editor.
I have a ton of vastly more useful and specific info that I will work on dredging out of myself over the next week.
PJ
.
http://www.northwest-neurofeedback.com/articles.html
I was minding my own business when my buddy Steph sent me a ref to this woman who is into Paleo eating (in short: lowsugar wholefoods) AND neurofeedback. What a great find! How many of us can there be? Except she knows what she's talking about and I don't, but let's not be picky. I'm learning. (And I'm just not bringing up the recent pesto pasta-breakdown ok.)
I have finished reading everything on the Transparent Corp public site, private members site, and their NP2 documentation (which is considerable), as well as everything I can find on the MindPlace public site, and the Procyon documentation. Excuse me while I rinse off my brain now, that is too much too fast. Unfortunately nearly all of this is "proprietary" documentation. It's even put into files you cannot copy from just to make it even more complicated to take notes in a text file. So it's not easy for me to condense what I am learning into my blog for my friends since I didn't even have a way to summarize it for myself as I went along. Grrr.
I'm having a frustration moment about a couple things. Minor trivia but still.
Procyon's product document just throws in as a tiny note like oh-by-the-way that whatever audio it is playing is automatically 'modulated by the video settings'. Well that set me back. What is the point of deliberately customizing audio and video--often to be pointedly different--if the video then tromps all over the audio? I want to do specific experimentation and hypnotic anchoring and controlling these things separately is important as a result. Maybe it isn't always. Maybe it's just if you do the audio there, not if you import it. I hope.
Update 6/19 ungodly hour AM: you can 'patch through' your own audio and it won't affect that. It only affects (as you choose) tones you create yourself in the editor.
I have a ton of vastly more useful and specific info that I will work on dredging out of myself over the next week.
PJ
.
Talking to the Body: 'Soft' Biofeedback During BWE
Something that separates Neurofeedback from Brainwave Entrainment (BWE) is that the latter is a stimulus given 'to' your brain (choose-a-frequency), and the former is simply information 'about' your brain (change yourself to make the information change). One is doing something to you and you are reacting, the other is you doing something and the other thing is reacting.
One problem with BWE is that since it does not have EEG biofeedback (BF) monitoring involved, you don't actually know how your brain is responding to a given stimulus. I mean you might notice you feel more relaxed or more anxious but that is not specific enough in this case. This becomes a bigger issue when you understand that while humans are all pretty 'similar in general' -- alpha range frequencies are alpha for everybody "generally" -- we are all pretty 'unique in specific' -- some people will respond very clearly to 10 Hz and others to 9 Hz and some to 11.27 Hz. If one had BF info they could see what frequencies their brain responded to most notably or not at all.
Because BWE does not have BF you have to "guess in the dark". Or experiment extensively, and hope the result is clear to you, and because frequencies appear to be affective/effective to the point of the second decimal, that means even a 2 Hz range could in theory be 200 optional degrees of possibility.
Effective BWE, contrary to the "using bineural and using lots of frequencies" commercial myth I've been previously marketed at to believe I guess, is best done with a single frequency (or if using 2, using different kinds of tones, or a different kind of stimulation such as light + sound). So you can see that if you are left to sheer experimentation, in a second decimal point step, in a range of base frequencies of 0 to (I don't even know the top number but it's in the thousands at least, although MOST entrainment is done between 3-50 it appears), that could take forever.
But it made me wonder about Biogram Theory, about muscle testing, even about the most simple biofeedback. It made me wonder about Richard Bandler's NLP lectures related to mental tools and visualizations.
Why is it that one would be doing a session at X frequency for 20-30 minutes, and then the next day another and so on? Would it not be more constructive to get the mind suggestible, then tell the mind what you want to do, then go through the options so the mind can experience each of them briefly, and then just ASK the mind which is best? Now, if you have to speak, move, write something down, that will pull Beta into the mix I believe even if your eyes stay closed but hopefully at that point it's less an issue. You could ask the mind to show you a certain kind of picture(s) to represent a given answer or status. You could ask for a 5-star rating display or a thermometer or a numbered dial, anything that would tell you something about each frequency point in response to whatever criteria you are asking it to measure or relate to.
So for example you'd make a session that verbally explained you would be walking through a given set of frequencies. You take off the ramp (the auto-setting that 'graduates' one frequency to the next) so that the shift from one to the next is more noticeable. You give a note keying off the attention when the change to the next happens. You tell your body that you want it to experience these and then tell you which of those is (check one): most healthy; or best for absorbing suggestions about topic XYZ; or best for the brain adapting a frequency following response; or whatever the desired outcome is.
In theory, you should be able to 'map' your mind's opinion about all of it. Even for the higher frequencies you could do the suggestion part in lower frequency with a sort of post hypnotic command to show the visualization type responses during the later time.
Using a Biogram approach (finally, all my hypnosis-nlp-biofeedback-biogram work from years past is finding some use again!), you could design a mental tool that would be even more specific. For example you could create a scale from 0-100 and put the number of the frequency on it so it represents (for example) 8.00 to 8.99 Hz. You could add a little section off the side for 'not applicable / not on this scale.' Then you could simply ask your body to show you with a little dot or something, what frequencies would be best for dealing with _____. You could give it a gradient for example, use the color scale from red to violet with red the least and violet the most, or some other format like that. Using this approach you could get information on multiple points at once including variances in those points. Then you would know better what frequencies to use for your own unique brain for whatever.
Biogram also does a type of clearing. The only tech I know that addresses this same idea is Scientology although differently and I think with a lot less science approach (though I do think their palm-on-body, focus-attention-here is a very good technique). In Biogram you can scan your body using a biofeedback monitor, with instructions to your body to raise the tone or react when you reach a part of your body that 'has repressed or stored biochemical related to subject X'. Or, you can simply tell it to react to how much the overall body has related to that concept or injury or whatever, and then in either case, you work on having the body release that biochemical and put it in the waste disposal systems of the body. So it occurs to me you could in theory if you have problems to work out ask your body to to show you the frequencies which you "most need" to work with in order to release anger/fear about ___ or increase positive feelings or strength in ___ or whatever.
I mean the thing is right now there is not so much research--sure, lots, but monumental amounts left to be done even on a lot of basics--plus each person is unique--plus there are multiple different areas of frequency that seem to work on the same stuff (might be harmonics of the same number for example, or...?).
So if there were a way to use the amazing ability of 'mental tools' and 'visualization as biofeedback' to essentially DESIGN biofeedback into the process of brainwave entrainment, I think one could accomplish a great deal. I have worked with this concept in the past without the benefit of braintech and it was very successful so I suspect that with braintech it could be even more successful.
The odd thing is out of everything I have read I have not seen a single note or mention that addresses this kind of thing. I wonder if it's possible that my past work with biogram, which is a unique approach and distinct theory limited to the man I studied with for it, combined with my NLP background, has simply given me the idea which albeit kind of obvious just hasn't occurred to anybody else.
PJ
.
One problem with BWE is that since it does not have EEG biofeedback (BF) monitoring involved, you don't actually know how your brain is responding to a given stimulus. I mean you might notice you feel more relaxed or more anxious but that is not specific enough in this case. This becomes a bigger issue when you understand that while humans are all pretty 'similar in general' -- alpha range frequencies are alpha for everybody "generally" -- we are all pretty 'unique in specific' -- some people will respond very clearly to 10 Hz and others to 9 Hz and some to 11.27 Hz. If one had BF info they could see what frequencies their brain responded to most notably or not at all.
Because BWE does not have BF you have to "guess in the dark". Or experiment extensively, and hope the result is clear to you, and because frequencies appear to be affective/effective to the point of the second decimal, that means even a 2 Hz range could in theory be 200 optional degrees of possibility.
Effective BWE, contrary to the "using bineural and using lots of frequencies" commercial myth I've been previously marketed at to believe I guess, is best done with a single frequency (or if using 2, using different kinds of tones, or a different kind of stimulation such as light + sound). So you can see that if you are left to sheer experimentation, in a second decimal point step, in a range of base frequencies of 0 to (I don't even know the top number but it's in the thousands at least, although MOST entrainment is done between 3-50 it appears), that could take forever.
But it made me wonder about Biogram Theory, about muscle testing, even about the most simple biofeedback. It made me wonder about Richard Bandler's NLP lectures related to mental tools and visualizations.
Why is it that one would be doing a session at X frequency for 20-30 minutes, and then the next day another and so on? Would it not be more constructive to get the mind suggestible, then tell the mind what you want to do, then go through the options so the mind can experience each of them briefly, and then just ASK the mind which is best? Now, if you have to speak, move, write something down, that will pull Beta into the mix I believe even if your eyes stay closed but hopefully at that point it's less an issue. You could ask the mind to show you a certain kind of picture(s) to represent a given answer or status. You could ask for a 5-star rating display or a thermometer or a numbered dial, anything that would tell you something about each frequency point in response to whatever criteria you are asking it to measure or relate to.
So for example you'd make a session that verbally explained you would be walking through a given set of frequencies. You take off the ramp (the auto-setting that 'graduates' one frequency to the next) so that the shift from one to the next is more noticeable. You give a note keying off the attention when the change to the next happens. You tell your body that you want it to experience these and then tell you which of those is (check one): most healthy; or best for absorbing suggestions about topic XYZ; or best for the brain adapting a frequency following response; or whatever the desired outcome is.
In theory, you should be able to 'map' your mind's opinion about all of it. Even for the higher frequencies you could do the suggestion part in lower frequency with a sort of post hypnotic command to show the visualization type responses during the later time.
Using a Biogram approach (finally, all my hypnosis-nlp-biofeedback-biogram work from years past is finding some use again!), you could design a mental tool that would be even more specific. For example you could create a scale from 0-100 and put the number of the frequency on it so it represents (for example) 8.00 to 8.99 Hz. You could add a little section off the side for 'not applicable / not on this scale.' Then you could simply ask your body to show you with a little dot or something, what frequencies would be best for dealing with _____. You could give it a gradient for example, use the color scale from red to violet with red the least and violet the most, or some other format like that. Using this approach you could get information on multiple points at once including variances in those points. Then you would know better what frequencies to use for your own unique brain for whatever.
Biogram also does a type of clearing. The only tech I know that addresses this same idea is Scientology although differently and I think with a lot less science approach (though I do think their palm-on-body, focus-attention-here is a very good technique). In Biogram you can scan your body using a biofeedback monitor, with instructions to your body to raise the tone or react when you reach a part of your body that 'has repressed or stored biochemical related to subject X'. Or, you can simply tell it to react to how much the overall body has related to that concept or injury or whatever, and then in either case, you work on having the body release that biochemical and put it in the waste disposal systems of the body. So it occurs to me you could in theory if you have problems to work out ask your body to to show you the frequencies which you "most need" to work with in order to release anger/fear about ___ or increase positive feelings or strength in ___ or whatever.
I mean the thing is right now there is not so much research--sure, lots, but monumental amounts left to be done even on a lot of basics--plus each person is unique--plus there are multiple different areas of frequency that seem to work on the same stuff (might be harmonics of the same number for example, or...?).
So if there were a way to use the amazing ability of 'mental tools' and 'visualization as biofeedback' to essentially DESIGN biofeedback into the process of brainwave entrainment, I think one could accomplish a great deal. I have worked with this concept in the past without the benefit of braintech and it was very successful so I suspect that with braintech it could be even more successful.
The odd thing is out of everything I have read I have not seen a single note or mention that addresses this kind of thing. I wonder if it's possible that my past work with biogram, which is a unique approach and distinct theory limited to the man I studied with for it, combined with my NLP background, has simply given me the idea which albeit kind of obvious just hasn't occurred to anybody else.
PJ
.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
DIY Neuro Tech Brain Wave Stuff
updated 6/19/09 adding link to DIY LED goggles:
http://www.hackcanada.com/homegrown/wetware/brainwave/gallery/index.html
(Seriously, I imagine this guy building sci-fi goggles in the basement and trying to explain it all to his wife... hilarious!)
It turns out that you can build your own braintech stuff. And you can buy some basic stuff and then build it. For example the NP2 (transparentcorp.com) is allegedly the best and most flexible audio+video program creator (and comes with lots of stuff and you can edit that stuff too) ($60 US).
You can build or buy LED or high-output LED goggles. (You don't have to buy an expensive brain-mind machine.) You can use an MP3 player or computer for sound.
If you only want audio, BWGEN is shareware and programs that, google it.
There used to be this great audio freq tech program Audicity but Adobe bought it and renamed it Audition, and now it costs $200 instead of $30. Still a good program, but . . .
Audiostrobe (audiostrobe.com) is products and media and company name and technology name, also an industry standard plus used as a generality not just a brand (the way 'bandaid' and 'jello' tend to be) which makes it damn confusing when you're new to the subject. That format basically means audio and video are encoded 'together' so that goggles will work as well as whatever headphone things are going on. They have a 'decoder' that will take regular music (say, the Beatles) and put photic (video pulsing) to it based on the audio. They sell LED goggles, various brain-mind machines, and custom MP3s with 'audiostrobe sessions' on them.
The word 'sessions' is the primary one used to mean 'a program you listen to' which is a/v/a+v. Funny since Remote Viewing is my last 13 years of life where 'sessions' is the primary word too.
Some output file formats such as from NP2, are simply done in WAV format you can convert to MP3 on your own. The audio effectiveness is not affected by this but video really depends on the quality so the highest encoding bitrate (320) should be used if you want to use it in an 'audiostrobe fashion' with goggles of some kind.
PJ
.
http://www.hackcanada.com/homegrown/wetware/brainwave/gallery/index.html
(Seriously, I imagine this guy building sci-fi goggles in the basement and trying to explain it all to his wife... hilarious!)
It turns out that you can build your own braintech stuff. And you can buy some basic stuff and then build it. For example the NP2 (transparentcorp.com) is allegedly the best and most flexible audio+video program creator (and comes with lots of stuff and you can edit that stuff too) ($60 US).
You can build or buy LED or high-output LED goggles. (You don't have to buy an expensive brain-mind machine.) You can use an MP3 player or computer for sound.
If you only want audio, BWGEN is shareware and programs that, google it.
There used to be this great audio freq tech program Audicity but Adobe bought it and renamed it Audition, and now it costs $200 instead of $30. Still a good program, but . . .
Audiostrobe (audiostrobe.com) is products and media and company name and technology name, also an industry standard plus used as a generality not just a brand (the way 'bandaid' and 'jello' tend to be) which makes it damn confusing when you're new to the subject. That format basically means audio and video are encoded 'together' so that goggles will work as well as whatever headphone things are going on. They have a 'decoder' that will take regular music (say, the Beatles) and put photic (video pulsing) to it based on the audio. They sell LED goggles, various brain-mind machines, and custom MP3s with 'audiostrobe sessions' on them.
The word 'sessions' is the primary one used to mean 'a program you listen to' which is a/v/a+v. Funny since Remote Viewing is my last 13 years of life where 'sessions' is the primary word too.
Some output file formats such as from NP2, are simply done in WAV format you can convert to MP3 on your own. The audio effectiveness is not affected by this but video really depends on the quality so the highest encoding bitrate (320) should be used if you want to use it in an 'audiostrobe fashion' with goggles of some kind.
PJ
.
Different Kinds of Beats for Brain Stim
OK so I'm still learning here and will likely update this (and move it forward in date when I do) to better info as I learn more.
There are three primary TONE TYPES in audio (sonic) neuro tech / brain wave stuff:
1. Isochronic tones
2. Monaural tones
3. Binaural tones
Here's a few notes. I wanted to use the nifty brainwave spectrum or sine charts that transparentcorp had but I didn't want to steal them. Even though a google search indicates about 500 other websites have done exactly that.
So in simple-speak, it's a matter of hammer-impact. The greater the valley between top of waveform, middle and bottom of waveform in the sine wave cycle, the more 'impact' it has on the brain.
You can change the 'shape' of the waveform. The smoother the cycle, the nicer it is to listen to. You can smooth or modify the waveform of isochronic tones by changing various aspects of them (such as varying-volume-per-beat as one example) which the various programs I've mentioned will help you do. That is sometimes called a 'filter' so a volume filter would be 'one' filter; if you applied a different effect as well you'd have two filters; and so on.
You can also change pitch. Understand the difference here, the waveform is the "beat pattern" which has nothing to do with the "pitch" -- you could do the same beat pattern in a high A or middle C or a 3-octave-spanning combination of many notes for a C-minor-7th chord. Think of a drum; it may have a low sound or high sound depending on the drum, even if you are pounding it at the same beat.
You can also add and change noise. Such as white noise, surf sounds, the type of stuff you hear in relaxation tapes or 'ambient alarms' and so on. You can place pulses within that kind of thing. This is called 'noise' or 'background' or both (depending on how it is used) in this tech. Background can also be music or other 'sounds'.
And of course you can change the video ('photic' is video, vs 'sonic' for audio). Just like with the audio wave forms, the more abrupt and 'largest differential' beat pulses have the most effect on the brain.
This is affected, obviously, by the intensity of the light! -- so high-output LED lights in your goggles might have more impact than the regular sort even with the same braintech program playing.
Details like varying waveforms in light intensity, color, etc. still need a lot of research. Actually EVERYTHING still needs a lot of research.
Most of this is up to ongoing experimentation for each person.
OK now on to the "separate hemisphere" stuff.
Binaural was my more modern intro to the mostly 'entertainment' aspect of brainwave entrainment. The idea here is that a pulse in left ear (right-brain) and right ear (left-brain) at the same time causes the center of the brain to create the "difference". However what this means is that you are not actually affecting the separate hemispheres as you choose; rather, you are using both hemispheres to create a single effect in the middle.
You can also aim a given frequency at a specific hemisphere (rather than their combination), which is somewhat different. I need to learn more about this and will post on it when I do. (Some diff between isochronic/binaural here. Need more input! Give me time, I just got my first book in the mail today about it ("Getting Started with Neurofeedback" by John Demos).)
The effect of combining numbers is almost absurd. The brain essentially combines and subtracts EVERYTHING because frankly it's like going into a drum and glass shop: you pound on this, you ding on that, and everything you touch sets off resonance in everything else, harmonics, etc.
You have what you put in; and what is created by what you put in. This is exponential. Now remember the point about the waveform 'extremity' -- the more specific, sharp, stronger hammer-beat having the most effect.
Consider that every new waveform you create, is adding to that overall sine wave. It takes very little until that sine wave looks more like a tapestry with a few slightly loose threads; so by nature the more waves you have at varying levels, the more the overall sine smooths itself out greatly.
ONE beat is like I showed above; make it TWO beats and now you have:
1, 2, 2+1, 1+2, 2-1, 1-2.
But the effects of what it creates interact also, so you have:
1+3, 3+1, 1-3, 3-1, 2+3, 3+2, 2-3, 3-2.
Again, you have not only what you input, but what is created in the brain by that input, and all of these things interact together.
So in the above example, there are other numbers created (frequency wave forms) besides 1, 2, and 3; there is also:
-1, 4, -2, 5,
plus there are multiple iterations of all the various numbers depending on what adds/subtracts to what out of all that mess.
And following on those, even if they are at 'lesser intensity', you then have yet-further math-effects (harmonics) such as -3, 9, etc.
It starts to make me think of the "All numbers are infinite" line in Liber al vel Legis. (I've had a lot of esoteric realizations around that verse.) (Don't read that book! :-))
It might be for this reason that one seemingly very informed fellow I'm corresponding with emphasized to me, "ONE TONE!" all in capitals, and said he believes nearly everything in the field and presets and especially 'multilayer binaural' are essentially crap for entrainment.
This doesn't mean that it isn't pleasant to listen to.
Some research showed that binaurals nicely relaxed you, they alpha'd the EEG--but then showed that they did so to about the exact extent that 'white noise' surf sound did! (Foster 1990, here). Also, Oster 1973 [Scientific American] showed the 'evoked potential' of binaural was very small compared to other techs. So I had previously mentioned that everyone referred to this without science ref but I've found a variety of science refs.
This reminds me of the research that showed that Transcendental Meditation was good for certain effects as claimed, but the "unique sound given to the trainer by God to give to you" -- er, actually there's only 4 at basic level, one each for men/women of adult/child age, but that is not commonly known (cult secret! damn that was SUCH a cult!) -- could just as well be 'roast beef, roast beef' and get the same effect. (I have no ref for that sorry, it was in some book I read circa 1991 -- after taking TM training and then meeting someone who'd been deeply involved in the cult in Iowa for years, who enlightened me.) The meditation style -- basically a zen no-mind format [compared to say, shamanic active meditation formats], is nice for relaxing, and 'spacing out' (aka 'transcending') and the resulting side effects on daily brainwave states, but frankly just way too passive for me. I'm told what they call the Siddhis (that word has meanings in the east as well), the 'advanced' form of TM, is more specific and proactive).
So to some degree it comes down to how much you really want to affect your brain; how much of the "frequency following response" it is important to you to create; how pleasant you want things to sound; and what you want to accomplish.
You can deal with insomnia, focus, learning, relaxation, meditation, most hypnosis, and things like that in pretty simple alpha-theta ranges which even subtle complex waveforms like the beautiful bineaural stuff is likely capable of getting you into.
I think for more specific effects, exploration, and the higher and lower (Delta, Gamma, etc.) stuff you'd probably need to stick to isochronic and photic stimulation.
PJ
.
There are three primary TONE TYPES in audio (sonic) neuro tech / brain wave stuff:
1. Isochronic tones
2. Monaural tones
3. Binaural tones
Here's a few notes. I wanted to use the nifty brainwave spectrum or sine charts that transparentcorp had but I didn't want to steal them. Even though a google search indicates about 500 other websites have done exactly that.
Please, dive out to actual frequency charts of these for better example:
Isochronic; Modified Isochronic (volume filter); Monaural; Binaural
So in simple-speak, it's a matter of hammer-impact. The greater the valley between top of waveform, middle and bottom of waveform in the sine wave cycle, the more 'impact' it has on the brain.
You can change the 'shape' of the waveform. The smoother the cycle, the nicer it is to listen to. You can smooth or modify the waveform of isochronic tones by changing various aspects of them (such as varying-volume-per-beat as one example) which the various programs I've mentioned will help you do. That is sometimes called a 'filter' so a volume filter would be 'one' filter; if you applied a different effect as well you'd have two filters; and so on.
You can also change pitch. Understand the difference here, the waveform is the "beat pattern" which has nothing to do with the "pitch" -- you could do the same beat pattern in a high A or middle C or a 3-octave-spanning combination of many notes for a C-minor-7th chord. Think of a drum; it may have a low sound or high sound depending on the drum, even if you are pounding it at the same beat.
You can also add and change noise. Such as white noise, surf sounds, the type of stuff you hear in relaxation tapes or 'ambient alarms' and so on. You can place pulses within that kind of thing. This is called 'noise' or 'background' or both (depending on how it is used) in this tech. Background can also be music or other 'sounds'.
And of course you can change the video ('photic' is video, vs 'sonic' for audio). Just like with the audio wave forms, the more abrupt and 'largest differential' beat pulses have the most effect on the brain.
This is affected, obviously, by the intensity of the light! -- so high-output LED lights in your goggles might have more impact than the regular sort even with the same braintech program playing.
Details like varying waveforms in light intensity, color, etc. still need a lot of research. Actually EVERYTHING still needs a lot of research.
Most of this is up to ongoing experimentation for each person.
OK now on to the "separate hemisphere" stuff.
Binaural was my more modern intro to the mostly 'entertainment' aspect of brainwave entrainment. The idea here is that a pulse in left ear (right-brain) and right ear (left-brain) at the same time causes the center of the brain to create the "difference". However what this means is that you are not actually affecting the separate hemispheres as you choose; rather, you are using both hemispheres to create a single effect in the middle.
You can also aim a given frequency at a specific hemisphere (rather than their combination), which is somewhat different. I need to learn more about this and will post on it when I do. (Some diff between isochronic/binaural here. Need more input! Give me time, I just got my first book in the mail today about it ("Getting Started with Neurofeedback" by John Demos).)
The effect of combining numbers is almost absurd. The brain essentially combines and subtracts EVERYTHING because frankly it's like going into a drum and glass shop: you pound on this, you ding on that, and everything you touch sets off resonance in everything else, harmonics, etc.
You have what you put in; and what is created by what you put in. This is exponential. Now remember the point about the waveform 'extremity' -- the more specific, sharp, stronger hammer-beat having the most effect.
Consider that every new waveform you create, is adding to that overall sine wave. It takes very little until that sine wave looks more like a tapestry with a few slightly loose threads; so by nature the more waves you have at varying levels, the more the overall sine smooths itself out greatly.
ONE beat is like I showed above; make it TWO beats and now you have:
1, 2, 2+1, 1+2, 2-1, 1-2.
But the effects of what it creates interact also, so you have:
1+3, 3+1, 1-3, 3-1, 2+3, 3+2, 2-3, 3-2.
Again, you have not only what you input, but what is created in the brain by that input, and all of these things interact together.
So in the above example, there are other numbers created (frequency wave forms) besides 1, 2, and 3; there is also:
-1, 4, -2, 5,
plus there are multiple iterations of all the various numbers depending on what adds/subtracts to what out of all that mess.
And following on those, even if they are at 'lesser intensity', you then have yet-further math-effects (harmonics) such as -3, 9, etc.
It starts to make me think of the "All numbers are infinite" line in Liber al vel Legis. (I've had a lot of esoteric realizations around that verse.) (Don't read that book! :-))
It might be for this reason that one seemingly very informed fellow I'm corresponding with emphasized to me, "ONE TONE!" all in capitals, and said he believes nearly everything in the field and presets and especially 'multilayer binaural' are essentially crap for entrainment.
This doesn't mean that it isn't pleasant to listen to.
Some research showed that binaurals nicely relaxed you, they alpha'd the EEG--but then showed that they did so to about the exact extent that 'white noise' surf sound did! (Foster 1990, here). Also, Oster 1973 [Scientific American] showed the 'evoked potential' of binaural was very small compared to other techs. So I had previously mentioned that everyone referred to this without science ref but I've found a variety of science refs.
This reminds me of the research that showed that Transcendental Meditation was good for certain effects as claimed, but the "unique sound given to the trainer by God to give to you" -- er, actually there's only 4 at basic level, one each for men/women of adult/child age, but that is not commonly known (cult secret! damn that was SUCH a cult!) -- could just as well be 'roast beef, roast beef' and get the same effect. (I have no ref for that sorry, it was in some book I read circa 1991 -- after taking TM training and then meeting someone who'd been deeply involved in the cult in Iowa for years, who enlightened me.) The meditation style -- basically a zen no-mind format [compared to say, shamanic active meditation formats], is nice for relaxing, and 'spacing out' (aka 'transcending') and the resulting side effects on daily brainwave states, but frankly just way too passive for me. I'm told what they call the Siddhis (that word has meanings in the east as well), the 'advanced' form of TM, is more specific and proactive).
So to some degree it comes down to how much you really want to affect your brain; how much of the "frequency following response" it is important to you to create; how pleasant you want things to sound; and what you want to accomplish.
You can deal with insomnia, focus, learning, relaxation, meditation, most hypnosis, and things like that in pretty simple alpha-theta ranges which even subtle complex waveforms like the beautiful bineaural stuff is likely capable of getting you into.
I think for more specific effects, exploration, and the higher and lower (Delta, Gamma, etc.) stuff you'd probably need to stick to isochronic and photic stimulation.
PJ
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Brainwave / Neurotech Introductory Info
I've finally found more useful introductory info and science references, though most of it came as a result of the Transparent Corp website, or the purchase of the NP2 product which gave me access to their member site. Over time I will distill / paraphrase some things here, plus link to stuff if publicly available. Here's a few public pages, pretty simple and a nice introduction to this overall:
What are Brainwaves?
http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/brainwaves.php
Entrainment/Stimulation
http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/entrainment.php
Entrainment Methods
http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/technical.php
The above page has info on the different kinds of tones like isochronic vs. binaural and tone/pulse modulation.
A Brief History
http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/history.php
PJ
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What are Brainwaves?
http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/brainwaves.php
Entrainment/Stimulation
http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/entrainment.php
Entrainment Methods
http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/technical.php
The above page has info on the different kinds of tones like isochronic vs. binaural and tone/pulse modulation.
A Brief History
http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/history.php
PJ
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Sensory Modalities: Testing What Influences You Most
The Neuroprogrammer 2 product has what they call an "NLP Sensory Modality Test" that is a long series of multiple choice questions. Here is how mine came out:
I'm not surprised audio was the highest. I'm just slightly surprised that kinesthetic came out as high as it did. I suspect because in the test it is tied to emotions and not just body.
PJ
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I'm not surprised audio was the highest. I'm just slightly surprised that kinesthetic came out as high as it did. I suspect because in the test it is tied to emotions and not just body.
PJ
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Monday, June 15, 2009
Rumors in Need of Reference
Really, there is not a ton of information about neuro-technology on the internet, it turns out.
There are several commercial companies making claims that either can't be backed by science or are referring to a broad span of science 'in general' which may not apply to what someone does with their product or what they are advertising.
There are a variety of a surprisingly small number of people (given the sales of brain-tech items and that this has been going on since the early 1990s at least), most of whom do not have much experience with it and are asking questions.
Of those who do clearly have some experience with it, most of the answers are "there aren't any answers" and most of the assertions they make, they provide zero actual reference to legitimate science. This isn't entirely their fault. There may not be any legit science or it might never have been posted. They may have got the info from someone they took seriously or from their own experience (although the latter would be nice to have noted). But the end result is that someone new to the field has no idea what to take seriously.
Humorously when I do searching for information, I often find 3-10 pages with the identical phrasings on them, all with the same complete dearth of useful information.
I'm going to make a post I can update to include various rumors, assertions, and half-references I find, which need more information. One would think they were true the way they are tossed about with all the absolute faith of doctrinal details at a revival meeting, but I'm a bit skeptical since if they had something solid behind them, I would expect to stumble on it at some point. When I do, I'll post on it and make a link to that from this post.
RUMORS, ASSERTIONS AND HALF-REFERENCES
[s]Isochronic tones are much more effective at 'entrainment' than monaural or binaural.[/s] see posts 6/17/09
Shaping the waveform of the isochronic tone not only makes the sound more pleasant (I don't question this part) but creates less harmonics which may interfere with the overall intention to entrain.
Frequencies below the audible level cannot entrain.
There is no particular difference between the effectiveness of monaural vs. binaural tones.
Adding sonic stimulus to photic stimulus has no particular increase in effect.
Sonic stimulation is not particularly effective alone.
In 1942 'tactile stimulation' was demonstrated to have an entrainment effect. (Cannot find this paper though I believe it exists.) Questions: What KIND of tactile stimulation specifically? Why is there no further info about a tactile approach? (Prior to the late 80s this would have been much easier to arrange than light/sound for mechanical/technical reasons I'd think so it makes me wonder.)
10 Hz entrains faster/easier than all other frequencies.
Entrainment is not when a targeted part of the brain (eg the part affected by the sensory(s) you are stimulating) has a frequency following response, but when other parts of the brain also then pick up that response.
Other notes
Apparently this field has its own definition of 'meditation' which is basically when one is fully in alpha-theta with no beta. I disagree with this because they are only referring to one type of meditation, the 'no-mind' sort that gets all the press in the West; there are other types of meditation such as shamanic meditation which tends to be theta-delta with a little high beta I suspect (haven't measured it, only guessing), as one example. In a perfect world they would use a far more specific word than 'meditation' which encompasses a lot of things that are definitely not that frequency description (even intense prayer, held fast, is considered a form of meditation).
It was pointed out to me (by CraigT) that entrainment is kind of a mis-focus in any case; that there may be many reasons, applications, and benefits that really don't have anything to do with entrainment or whether it is really happening. I don't doubt this, and if anything it sounds reasonable and more interesting in a way, but I'd like more info. I suppose I'll trip on it myself.
PJ
.
There are several commercial companies making claims that either can't be backed by science or are referring to a broad span of science 'in general' which may not apply to what someone does with their product or what they are advertising.
There are a variety of a surprisingly small number of people (given the sales of brain-tech items and that this has been going on since the early 1990s at least), most of whom do not have much experience with it and are asking questions.
Of those who do clearly have some experience with it, most of the answers are "there aren't any answers" and most of the assertions they make, they provide zero actual reference to legitimate science. This isn't entirely their fault. There may not be any legit science or it might never have been posted. They may have got the info from someone they took seriously or from their own experience (although the latter would be nice to have noted). But the end result is that someone new to the field has no idea what to take seriously.
Humorously when I do searching for information, I often find 3-10 pages with the identical phrasings on them, all with the same complete dearth of useful information.
I'm going to make a post I can update to include various rumors, assertions, and half-references I find, which need more information. One would think they were true the way they are tossed about with all the absolute faith of doctrinal details at a revival meeting, but I'm a bit skeptical since if they had something solid behind them, I would expect to stumble on it at some point. When I do, I'll post on it and make a link to that from this post.
RUMORS, ASSERTIONS AND HALF-REFERENCES
[s]Isochronic tones are much more effective at 'entrainment' than monaural or binaural.[/s] see posts 6/17/09
Shaping the waveform of the isochronic tone not only makes the sound more pleasant (I don't question this part) but creates less harmonics which may interfere with the overall intention to entrain.
Frequencies below the audible level cannot entrain.
There is no particular difference between the effectiveness of monaural vs. binaural tones.
Adding sonic stimulus to photic stimulus has no particular increase in effect.
Sonic stimulation is not particularly effective alone.
In 1942 'tactile stimulation' was demonstrated to have an entrainment effect. (Cannot find this paper though I believe it exists.) Questions: What KIND of tactile stimulation specifically? Why is there no further info about a tactile approach? (Prior to the late 80s this would have been much easier to arrange than light/sound for mechanical/technical reasons I'd think so it makes me wonder.)
10 Hz entrains faster/easier than all other frequencies.
Entrainment is not when a targeted part of the brain (eg the part affected by the sensory(s) you are stimulating) has a frequency following response, but when other parts of the brain also then pick up that response.
Other notes
Apparently this field has its own definition of 'meditation' which is basically when one is fully in alpha-theta with no beta. I disagree with this because they are only referring to one type of meditation, the 'no-mind' sort that gets all the press in the West; there are other types of meditation such as shamanic meditation which tends to be theta-delta with a little high beta I suspect (haven't measured it, only guessing), as one example. In a perfect world they would use a far more specific word than 'meditation' which encompasses a lot of things that are definitely not that frequency description (even intense prayer, held fast, is considered a form of meditation).
It was pointed out to me (by CraigT) that entrainment is kind of a mis-focus in any case; that there may be many reasons, applications, and benefits that really don't have anything to do with entrainment or whether it is really happening. I don't doubt this, and if anything it sounds reasonable and more interesting in a way, but I'd like more info. I suppose I'll trip on it myself.
PJ
.
Gamma notes
Gamma brainwave notes from a blog. I'm mostly posting 'succinct summary' stuff here aside from later experiments so for more detail I'll give links.
from: What Gamma Can Do For You
http://www.mindupdate.com/?p=98
PJ
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Paraphrased; condensed
Gamma -- determined by the amount of synchronous gamma firing -- has been positively associated with children's language development, cognitive skills, behavior and impulse control, and found to be lower in children whose parents had history of language impairment. Previous research in adults & animals says Gamma heightens during the processing of linguistic information, during the formation of ideas and memories and during other abilities. It fires between 2 regions of the brain during associative learning, when a new concept is linked to one already known.
Low gamma coherence within different hemispheres is associated with ADD and learning disabilities. Children with non-verbal learning disabilities had less connectivity in the right hemisphere. Too much Gamma is associated with ADHD, positive associations in Schizophrenia (i.e. hallucinations) and epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s disease, and negative symptoms of Schizophrenia (i.e. blunt or flat affects).
Gamma training in children 6-16 with non-verbal learning disabilities had positive effects, enhancing various non-verbal cognitive abilities such as processing speed, freedom from distractibility, arithmetic and coding. (2x weekly, 35 minute BWE sessions, alternating between excitatory [14 Hz to 40 Hz ramp-up] and inhibitory [40 Hz to 14 Hz ramp-down].
from: What Gamma Can Do For You
http://www.mindupdate.com/?p=98
PJ
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Comparisons Between Audio, Photic, AVE, Monaural, Binaural, Isochronic, Ganzfeld
This overall review of brainwave research suggests what I'd gathered:
In other words, nobody really knows. Well I guess we can only move upward from knowing next to nothing!
PJ
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Further studies are needed to compare the effects of auditory, photic, and AVE stimulation at the same frequencies for each outcome and to compare the clinical benefits of monaural, binaural, and isochronic beats and the use of white noise vs music as a background.from: http://www.musicmefree.com/brainwave-study.pdf
In other words, nobody really knows. Well I guess we can only move upward from knowing next to nothing!
PJ
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Entrainment Duration
Apparently of the formal research done and reviewed, a few details were left out of the trials done so far. These things remain as questions. Which is... nearly everything it seems like!
So many good questions. How long to entrain the brain to habit X, before original habit Y returns? Does it need 'refreshing'?
I also wonder, if you entrain your self to X and Y, and then later to Z, is it "changing" what you're entrained to, or merely additive?
PJ
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Many practitioners and developers of BWE tools believe that repeated exposure to BWE will allow the user to enter the desired brain states unassisted. Indeed, the study by Patrick which found improvements in overall intelligence and behavior, gradually withdrew the stimulus until users could produce the targeted brainwave frequencies on their own. Most studies that examined long-term effects did not withdraw stimulus over a specified time period before testing, so the duration of the effects are unclear. Nor are there studies that compare the effects of duration or frequency of stimulation, so it is not known whether there is a minimal length or frequency of entrainment required to achieve each positive outcome or if there is a limit to the intensity of symptom relief from BWE.from: http://www.musicmefree.com/brainwave-study.pdf
So many good questions. How long to entrain the brain to habit X, before original habit Y returns? Does it need 'refreshing'?
I also wonder, if you entrain your self to X and Y, and then later to Z, is it "changing" what you're entrained to, or merely additive?
PJ
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Hypoglycemia Affects Brainwaves
Low blood sugar while you sleep affects your brain waves apparently.
GADE J, ROSENFALCK A, BENDTSON I.
Methods Inf Med 1994;33(1):153-6.
Department of Medical Informatics and Image Analysis, Aalborg University, Denmark.
PJ
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The aim of the project was to detect specific EEG patterns related to hypoglycemia. EEG analysis was performed using a probabilistic classifier and unsupervised learning for the construction of learning sets for the classifier. Unsupervised learning and additional tools were used in the search for EEG patterns occurring when the blood-glucose level was below the hypoglycemic threshold. The rate of these specific EEG patterns was below 5% in normal nights. In patients who were known to have no or a reduced glucagon response to hypoglycemia, the rate increased to 20-80%.From: Detection of EEG patterns related to nocturnal hypoglycemia.
GADE J, ROSENFALCK A, BENDTSON I.
Methods Inf Med 1994;33(1):153-6.
Department of Medical Informatics and Image Analysis, Aalborg University, Denmark.
PJ
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Binaural vs. Monaural FFR Music During Sleep
Two things I found interesting.
MARQUARDT CJG, ORR LL, PERUGINI M, RADONJIC D
Sleep Research 1997; 26: 267.
Sleep Disorders Centre, Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
PJ
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- First that the initial cycle of entrainment attempt during sleep was less successful as if attempts later were moreso. If someone were going to be targeting frequency following response tech toward themselves while sleeping, a delay might be useful.
- Second that the monaural was not any less successful at this than the binaural, suggesting that quiet speakers on a headboard or each side of the bed (or pillow speakers) might be just as useful as someone trying to sleep with earbuds on.
Our results indicate that delta EEG entrainment occurred as a result of the music being presented during sleep. The entrainment response was not stereophonic specific, it occurred with the monophonic and stereophonic music. Significant increases in the incidence of delta in the EEG were found only in the data recorded during the second presentation of the music. This increase in delta during the second music presentation was not confounded with the passage of time nor was it confounded with naturally occurring increases in delta associated with deep sleep; there were no differences between the incidences of delta during the monophonic and the stereophonic music. The lack of any significant differences in the data recorded during the first presentation of the music suggests that the EEG of the first transition from wakefulness to sleep is less malleable perhaps due to higher levels of cortical activity inhibiting relaxation.From: A pilot study of EEG entrainment as a sleep aid
MARQUARDT CJG, ORR LL, PERUGINI M, RADONJIC D
Sleep Research 1997; 26: 267.
Sleep Disorders Centre, Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
PJ
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Remote Viewing and Brainwaves
Remote Viewing is my other obsessive-vice. So I found this old reference interesting.
From: Remote viewing with the artist ingo Swann: Neuropsychological profile, electroencephalographic correlates, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and possible mechanisms
PERSINGER M. A. ; ROLL W. G. ; TILLER S. G. ; KOREN S. A. ; COOK C. M. ;
Perceptual and motor skills ISSN 0031-5125 CODEN PMOSAZ
2002, vol. 94 (1), no3, pp. 927-949 [23 page(s) (article)]
PJ
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In the present study, the artist Ingo Swann, who helped develop the process of remote viewing (awareness of distant objects or places without employing normal senses), was exposed during a single setting of 30 min, to specific patterns of circumcerebral magnetic fields that significantly altered his subjective experiences. Several times during subsequent clays he was asked to sit in a quiet chamber and to sketch and to describe verbally distant stimuli (pictures or places) beyond his normal senses. The proportions of unusual 7-Hz spike and slow wave activity over the occipital lobes per trial were moderately correlated (rbo =.50) with the ratings of accuracy between these distal, hidden stimuli and his responses.
A neuropsychological assessment and Magnetic Resonance Imaging indicated a different structural and functional organization within the parieto-occipital region of the subject's right hemisphere from organizations typically noted. The results suggest that this type of paranormal phenomenon, often dismissed as methodological artifact or accepted as proofs of spiritual existence, is correlated with neurophysiological processes and physical events. Remote viewing may be enhanced by complex experimentally generated magnetic fields designed to interact with the neuromagnetic "binding factor" of consciousness.
From: Remote viewing with the artist ingo Swann: Neuropsychological profile, electroencephalographic correlates, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and possible mechanisms
PERSINGER M. A. ; ROLL W. G. ; TILLER S. G. ; KOREN S. A. ; COOK C. M. ;
Perceptual and motor skills ISSN 0031-5125 CODEN PMOSAZ
2002, vol. 94 (1), no3, pp. 927-949 [23 page(s) (article)]
PJ
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Photic Stimulation in Color: RGB Absorption Through Eyelids
This seems like a big deal. You can't get a white blend if your R of the RGB is massively stronger without affecting its intensity for example. I wonder why our eyes pass through red light and not the others? I mean what evolutionary thing could cause that? In any case I think this has real significance for people using photic stimulation (flashing lights particularly LEDs). It's too bad they didn't cover other colors and not just RGB.
ANDO K, KRIPKE DF.
Biological Psychiatry 1996;39(1):22-5.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA
PJ
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Although it has been reported that light treatment during sleep can modify biological rhythms, the amount of light that is transmitted through the human eyelid has not been established. We evaluated eyelid transmission with a visual threshold response. Estimated light transmission through the eyelids was 0.3% for blue, 0.3% for green, and 5.6% for red light. The eyelid was an effective attenuator and acted as a red-pass filter. Illumination intensity and color balance after passing through the eyelid should be considered in evaluating the effects of light treatments during sleep.from: Light attenuation by the human eyelid.
ANDO K, KRIPKE DF.
Biological Psychiatry 1996;39(1):22-5.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA
PJ
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Growing Glossary
This Neuro-technology, Brainwave Entrainment subject needs a glossary, one that includes product names, technology names, technology format acronyms, and more, desperately. I'm only just beginning but I'm going to start building one gradually and adding to it maybe daily as I get more info. It'll be disorganized at first. If the effort gets big enough I will database this eventually.
ALPHA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 8 Hz to 12 Hz. This is usually generated either in the right brain hemisphere, or in a synchronized pattern between both hemispheres. This is considered the dominant brainwave state for an adult with their eyes closed, or a relaxed adult, or children and teens.
AMFR - acronym for Amplitude-Modulation Following Response. This phrase is sometimes used in research papers instead of 'frequency following response'.
AMYGDALA - part of the limbic system which is part of the brain; relates to deep emotions and fear; associated with anxiety and depression.
ANS - Acronym for Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). Has two divisions, sympathetic (activating) and parasympathetic (deactivating). (Such as speeding up or slowing down the beat of the heart.)
AUDIBLE THRESHOLD - the human ear is believed, on average, to be able to hear frequencies between 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (or 20 kHz).
AUDIOSTROBE - this is actually a trade name for a technology, and a company that makes products based on that tech, but it is also used almost generically, which is a little confusing. Audiostrobe is basically 'encoded signals for audio+LED-video' that allow brainmind machines to play both sound AND light -- or even, with their 'decoder', to take ordinary music CD input and just put visual 'strobe' to it (depends on volume/gain/pulse of the music is my understanding so far). (When I say 'brainmind machines' I always also mean an MP3+homemade goggles as well, with a little less money involved.) This appears to be the industry standard, so when product X says it is 'audiostrobe compatible' that means that any other product (Y or Z) that can export or import to that format, can then be compatible with product X via that common format. You can have a dozen people talking about a dozen products with a dozen methods and all referring to 'audiostrobe' with none of them actually using an audiostrobe product; but most using their file format or even just something that equates to that.
AVOID - here's a list of frequencies I've come across the various folks have said to avoid (or something akin to that). These are sometimes just 'frequencies' such as used with Rife/Abrams technology not necessarily sound/light! And probably ALL of this should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt (I mean mountain-sized). Much is from the lunarsight.com list. Consider all of these just hearsay. I just feel I ought to be recording this aspect of things just in case. [7.0 alleged to resonate & rupture organs at excessive intensity [TB];] [9.0, 11.0, 16.0 [bad] documented calcium ion migration (brain tissue) [SS] note there is disagreement on these, see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwgen/message/4592] [13.0 - Alleged sphincter resonance (mechanical)(not good) [TB];] [50-60 Hz - no specifics found but reference to 'documented negative effects too numerous to reproduce'. 55 associated with Kundalini. See entry for 'ELF'.] [Avoid 165-170 'and a bit to each side of that'. Product 'Awakening Mind II' allegedly will detail why.] [5000 Rife healing frequency but for short use only -- long exposures destroy red blood cells.] [388 MHZ - Alleged to cause damage/ disruption to humans [TB]]
BETA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. There is some debate about this actual range and naming definitions. By consensus it begins at 12 Hz, but the other side of the span ranges from 24 Hz to 40 Hz depending on source. [Some feel 12.3-15.2 Hz is 'Sigma'. Some feel 25+ Hz is 'Gamma'. Date of publication seems to relate to this with newer writings having more uniquely-named spans.] Alleged increase in norepinephrine, serotonin (beta-endorphins) and an adrenal stimulant, with a decrease in melatonin. "High Beta" sometimes defined as 10 - 12 Hz. Beta is usually generated in the left-hemisphere of the brain. This is considered the dominant brainwave state for an adult with their eyes open.
BINAURAL (which I thought was 'bineural')- when two tones are presented together in order to cause the brain to 'internally create' a tone that is the mathematical difference between the two. Binaural tones are presented separately, with headphones, one to each hemisphere of the brain. Binaural tones are often used to enable the brain to create frequencies below the audible threshold and 'entrain' the brain but actually any of the tone-types can do that.
BRACING HABITS - also called dysponetic activity. This is when a person asked to relax instead tenses up more. Seen in people with muscle tension disorders such as TMJ. (Siever, Thomas 1988)
BRAIN STEM - part of the brain, contains the reticular activating system (RAS) which regulates sleep/waking.
BWE or BRAINWAVE ENTRAINMENT - Providing input to the senses which will cause a Frequency Following Response (FFR) of the brain. Commonly this is done through sound and light. Audio entrainment more strongly effects the temporal lobes where audio signals get processed. Visual entrainment more strongly effects the parietal and occipital lobes. The approach in Brainwave Entrainment (BWE) is to effect the whole brain, to shift the 'dominant' brainwave. This is (to vastly oversimplify) like saying the 'loudest' or 'overall average'. It isn't very specific; Neurofeedback technology (as opposed to brainwave entrainment technology) is used for specifics. However it is unreasonable in terms of price and complexity for most people so BWE, usually (eventually) with custom-made programs by the individual, is more common.
BWT - Acronym for 'Brainwave Transform' files. This is the file format created by products 'Brain Sound Studio' and 'Neural Noise Synthesizer' (Transparent Corp). They can be imported into their product NP2 (see NP2) but not edited there.
CER - Acronym for Cortical Evoked Response, which is a small electrical response to a stimulus. If the stimuli are strong enough, the evoked responses start to stack onto each other, producing a rhythm that the brain itself starts to follow (the FFR).
CEREBELLUM - part of the brain (located in the hindbrain) responsible for coordination, motor movements, and equilibrium. See also Cerebrum, Limbic System.
CBF - Acronym for Cerebral Blood Flow (see rCBF). Carries oxygen and glucose to the brain. The adult brain needs ~750 ml (nearly a quart) of oxygenated blood per minute for 'normal' activities. 20% of blood oxygen body-wide goes to the brain. Loss of blood to brain for 5-10 seconds can cause change in neuronal activity; interruption for 5-10 minutes can produce irreversible damage. Two pairs of arteries deliver blood to the brain. Underactive regions of the brain may have inadequate supplies of oxygenated blood; visible correlation between this in the brain and associated conditions such as OCD and ADHD exist, and for depression as well [left prefrontal regions for that instance]. Improving blood flow in that region (rCBF) is thought to enhance mental capacity. Blood flow decrease/increase is also referred to as an increase/decrease in brain 'metabolism'. In the case where rCBF was low in the left prefrontal cortex area, the regional brain electrical activity was as well; this is believed to correlate with the decline in capacity for pleasure, interest, goal-directed motivation, etc.
CHRONIC PAIN - indefinite (though intensity and 'flare' may vary) pain associated with some medical conditions. Examples would be fibromyalgia, lupus, arthritis, TMJ, or sometimes injuries such as from combat or car accidents. Both pain and depression have had significant reduction from ongoing BWE treatment in research (more is being done on this).
CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW - 80% of the oxygenated blood in the body is used for the brain. The blood carries oxygen and glucose {sugar/energy/food} to the brain. Electrical activity (neuro transmitter activity or 'communication') increases or reduces related to the flow. Some disorders have been correlated with reduced blood flow to a certain part of the brain (depression, OCD, ADHD). Brain stimulation (such as photic driving) has been shown to increase the blood flow to specific parts of the brain. Sappey-Mariner 1992 did this with 2 Hz photic, measuring with MRI, and noted that the glucose uptake increased much more in the brain than the oxygen uptake. They don't know why, they just pointed it out. {I find this interesting because if you reduce the oxygen of a human say via sleep apnea, so they don't have enough physical energy as a side effect, you would think they should be craving more-oxygen and breathing deeply but instead what they crave is carbohydrates (sugar: "energy-food"). Wonder if it's related. pj} David Noton mid-1990s had some research where he concluded that BWE improvements in various disorders was more related to increase blood flow than increased electrical activity (brainwaves).
CEREBRAL CORTEX - Part of the brain. Brain waves are a by-product of the neurotransmitter communication signals moving up toward the cerebral cortex then back down toward the thalamus, repeatedly (see EPSP and IPSP). There are millions of these neuronal signals going on at once. The EEG measures a teeny part of that. See also Cerebrum.
CEREBRAL SPINAL FLUID (CSF) - the fluid that the brain floats within and is nourished and cushioned by; signals received by most neurofeedback methods must travel through this fluid.
CEREBRUM - Most prominent part of the brain, divided into left and right hemispheres. The outer layer is about 3mm thick and is called the cerebral cortex. It's responsible for higher mental functions and is divided into four lobes in each hemisphere, named for the cranial bones above them and associated with specialized tasks. Underneath the cerebral cortex is the limbic system (see Limbic System).
CNS - Acronym for Central Nervous System. CNS is half of the 'Nervous System' and includes the brain and spinal cord (12 pairs of cranial nervous and 31 pairs of spinal nerves). See 'PNS' regarding the other half.
COLOR - visual perception differences in frequencies of light, based on which rods/cones in the eye are stimulated by the frequencies presenting. Much more research needs to be done here and there's a whole lot of old research and Eastern cultural habits relating to color-light and healing for example, that in the layman's world of BWE is forced into overlapping-ideas. So far about the only things known that I find in reading (including more scientific folks) are, curiously, almost-analogous to the assigned Chakra colors in the West; close enough it doesn't seem coincidence Red, Orange and Yellow increase arousal; red can associate with anxiety; yellow is better for creativity; violet with 'philosophical or contemplative' thought processes; blue and green with relaxation.
CORPUS CALLOSUM - the major connection between the two lateral (left/right) hemispheres of the brain. Women's tend to be up to 30% thicker with 'connections' between left and right brain. (I once read this was suspected to relate to testosterone in the developing fetus breaking this down.) See Lateralization.
CSF - Acronym for Cerebral Spinal Fluid
CYCLE TIME - how often a frequency repeats itself. It's more comprehensible to just example this: 1 Hz = 1 cycle (in this case one cycle per second). 10 Hz = 10 cycles per second (that is 0.1 second per cycle, or every 100 milliseconds: it's 1 divided by 10). See 'Duty Cycle'.
DAS - Acronym for 'digital audio synchrony'. Not sure if this is specific to the Procyon product or a general term yet. Might be. This ties into being able to access and play SynchroMuse sessions -- SM is a brand,
DELTA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 0 Hz to 4 Hz, though there is disagreement about this, with alternatives ranging from 0.1 to 3.0 Hz instead (some put .5 and lower into 'Epsilon'). These are usually generated in the right hemisphere of the brain. Believed to generate (HGH, DHEA, Melatonin) or reduce (Cortisol) certain biochemicals. This is the lowest known brainwave frequency range, the most relaxed, and are considered the dominant brainwave state for a person in the deepest stages (stages 3-4) of sleep, or for infants.
DENDRITE - the part of a neuron which accepts messages from neurotransmitters. See neurotransmitters. Also it is "speculated" (Russell, 1996) that with paralyzed people (such as from stroke/aneurism), "dendritic growth" may actually be happening as a result of BWE increasing blood flow etc. - this is a huge area for big-potential research but so far not too much has been done I think.
DEHYDRATION - Apparently brain-stim particularly photic (visual) is a bit dehydrating so a little more water intake should go on if doing much of this, including just before each session. (Multiple refs, no science ref found yet - pj)
DISASSOCIATIVE - a word for certain 'states of mind'. BWE can definitely bring on this easily even for healthy non-dissociative individuals {and I think in such a range we still need a century of research to figure it out - pj}, and BWE/NF can entrain or teach a person to control it (bring it on or vanish it at will).
DISASSOCIATIVE DISORDER - when certain 'states of mind' are so extreme and chronic that they are actually medical/psychological conditions. Five categories for this: amnesia; depersonalization; derealization; absorption; imaginative involvement.
DUTY CYCLE - how much of a given Cycle Time a stimulus is applied. Let us say you have 4 Hz (4 cycles per second) and your "on" pulse for your light is .25 seconds, every other cycle, so your duty cycle would be 50% and 0.50 seconds total (per 4 cycles, at this Hz frequency). Now let's say you reduce that to one (1) 0.25 second "on" pulse and the rest of the second is off. Now your duty cycle is 25% (with 75% 'off') and now it is 0.25 seconds (with 0.75 seconds 'off'). The "intensity" in photic or sonic tech is going to depend on not only the baseline brightness or loudness, but on how often/much that light/sound is on. Obviously, a light on 0.75 per 1.0 second is going to have a higher intensity than a light on 0.25 per 1.0 second. What this means is that the user may experience a brightening or dimming, or pitch raising and lowering, as this changes and that can affect the effect of the BWE (poorly, generally). A duty cycle too low or too high may not cause the desired BWE, by the way; this is entertwined with but a somewhat separate consideration from simple "hz" or "waveform". Now: you can "fix in place" EITHER the pulse width or duration, OR the duty cycle. The example just prior was fixing the pulse width or duration. If you fix the duty-cycle in place it's different. In that case you would be fixing "the percentage of the cycle that the pulse is ON". If you were on 50% of the time (50% duty cycle), this would be the same whether the frequency was 4 Hz or 40 Hz. The times on and off would 'stretch or shrink' as your raised or lowered the frequency. So the user would not be likely to perceive shifts in intensity of light or sound, since "comparatively" the ratio stays the same. Also it means you can aim for a duty cycle where you know BWE is most likely to happen.
DYSPONETIC ACTIVITY - see bracing habits.
DZIDRA GLASS - a tech product. 2 liquid crystals are used to block an external light source rythymically with shadow (instead of putting someone in the dark and flashing light at them, it puts someone in the light and flashes dark at them, is one way to think about it!). Glen Solomon in the 1980s published on this. They only went up to like 3 Hz in the study. All muscle tension headache subjects were totally cured but sinusitis & migraine subjects weren't affected.
EDR - Acronym for Epidermal Response. See GSR.
EEG - Acronym for Electroencephalograph - measures neuronal activity in the cerebrum (part of the brain).
EMG - Acronym for Electromyograph - measures neuronal activity or NT in muscles in the body or head.
ELF - Acronym for Extremely Low Frequency. Much research in this area is considered to be classified by various governments since the 1960s, when 'behavioral effects' (eg mind-control) were first discovered, particularly in the 50-60 Hz range.
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM - secretes hormones that activate bodily glands. Works with the Nervous System. Communicates with the CNS and receives messages from the Hypothalamus. Endocrine glands are adrenal, thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, testes, and ovearies. Those located in the brain are the pituitary and pineal.
ENTRAINMENT - This is Transparent Corp's literal definition which I like better than what I had: "Entrainment is a principle of physics. It is defined as the synchronization of two or more rhythmic cycles. The principles of entrainment are universal, appearing in chemistry, neurology, biology, pharmacology, medicine, astronomy and more. 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." Also they say: "Entrainment increases blood flow and metabolism, which can make you thirsty mid-session" and suggest drinking a glass of water before. Turns out that different people entrain at different frequencies; or don't; and this is correlated with a person's natural/default "alpha baseline" and beta activity. 10 Hz is considered the easiest point to entrain. It supposedly takes 6 minutes for entrainment to occur at alpha (the easiest entrainment level). I can't find any notes on how long for other states. I do find notes saying that as people adapt to BWE they can shift to a state much more quickly, and move through multiple changing or ramping Hz levels more quickly.
EPSILON - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 0.5 and lower Hz. Many systems do not acknowlege this as a named span at all.
EPSP - Acronym for Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential. To simplify, when a neural chemical (neurotransmitter) gives a message to 'excite' the neuron next to it. This is half of the 'cycle' of the process of making brain waves. See also IPSP.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE - A neuroendrocrine event (see Nervous System, Endocrine System, Limbic System) that occurs after the thalamus records a perceived threat. (Real or imagined.) Centered originally in Thalamus which sends out 2 messages. First to limbic system for instant analysis; amygdala and hippocampus communicate and and that ends at the hypothalamus; the combined hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal (endocrine glands) signal the endocrine system and sympathetic nervous system. These change muscle tension, breathing, brain wave frequency, blood pressure, heart rate, skin temporature, while the adrenals secrete corticoids (adrenaline, epinephrine, norepinephrine) and those inhibit digestion, immune system and tissue repair. The second message from thalamus goes to the frontal lobes (see Frontal Lobes) for assessment. This is a survival response and is very powerful, and a big part of understanding human function (and treatment). {Odd note to self for later. could bulemia, anorexia, and whatever the between-those syndrome is called, be based on an extended mild form of fight or flight response? pj}
FILE FORMATS - a list of file format acronyms that relate to this field or its techs.
imports: MP1, MP2, MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, NPSND - sound files. NP2 imports these.
product specific formats: BTW - data files for audio/video of some Transparent Corp products. PRb - Procyon (MindPlace) 'album' files. PRk - Procyon 'archive' files. PRw - Procyon 'session' files. PR2 - code (software) updates for Procyon. PRL - Procyon log file.
exports: WAV - sound file NP2 exports. Convert to MP3 with some freeware/shareware converter you can find online if desired. Audio effectiveness not affected. Video is affected by bit rate. To use the file as/with/for audiostrobe (visual+audio) use the highest bitrate (320).
FFR or FREQUENCY FOLLOWING RESPONSE - see entrainment. FFR is when entrainment happens to the brain. Acronym AMFR sometimes used in science.
FRONTAL LOBES - the decision making area of the cerebral cortex (part of the brain). The fight or flight response has a message sent here for decision once the other bodily processes are underway related to that. (If it chooses to shut down that response it can take up to 3 minutes to reverse all the bodily processes. If it does not reverse it, fight or flight will happen. If fight or flight cannot happen, powerful emotions, dissociation, numbness, immobilization can happen and all energy is is abruptly halted and 'shock' sets in. At that point the parapsympathetic nervous sytem releases neurohormones (adrenaline, endorphins, etc.). Some people with anxiety problems are triggering the fight or flight response too often and any therapy thought to 'strengthen' the prefrontal lobes may help.
GAMMA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 38 Hz - 70 Hz although some sources vary the start of this span. This is considered a state of 'higher functioning' not seen dominant or for long except in experienced meditators, although some of it is usually found throughout the brain.
GUARDIAN RESPONSE - When a person feels apprehensive about a situation they're sitting in or preparing for. This can be brought on by new or uncomfortable experiences including dissociation which BWE can sometimes invoke.
GSR - Acronym for Galvanic Skin Response, also called EDR (Epidermal Response). This measure is one avenue used for biofeedback. It relates to the secretion of perspiration upon the surface of the skin and measures 'arousal'.
HEG - Acronym for Hemoencephalography, a type of bio/neuro-feedback measuring Regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) activity.
HERTZ [Hz] - A unit of frequency (a measure of oscillation of vibration). One (1) hertz (Hz) is equal to one (1) complete cycle per second. In neurotech this is used to refer to radio & audio frequencies. Hz can be prefixed; commonly used multiples are kHz (kilohertz, 103 Hz), MHz (megahertz, 106 Hz), GHz (gigahertz, 109 Hz) and THz (terahertz, 1012 Hz). On the various scales used in neurotech, pretty much the official Greek naming of spans goes to around 60-70 Hz (120 Hz if you count 'Lambda') but actual frequencies recorded as used go past that, past THz. Above 120 Hz the majority of references I see are involving chakras, planets, or occasional human body parts.
HGH or HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE - a biochemical usually generated during the deepest stages of sleep. Time spent in some areas of Delta is considered to release this and other hormones normally released during that sleep stage (including DHEA and Melatonin) and to reduce others (such as Cortisol). Some of the seemingly more reputable list/references related to this says that 7.83 (official Schumann Resonance) is highly associated with output of this, as is 1.05 Hz (a lower frequency of SR) and 31.32 Hz (a harmonic of SR).
HIPPOCAMPUS - part of the limbic system which is part of the brain; relates to memory and emotions.
INTERNATIONAL 10-20 SYSTEM - The official 'naming/locating' table for parts of the brain. (EEG sensors are placed based on this. Odd numbers on left brain, even on right. A slash between two locations means between them; a dash means on the same path or both.) I will get the various images and table of data and add them here when I get time.
IPSP - Acronym for Inhibitory Postsynpatic Potential. To simplify, when a neural chemical (neurotransmitter) gives a message to 'inhibit' or 'depolarize' the neuron next to it. This is half of the 'cycle' of the process of making brain waves. See also EPSP.
ISOCHRONIC - a type of 'tones' which are evenly spaced from each other in an on/off pattern. Being 'tones' these are within the human hearing range. A strength of isochronic tones is that allegedly the brain 'entrains/follows' them more strongly or easily than the other types. [8 zillion web refs to this, not a single ref to legit research backing it up - pj. Also why does that help if these couldn't reach the levels that bineural could anyway I wonder. -pj] (Note that a simple light flashing on and off in a given pattern is a visual version of photic stimulation similar to the audio version of isochronic tones.)
LAMBDA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 60 Hz to 120 Hz (though some consider Gamma to go 70 Hz). Associated with the central nervous system, not much else known.
LATERALIZATION - the subject of the lateral (left/right) hemispheres of the brain and their specializations. Relates to symmetry and asymmetry of hemispheric functioning as well and is affected by the Corpus Callosum connections. See those and LH and RH. The left hemisphere is dominant in most humans. Some disorders appear to result from "too much equality" in the hemispheres in certain areas, including dyslexia and stuttering. Though it is popularly thought that left-hand-dominant individuals are right-brain dominant, actually only about 20% of them are; left handers have a higher incidence of language impairments, stuttering and dyslexia (so that might be related). Men and women ('in general') have significant differences between which (and how much) hemisphere they use for various activities (corpus callosum also relates to this).
LH - Acronym for Left Hemisphere (of the brain). Responsible for activity on the right side of the body. This is the 'dominant' hemisphere for 'most' humans. Associated with logic, math, grammar, word recognition, problem-solving, details, verbal skills, memory, auditory abilities. (See Lateralization)
LIMBIC SYSTEM - A multi-part section of the brain located under the cerebral cortex. Center of the 'fight-or-flight response'. It includes (among other things): amygdala (deep emotions and fear), hippocampus (memory and emotion), anterior thalamic nuclei (sensory processing), hypothalamus [just below the thalamus] (control center for autonomic nervous system and survival functions). (See Thalamus.)
LOBES - section of the cerebral cortex (of the brain); there are four outer lobes. These can also be divided into smaller units that may lie on the border separating the lobes.
MONAURAL - when two tones are presented together in order to cause the brain to 'internally create' a tone that is the mathematical difference between the two. Monaural tones are presented together such as with a speaker, or in mono. Monaural tones can also be generated 'by accident or design' as a 'leftover' result of other tonal interaction.
NERVOUS SYSTEM - the command center of the body. Sends messages between neurons in a chainlink fashion. See also ANS, CNS, Cerebrum.
NEUROPROGRAMMER - a commercial software product, see NP2
NEURON - the basic unit of the nervous system; cells which communicate in a linear series by passing biochemical ('neurotransmitters') between them.
NEUROTRANSMITTER - biochemicals which are 'messages' and which cause an excitatory or inhibitory response in the neuron they are communicating with (see EPSP, IPSP). Some of these are named serotonin, dopamine, GABA (that's an acronym), epinephine. They are stored in little sacs called 'vesicles' within the axon terminal of the nerve. In simpler english: the "terminal button" (the blunt sending-side) of a nerve, stores the chemicals that get sent as messages and has 'doorways' for the neurotransmitters to go in and out. The area 'between' the nerves/neurons is called the 'synapse' (the neurotransmitter travels 'across that area') and the part of the nerve-next-door that 'takes in' the message is the 'dendrite'. When the message has been given, the neurotransmitter 'cleans up' any extra chemical (the "reuptake" process, this so that the chemical does not continue to keep-giving-more-signal and the communication is crisp and clear) and goes back in the door to its vesicle in the terminal button.
NP2 - acronym for NeuroProgrammer 2, a product designed to generate both light and sound 'sessions' for brainwave entrainment (or even neurofeedback). Has a wide range of options both in the technical area (such as different kinds of wave forms, tones and beats, plus the ability to put these in noise, background sounds/music, etc.) and in the 'associated' areas (such as hypnotic scripting, recording, output etc.) and this can write to the common standard 'audiostrobe' file format that will be played by most any of the brainwave entrainment toys (eg Procyon), or even by LED glasses and headphones you can buy or create on your own. As of June 2009 the 'pro' version (not 'home' not 'commercial') is $60. It comes with a good deal of documentation both as product info and in a 'members' section and given the limited info on this subject available to the layman that alone has significant value I'd say.
NPS, NPSCRIPT, NPSND - Neuroprogrammer (product) file formats
NT - Acronym for Neuronal Transmission. The neuron is the basic unit of communication. NT is an electrochemical event, which can be measured. This is recorded in microvolts (amplitude) and cycles per second (frequency, Hz). The EEG is a visual measure of cerebrum activity, the EMG of activity in any muscles in body or head (see EEG and EMG).
PITCH - frequency which in the audible range translates to a musical note. The 12 notes of fixed frequency used in Western music currently are named from A to G, with "sharps" and "flats" (also called "incidentals") in between. A "pitch" would be a given note, for example "A". This pitch could be played in different "Octaves". See 'Musical Notes, Octaves and Frequencies' in this list.
MUSICAL NOTES, OCTAVES AND FREQUENCIES
(This applies to modern Western music)
The physical cause of music is vibration and those vibrations are measured in hertz (Hz). 1 Hz = 1 complete vibration per second. Twelve notes of fixed frequencies are used. These are mathematically related to each other. They are defined around the central note, A4 which is 440 Hz officially (varies in practice). For more reference see the tables below, "Octaves, General Frequency" and "1 Octave Chromatic Scale on C4". [Thanks to wikipedia for much of this info, though I've combined multiple sources and tables.]
PHOTIC - visual; photic stimulation refers to the use of flashing lights (usually through closed eyelids, though not always) to achieve the same frequency following response (FFR) or 'brain entrainment' that can be achieved with audio approaches. The light 'pulses' can be be different colors or different waveforms, and can be presented together or separately [the visual version of bineural] to target different effects for different hemispheres of the brain. So far all the refs I find suggest that Photic is stronger than Sonic and that if both are present at the same time, Photic will dominate and/or be the frequency taken up. Note that the "photic convulsive response" can happen in people sensitive to this (like an epileptic seizure). It is most easily brought on by red-colored light at 15 Hz; this can be reduced by adding some blue light. [Takahashi, Tsukahara 1976]
PHOTIC DRIVING - using photic stimulation to entrain the brain. A 'wide, uniform visual field' produces the best photic driving. Using sinusoidal, white light and stimulating the entire visual field, it appears at least 200 lux intensity is necessary to create entrainment. Too much or too little light during this process is less effective. Stimuli with pulse widths of 20% to 60% is most effective.
PHOTIC RANGE - the visual range of a given tech product. For example in the Procyon the photic range is RGB (3 colors) and 0.1 to 80.0 Hz in 0.1 increments [as of Jun '09].
PNS - Acronym for Peripheral Nervous System, which has two divisions: somatic (voluntary) and autonomic (involuntary). See also 'ANS'.
POSITION - two things here. 1) Position of EEG electrodes; see EEG and related topics. 2) Position of a user experiencing BWE. Don't do it with someone standing. People can have mild seizures esp. from light and not even know, it might have even felt neat. Falling in the middle would be bad for several reasons.
PROCYON - a physical technology product commercially sold by MindPlace.com and its resellers. Includes audio tech for presenting any kind of tone (isochronic, monaural, or bineural), plus goggles with three LEDs each with 255RGB range (for a total of millions of colors). Has software that allows users to design custom programs, plus allows them to integrate the product with other popular tone/visual products in this genre.
RAS - Acronym for the Reticular Activating System, a part of the brain which regulates sleep/waking.
rCBF - Acronym for Regional Cerebral Blood Flow activity. This is measured using HEG biofeedback. This (vs. the 'electrical activity' measured via EEG) is a growing area of therapeutic interest.
RH - Acronym for Right Hemisphere (of the brain). Responsible for activity on the left side of the body. Associated with face recognition, spatial skills, music, auditory skills (as is LH), nonverbal expression, social encoding, emotional processing. Singing, swearing, humor, creativity, intuition, insight, empathy, are associated with this. (See Lateralization)
SBD - Acronym for Slow Brainwave Disorder. This is a group of health disorders that are associated with having too much of the lower-Hz brainwaves present or dominant. They include PMS [at clinical levels], ADD, CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome), and minor head injuries.
SCHUMANN RESONANCE - a standing wave in the Earth-ionosphere cavity with a wavelength equal to the circumference of the Earth. The higher resonance modes are spaced at approximately 6.5 Hz intervals, a characteristic attributed to the atmosphere's spherical geometry. The eighth overtone lies at approximately 59.9 Hz. Greatly created by global lightning activity. The frequency can vary slightly. (In oversimplified English, this seems to be the default frequencies of planet earth, in some respects.) The principal background in the electromagnetic spectrum between 3–69 Hz, this appears as distinct peaks at extremely low frequencies around 7.83, 14.3, 20.8, 27.3 and 33.8 Hz.
SIGMA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 12.3 Hz - 13.2 Hz (normally in the 'beta' span). Many systems do not acknowlege this as a named span at all.
SOMNATIC SHOCK - An effect (as-yet unexplained) that can happen if a person in a session (especially the deeper the brainwave state) is abruptly startled. This can happen if the session ends abruptly, which is why they should be designed to fade-out (over 30-90 seconds) instead. It is thought that the mind is not using ordinary filters at that point to deal with such experience. Disorientation and nausea are not uncommon. 'Somatic Trauma' is another term sometimes used. (See the 'fight or flight response' and 'Thalamus' entries. This may be a 'lite' effect of that from the sudden cessation of a bunch of energy/activity in the brain.)
ST - Acronym for Skin Temperature. This particular measure is one used in biofeedback. Not to be confused with GSR or EDR biofeedback which also are sensors on surface of skin.
STROBOSCOPE - An electronic machine that flashes light (strobe-light). Used in 1940's research for example on photic stimulation response.
SYNCHRONIZATION - in this context, meaning the vibrating frequency of both lateral (left/right) hemispheres of the cerebral cortex (brain) take up the same or harmonic 'dominant' frequency. Nearly all forms of brainwave stimulation cause some degree of this including all tone types used with BWE (isochronic, monaural, binaural). The first ref I find to "brainwave synchronizer" product/term is Sidney Schneider "Brain Wave Synchronizer" 1959 (published about the effects with William Kroger). (The first goggles-with-bulbs 1972 Richard Townsend.)
TACTILE STIMULATION - tactile = touch; you can invoke FFR via repetitive stimulation of the body as well as of eyes or ears. Dempsey and Morison (1942) is the ref though I can't find the paper. They used the sciatica nerve
THALAMUS - part of the brain and Limbic System (I think). Records 'fight or flight response' (see that entry). See also Cerebral Cortex for more related to Thalamus.
THETA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 4 Hz - 8 Hz, although there is debate, with named spans ranging from 3 to 8 (and some introducing a 3.0 - 5.5 Hz as 'Theta I' and 5.5 - 8 Hz as 'Theta II'). These brainwaves are usually generated in the right hemisphere of the brain. This is considered the dominant brainwave state for a person in relaxed dream-state sleep.
THETA II - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 5.5 Hz - 8 Hz. Many systems do not separate the Theta span.
TYPES OF BIOFEEDBACK - a collection of the acronyms of various common BF processes. See entries under them. EEG; EMG; EDR; GSR; HEG; ST; MRI or fMRI; PET; SPECT;
VISUAL CORTEX - part of the cortex, of the brain. Thought to consist of ~300 million neurons. This area can be measured via BF to determine the "natural Alpha range" of the individual -- their default brainwaves. I'm not sure why, but the findings are that the wider the range of 'natural' alpha in this area, the narrower the range of 'photic stimulation' that person's brain will actually entrain to, and vice-versa. Everyone seems to have a strong photic FFR response at their own natural frequency (as measured in the visual cortex) which is somewhere between 9 Hz and 11 Hz but is different for each person. Note that even though 'entrainment' may not be happening that doesn't mean effects are not. For example a person might enter a deep trance at a certain Hz but not have BWE.
VOCAL RANGE - 70 Hz to ~9,000 Hz is considered the range of the human voice.
PJ
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I am collecting and compiling this info from many sources, combining tables or references, rewording stuff, condensing, etc. Credits should be given to Wikipedia.com, the BWGEN Yahoo group, 4mind4life.com blog, the public web-forum archives of Transparent Corp and MindPlace, a variety of white papers, other websites & blogs, Google for helping me find stuff, and especially lunarsight.com.
ALPHA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 8 Hz to 12 Hz. This is usually generated either in the right brain hemisphere, or in a synchronized pattern between both hemispheres. This is considered the dominant brainwave state for an adult with their eyes closed, or a relaxed adult, or children and teens.
AMFR - acronym for Amplitude-Modulation Following Response. This phrase is sometimes used in research papers instead of 'frequency following response'.
AMYGDALA - part of the limbic system which is part of the brain; relates to deep emotions and fear; associated with anxiety and depression.
ANS - Acronym for Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). Has two divisions, sympathetic (activating) and parasympathetic (deactivating). (Such as speeding up or slowing down the beat of the heart.)
AUDIBLE THRESHOLD - the human ear is believed, on average, to be able to hear frequencies between 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (or 20 kHz).
AUDIOSTROBE - this is actually a trade name for a technology, and a company that makes products based on that tech, but it is also used almost generically, which is a little confusing. Audiostrobe is basically 'encoded signals for audio+LED-video' that allow brainmind machines to play both sound AND light -- or even, with their 'decoder', to take ordinary music CD input and just put visual 'strobe' to it (depends on volume/gain/pulse of the music is my understanding so far). (When I say 'brainmind machines' I always also mean an MP3+homemade goggles as well, with a little less money involved.) This appears to be the industry standard, so when product X says it is 'audiostrobe compatible' that means that any other product (Y or Z) that can export or import to that format, can then be compatible with product X via that common format. You can have a dozen people talking about a dozen products with a dozen methods and all referring to 'audiostrobe' with none of them actually using an audiostrobe product; but most using their file format or even just something that equates to that.
AVOID - here's a list of frequencies I've come across the various folks have said to avoid (or something akin to that). These are sometimes just 'frequencies' such as used with Rife/Abrams technology not necessarily sound/light! And probably ALL of this should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt (I mean mountain-sized). Much is from the lunarsight.com list. Consider all of these just hearsay. I just feel I ought to be recording this aspect of things just in case. [7.0 alleged to resonate & rupture organs at excessive intensity [TB];] [9.0, 11.0, 16.0 [bad] documented calcium ion migration (brain tissue) [SS] note there is disagreement on these, see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bwgen/message/4592] [13.0 - Alleged sphincter resonance (mechanical)(not good) [TB];] [50-60 Hz - no specifics found but reference to 'documented negative effects too numerous to reproduce'. 55 associated with Kundalini. See entry for 'ELF'.] [Avoid 165-170 'and a bit to each side of that'. Product 'Awakening Mind II' allegedly will detail why.] [5000 Rife healing frequency but for short use only -- long exposures destroy red blood cells.] [388 MHZ - Alleged to cause damage/ disruption to humans [TB]]
BETA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. There is some debate about this actual range and naming definitions. By consensus it begins at 12 Hz, but the other side of the span ranges from 24 Hz to 40 Hz depending on source. [Some feel 12.3-15.2 Hz is 'Sigma'. Some feel 25+ Hz is 'Gamma'. Date of publication seems to relate to this with newer writings having more uniquely-named spans.] Alleged increase in norepinephrine, serotonin (beta-endorphins) and an adrenal stimulant, with a decrease in melatonin. "High Beta" sometimes defined as 10 - 12 Hz. Beta is usually generated in the left-hemisphere of the brain. This is considered the dominant brainwave state for an adult with their eyes open.
BINAURAL (which I thought was 'bineural')- when two tones are presented together in order to cause the brain to 'internally create' a tone that is the mathematical difference between the two. Binaural tones are presented separately, with headphones, one to each hemisphere of the brain. Binaural tones are often used to enable the brain to create frequencies below the audible threshold and 'entrain' the brain but actually any of the tone-types can do that.
BRACING HABITS - also called dysponetic activity. This is when a person asked to relax instead tenses up more. Seen in people with muscle tension disorders such as TMJ. (Siever, Thomas 1988)
BRAIN STEM - part of the brain, contains the reticular activating system (RAS) which regulates sleep/waking.
BWE or BRAINWAVE ENTRAINMENT - Providing input to the senses which will cause a Frequency Following Response (FFR) of the brain. Commonly this is done through sound and light. Audio entrainment more strongly effects the temporal lobes where audio signals get processed. Visual entrainment more strongly effects the parietal and occipital lobes. The approach in Brainwave Entrainment (BWE) is to effect the whole brain, to shift the 'dominant' brainwave. This is (to vastly oversimplify) like saying the 'loudest' or 'overall average'. It isn't very specific; Neurofeedback technology (as opposed to brainwave entrainment technology) is used for specifics. However it is unreasonable in terms of price and complexity for most people so BWE, usually (eventually) with custom-made programs by the individual, is more common.
BWT - Acronym for 'Brainwave Transform' files. This is the file format created by products 'Brain Sound Studio' and 'Neural Noise Synthesizer' (Transparent Corp). They can be imported into their product NP2 (see NP2) but not edited there.
CER - Acronym for Cortical Evoked Response, which is a small electrical response to a stimulus. If the stimuli are strong enough, the evoked responses start to stack onto each other, producing a rhythm that the brain itself starts to follow (the FFR).
CEREBELLUM - part of the brain (located in the hindbrain) responsible for coordination, motor movements, and equilibrium. See also Cerebrum, Limbic System.
CBF - Acronym for Cerebral Blood Flow (see rCBF). Carries oxygen and glucose to the brain. The adult brain needs ~750 ml (nearly a quart) of oxygenated blood per minute for 'normal' activities. 20% of blood oxygen body-wide goes to the brain. Loss of blood to brain for 5-10 seconds can cause change in neuronal activity; interruption for 5-10 minutes can produce irreversible damage. Two pairs of arteries deliver blood to the brain. Underactive regions of the brain may have inadequate supplies of oxygenated blood; visible correlation between this in the brain and associated conditions such as OCD and ADHD exist, and for depression as well [left prefrontal regions for that instance]. Improving blood flow in that region (rCBF) is thought to enhance mental capacity. Blood flow decrease/increase is also referred to as an increase/decrease in brain 'metabolism'. In the case where rCBF was low in the left prefrontal cortex area, the regional brain electrical activity was as well; this is believed to correlate with the decline in capacity for pleasure, interest, goal-directed motivation, etc.
CHRONIC PAIN - indefinite (though intensity and 'flare' may vary) pain associated with some medical conditions. Examples would be fibromyalgia, lupus, arthritis, TMJ, or sometimes injuries such as from combat or car accidents. Both pain and depression have had significant reduction from ongoing BWE treatment in research (more is being done on this).
CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW - 80% of the oxygenated blood in the body is used for the brain. The blood carries oxygen and glucose {sugar/energy/food} to the brain. Electrical activity (neuro transmitter activity or 'communication') increases or reduces related to the flow. Some disorders have been correlated with reduced blood flow to a certain part of the brain (depression, OCD, ADHD). Brain stimulation (such as photic driving) has been shown to increase the blood flow to specific parts of the brain. Sappey-Mariner 1992 did this with 2 Hz photic, measuring with MRI, and noted that the glucose uptake increased much more in the brain than the oxygen uptake. They don't know why, they just pointed it out. {I find this interesting because if you reduce the oxygen of a human say via sleep apnea, so they don't have enough physical energy as a side effect, you would think they should be craving more-oxygen and breathing deeply but instead what they crave is carbohydrates (sugar: "energy-food"). Wonder if it's related. pj} David Noton mid-1990s had some research where he concluded that BWE improvements in various disorders was more related to increase blood flow than increased electrical activity (brainwaves).
CEREBRAL CORTEX - Part of the brain. Brain waves are a by-product of the neurotransmitter communication signals moving up toward the cerebral cortex then back down toward the thalamus, repeatedly (see EPSP and IPSP). There are millions of these neuronal signals going on at once. The EEG measures a teeny part of that. See also Cerebrum.
CEREBRAL SPINAL FLUID (CSF) - the fluid that the brain floats within and is nourished and cushioned by; signals received by most neurofeedback methods must travel through this fluid.
CEREBRUM - Most prominent part of the brain, divided into left and right hemispheres. The outer layer is about 3mm thick and is called the cerebral cortex. It's responsible for higher mental functions and is divided into four lobes in each hemisphere, named for the cranial bones above them and associated with specialized tasks. Underneath the cerebral cortex is the limbic system (see Limbic System).
CNS - Acronym for Central Nervous System. CNS is half of the 'Nervous System' and includes the brain and spinal cord (12 pairs of cranial nervous and 31 pairs of spinal nerves). See 'PNS' regarding the other half.
COLOR - visual perception differences in frequencies of light, based on which rods/cones in the eye are stimulated by the frequencies presenting. Much more research needs to be done here and there's a whole lot of old research and Eastern cultural habits relating to color-light and healing for example, that in the layman's world of BWE is forced into overlapping-ideas. So far about the only things known that I find in reading (including more scientific folks) are, curiously, almost-analogous to the assigned Chakra colors in the West; close enough it doesn't seem coincidence Red, Orange and Yellow increase arousal; red can associate with anxiety; yellow is better for creativity; violet with 'philosophical or contemplative' thought processes; blue and green with relaxation.
CORPUS CALLOSUM - the major connection between the two lateral (left/right) hemispheres of the brain. Women's tend to be up to 30% thicker with 'connections' between left and right brain. (I once read this was suspected to relate to testosterone in the developing fetus breaking this down.) See Lateralization.
CSF - Acronym for Cerebral Spinal Fluid
CYCLE TIME - how often a frequency repeats itself. It's more comprehensible to just example this: 1 Hz = 1 cycle (in this case one cycle per second). 10 Hz = 10 cycles per second (that is 0.1 second per cycle, or every 100 milliseconds: it's 1 divided by 10). See 'Duty Cycle'.
DAS - Acronym for 'digital audio synchrony'. Not sure if this is specific to the Procyon product or a general term yet. Might be. This ties into being able to access and play SynchroMuse sessions -- SM is a brand,
DELTA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 0 Hz to 4 Hz, though there is disagreement about this, with alternatives ranging from 0.1 to 3.0 Hz instead (some put .5 and lower into 'Epsilon'). These are usually generated in the right hemisphere of the brain. Believed to generate (HGH, DHEA, Melatonin) or reduce (Cortisol) certain biochemicals. This is the lowest known brainwave frequency range, the most relaxed, and are considered the dominant brainwave state for a person in the deepest stages (stages 3-4) of sleep, or for infants.
DENDRITE - the part of a neuron which accepts messages from neurotransmitters. See neurotransmitters. Also it is "speculated" (Russell, 1996) that with paralyzed people (such as from stroke/aneurism), "dendritic growth" may actually be happening as a result of BWE increasing blood flow etc. - this is a huge area for big-potential research but so far not too much has been done I think.
DEHYDRATION - Apparently brain-stim particularly photic (visual) is a bit dehydrating so a little more water intake should go on if doing much of this, including just before each session. (Multiple refs, no science ref found yet - pj)
DISASSOCIATIVE - a word for certain 'states of mind'. BWE can definitely bring on this easily even for healthy non-dissociative individuals {and I think in such a range we still need a century of research to figure it out - pj}, and BWE/NF can entrain or teach a person to control it (bring it on or vanish it at will).
DISASSOCIATIVE DISORDER - when certain 'states of mind' are so extreme and chronic that they are actually medical/psychological conditions. Five categories for this: amnesia; depersonalization; derealization; absorption; imaginative involvement.
DUTY CYCLE - how much of a given Cycle Time a stimulus is applied. Let us say you have 4 Hz (4 cycles per second) and your "on" pulse for your light is .25 seconds, every other cycle, so your duty cycle would be 50% and 0.50 seconds total (per 4 cycles, at this Hz frequency). Now let's say you reduce that to one (1) 0.25 second "on" pulse and the rest of the second is off. Now your duty cycle is 25% (with 75% 'off') and now it is 0.25 seconds (with 0.75 seconds 'off'). The "intensity" in photic or sonic tech is going to depend on not only the baseline brightness or loudness, but on how often/much that light/sound is on. Obviously, a light on 0.75 per 1.0 second is going to have a higher intensity than a light on 0.25 per 1.0 second. What this means is that the user may experience a brightening or dimming, or pitch raising and lowering, as this changes and that can affect the effect of the BWE (poorly, generally). A duty cycle too low or too high may not cause the desired BWE, by the way; this is entertwined with but a somewhat separate consideration from simple "hz" or "waveform". Now: you can "fix in place" EITHER the pulse width or duration, OR the duty cycle. The example just prior was fixing the pulse width or duration. If you fix the duty-cycle in place it's different. In that case you would be fixing "the percentage of the cycle that the pulse is ON". If you were on 50% of the time (50% duty cycle), this would be the same whether the frequency was 4 Hz or 40 Hz. The times on and off would 'stretch or shrink' as your raised or lowered the frequency. So the user would not be likely to perceive shifts in intensity of light or sound, since "comparatively" the ratio stays the same. Also it means you can aim for a duty cycle where you know BWE is most likely to happen.
DYSPONETIC ACTIVITY - see bracing habits.
DZIDRA GLASS - a tech product. 2 liquid crystals are used to block an external light source rythymically with shadow (instead of putting someone in the dark and flashing light at them, it puts someone in the light and flashes dark at them, is one way to think about it!). Glen Solomon in the 1980s published on this. They only went up to like 3 Hz in the study. All muscle tension headache subjects were totally cured but sinusitis & migraine subjects weren't affected.
EDR - Acronym for Epidermal Response. See GSR.
EEG - Acronym for Electroencephalograph - measures neuronal activity in the cerebrum (part of the brain).
EMG - Acronym for Electromyograph - measures neuronal activity or NT in muscles in the body or head.
ELF - Acronym for Extremely Low Frequency. Much research in this area is considered to be classified by various governments since the 1960s, when 'behavioral effects' (eg mind-control) were first discovered, particularly in the 50-60 Hz range.
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM - secretes hormones that activate bodily glands. Works with the Nervous System. Communicates with the CNS and receives messages from the Hypothalamus. Endocrine glands are adrenal, thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, testes, and ovearies. Those located in the brain are the pituitary and pineal.
ENTRAINMENT - This is Transparent Corp's literal definition which I like better than what I had: "Entrainment is a principle of physics. It is defined as the synchronization of two or more rhythmic cycles. The principles of entrainment are universal, appearing in chemistry, neurology, biology, pharmacology, medicine, astronomy and more. 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." Also they say: "Entrainment increases blood flow and metabolism, which can make you thirsty mid-session" and suggest drinking a glass of water before. Turns out that different people entrain at different frequencies; or don't; and this is correlated with a person's natural/default "alpha baseline" and beta activity. 10 Hz is considered the easiest point to entrain. It supposedly takes 6 minutes for entrainment to occur at alpha (the easiest entrainment level). I can't find any notes on how long for other states. I do find notes saying that as people adapt to BWE they can shift to a state much more quickly, and move through multiple changing or ramping Hz levels more quickly.
EPSILON - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 0.5 and lower Hz. Many systems do not acknowlege this as a named span at all.
EPSP - Acronym for Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential. To simplify, when a neural chemical (neurotransmitter) gives a message to 'excite' the neuron next to it. This is half of the 'cycle' of the process of making brain waves. See also IPSP.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE - A neuroendrocrine event (see Nervous System, Endocrine System, Limbic System) that occurs after the thalamus records a perceived threat. (Real or imagined.) Centered originally in Thalamus which sends out 2 messages. First to limbic system for instant analysis; amygdala and hippocampus communicate and and that ends at the hypothalamus; the combined hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal (endocrine glands) signal the endocrine system and sympathetic nervous system. These change muscle tension, breathing, brain wave frequency, blood pressure, heart rate, skin temporature, while the adrenals secrete corticoids (adrenaline, epinephrine, norepinephrine) and those inhibit digestion, immune system and tissue repair. The second message from thalamus goes to the frontal lobes (see Frontal Lobes) for assessment. This is a survival response and is very powerful, and a big part of understanding human function (and treatment). {Odd note to self for later. could bulemia, anorexia, and whatever the between-those syndrome is called, be based on an extended mild form of fight or flight response? pj}
FILE FORMATS - a list of file format acronyms that relate to this field or its techs.
imports: MP1, MP2, MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, NPSND - sound files. NP2 imports these.
product specific formats: BTW - data files for audio/video of some Transparent Corp products. PRb - Procyon (MindPlace) 'album' files. PRk - Procyon 'archive' files. PRw - Procyon 'session' files. PR2 - code (software) updates for Procyon. PRL - Procyon log file.
exports: WAV - sound file NP2 exports. Convert to MP3 with some freeware/shareware converter you can find online if desired. Audio effectiveness not affected. Video is affected by bit rate. To use the file as/with/for audiostrobe (visual+audio) use the highest bitrate (320).
FFR or FREQUENCY FOLLOWING RESPONSE - see entrainment. FFR is when entrainment happens to the brain. Acronym AMFR sometimes used in science.
FRONTAL LOBES - the decision making area of the cerebral cortex (part of the brain). The fight or flight response has a message sent here for decision once the other bodily processes are underway related to that. (If it chooses to shut down that response it can take up to 3 minutes to reverse all the bodily processes. If it does not reverse it, fight or flight will happen. If fight or flight cannot happen, powerful emotions, dissociation, numbness, immobilization can happen and all energy is is abruptly halted and 'shock' sets in. At that point the parapsympathetic nervous sytem releases neurohormones (adrenaline, endorphins, etc.). Some people with anxiety problems are triggering the fight or flight response too often and any therapy thought to 'strengthen' the prefrontal lobes may help.
GAMMA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 38 Hz - 70 Hz although some sources vary the start of this span. This is considered a state of 'higher functioning' not seen dominant or for long except in experienced meditators, although some of it is usually found throughout the brain.
GUARDIAN RESPONSE - When a person feels apprehensive about a situation they're sitting in or preparing for. This can be brought on by new or uncomfortable experiences including dissociation which BWE can sometimes invoke.
GSR - Acronym for Galvanic Skin Response, also called EDR (Epidermal Response). This measure is one avenue used for biofeedback. It relates to the secretion of perspiration upon the surface of the skin and measures 'arousal'.
HEG - Acronym for Hemoencephalography, a type of bio/neuro-feedback measuring Regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) activity.
HERTZ [Hz] - A unit of frequency (a measure of oscillation of vibration). One (1) hertz (Hz) is equal to one (1) complete cycle per second. In neurotech this is used to refer to radio & audio frequencies. Hz can be prefixed; commonly used multiples are kHz (kilohertz, 103 Hz), MHz (megahertz, 106 Hz), GHz (gigahertz, 109 Hz) and THz (terahertz, 1012 Hz). On the various scales used in neurotech, pretty much the official Greek naming of spans goes to around 60-70 Hz (120 Hz if you count 'Lambda') but actual frequencies recorded as used go past that, past THz. Above 120 Hz the majority of references I see are involving chakras, planets, or occasional human body parts.
HGH or HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE - a biochemical usually generated during the deepest stages of sleep. Time spent in some areas of Delta is considered to release this and other hormones normally released during that sleep stage (including DHEA and Melatonin) and to reduce others (such as Cortisol). Some of the seemingly more reputable list/references related to this says that 7.83 (official Schumann Resonance) is highly associated with output of this, as is 1.05 Hz (a lower frequency of SR) and 31.32 Hz (a harmonic of SR).
HIPPOCAMPUS - part of the limbic system which is part of the brain; relates to memory and emotions.
INTERNATIONAL 10-20 SYSTEM - The official 'naming/locating' table for parts of the brain. (EEG sensors are placed based on this. Odd numbers on left brain, even on right. A slash between two locations means between them; a dash means on the same path or both.) I will get the various images and table of data and add them here when I get time.
IPSP - Acronym for Inhibitory Postsynpatic Potential. To simplify, when a neural chemical (neurotransmitter) gives a message to 'inhibit' or 'depolarize' the neuron next to it. This is half of the 'cycle' of the process of making brain waves. See also EPSP.
ISOCHRONIC - a type of 'tones' which are evenly spaced from each other in an on/off pattern. Being 'tones' these are within the human hearing range. A strength of isochronic tones is that allegedly the brain 'entrains/follows' them more strongly or easily than the other types. [8 zillion web refs to this, not a single ref to legit research backing it up - pj. Also why does that help if these couldn't reach the levels that bineural could anyway I wonder. -pj] (Note that a simple light flashing on and off in a given pattern is a visual version of photic stimulation similar to the audio version of isochronic tones.)
LAMBDA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 60 Hz to 120 Hz (though some consider Gamma to go 70 Hz). Associated with the central nervous system, not much else known.
LATERALIZATION - the subject of the lateral (left/right) hemispheres of the brain and their specializations. Relates to symmetry and asymmetry of hemispheric functioning as well and is affected by the Corpus Callosum connections. See those and LH and RH. The left hemisphere is dominant in most humans. Some disorders appear to result from "too much equality" in the hemispheres in certain areas, including dyslexia and stuttering. Though it is popularly thought that left-hand-dominant individuals are right-brain dominant, actually only about 20% of them are; left handers have a higher incidence of language impairments, stuttering and dyslexia (so that might be related). Men and women ('in general') have significant differences between which (and how much) hemisphere they use for various activities (corpus callosum also relates to this).
LH - Acronym for Left Hemisphere (of the brain). Responsible for activity on the right side of the body. This is the 'dominant' hemisphere for 'most' humans. Associated with logic, math, grammar, word recognition, problem-solving, details, verbal skills, memory, auditory abilities. (See Lateralization)
LIMBIC SYSTEM - A multi-part section of the brain located under the cerebral cortex. Center of the 'fight-or-flight response'. It includes (among other things): amygdala (deep emotions and fear), hippocampus (memory and emotion), anterior thalamic nuclei (sensory processing), hypothalamus [just below the thalamus] (control center for autonomic nervous system and survival functions). (See Thalamus.)
LOBES - section of the cerebral cortex (of the brain); there are four outer lobes. These can also be divided into smaller units that may lie on the border separating the lobes.
MONAURAL - when two tones are presented together in order to cause the brain to 'internally create' a tone that is the mathematical difference between the two. Monaural tones are presented together such as with a speaker, or in mono. Monaural tones can also be generated 'by accident or design' as a 'leftover' result of other tonal interaction.
NERVOUS SYSTEM - the command center of the body. Sends messages between neurons in a chainlink fashion. See also ANS, CNS, Cerebrum.
NEUROPROGRAMMER - a commercial software product, see NP2
NEURON - the basic unit of the nervous system; cells which communicate in a linear series by passing biochemical ('neurotransmitters') between them.
NEUROTRANSMITTER - biochemicals which are 'messages' and which cause an excitatory or inhibitory response in the neuron they are communicating with (see EPSP, IPSP). Some of these are named serotonin, dopamine, GABA (that's an acronym), epinephine. They are stored in little sacs called 'vesicles' within the axon terminal of the nerve. In simpler english: the "terminal button" (the blunt sending-side) of a nerve, stores the chemicals that get sent as messages and has 'doorways' for the neurotransmitters to go in and out. The area 'between' the nerves/neurons is called the 'synapse' (the neurotransmitter travels 'across that area') and the part of the nerve-next-door that 'takes in' the message is the 'dendrite'. When the message has been given, the neurotransmitter 'cleans up' any extra chemical (the "reuptake" process, this so that the chemical does not continue to keep-giving-more-signal and the communication is crisp and clear) and goes back in the door to its vesicle in the terminal button.
NP2 - acronym for NeuroProgrammer 2, a product designed to generate both light and sound 'sessions' for brainwave entrainment (or even neurofeedback). Has a wide range of options both in the technical area (such as different kinds of wave forms, tones and beats, plus the ability to put these in noise, background sounds/music, etc.) and in the 'associated' areas (such as hypnotic scripting, recording, output etc.) and this can write to the common standard 'audiostrobe' file format that will be played by most any of the brainwave entrainment toys (eg Procyon), or even by LED glasses and headphones you can buy or create on your own. As of June 2009 the 'pro' version (not 'home' not 'commercial') is $60. It comes with a good deal of documentation both as product info and in a 'members' section and given the limited info on this subject available to the layman that alone has significant value I'd say.
NPS, NPSCRIPT, NPSND - Neuroprogrammer (product) file formats
NT - Acronym for Neuronal Transmission. The neuron is the basic unit of communication. NT is an electrochemical event, which can be measured. This is recorded in microvolts (amplitude) and cycles per second (frequency, Hz). The EEG is a visual measure of cerebrum activity, the EMG of activity in any muscles in body or head (see EEG and EMG).
PITCH - frequency which in the audible range translates to a musical note. The 12 notes of fixed frequency used in Western music currently are named from A to G, with "sharps" and "flats" (also called "incidentals") in between. A "pitch" would be a given note, for example "A". This pitch could be played in different "Octaves". See 'Musical Notes, Octaves and Frequencies' in this list.
MUSICAL NOTES, OCTAVES AND FREQUENCIES
(This applies to modern Western music)
The physical cause of music is vibration and those vibrations are measured in hertz (Hz). 1 Hz = 1 complete vibration per second. Twelve notes of fixed frequencies are used. These are mathematically related to each other. They are defined around the central note, A4 which is 440 Hz officially (varies in practice). For more reference see the tables below, "Octaves, General Frequency" and "1 Octave Chromatic Scale on C4". [Thanks to wikipedia for much of this info, though I've combined multiple sources and tables.]
PHOTIC - visual; photic stimulation refers to the use of flashing lights (usually through closed eyelids, though not always) to achieve the same frequency following response (FFR) or 'brain entrainment' that can be achieved with audio approaches. The light 'pulses' can be be different colors or different waveforms, and can be presented together or separately [the visual version of bineural] to target different effects for different hemispheres of the brain. So far all the refs I find suggest that Photic is stronger than Sonic and that if both are present at the same time, Photic will dominate and/or be the frequency taken up. Note that the "photic convulsive response" can happen in people sensitive to this (like an epileptic seizure). It is most easily brought on by red-colored light at 15 Hz; this can be reduced by adding some blue light. [Takahashi, Tsukahara 1976]
PHOTIC DRIVING - using photic stimulation to entrain the brain. A 'wide, uniform visual field' produces the best photic driving. Using sinusoidal, white light and stimulating the entire visual field, it appears at least 200 lux intensity is necessary to create entrainment. Too much or too little light during this process is less effective. Stimuli with pulse widths of 20% to 60% is most effective.
PHOTIC RANGE - the visual range of a given tech product. For example in the Procyon the photic range is RGB (3 colors) and 0.1 to 80.0 Hz in 0.1 increments [as of Jun '09].
PNS - Acronym for Peripheral Nervous System, which has two divisions: somatic (voluntary) and autonomic (involuntary). See also 'ANS'.
POSITION - two things here. 1) Position of EEG electrodes; see EEG and related topics. 2) Position of a user experiencing BWE. Don't do it with someone standing. People can have mild seizures esp. from light and not even know, it might have even felt neat. Falling in the middle would be bad for several reasons.
PROCYON - a physical technology product commercially sold by MindPlace.com and its resellers. Includes audio tech for presenting any kind of tone (isochronic, monaural, or bineural), plus goggles with three LEDs each with 255RGB range (for a total of millions of colors). Has software that allows users to design custom programs, plus allows them to integrate the product with other popular tone/visual products in this genre.
RAS - Acronym for the Reticular Activating System, a part of the brain which regulates sleep/waking.
rCBF - Acronym for Regional Cerebral Blood Flow activity. This is measured using HEG biofeedback. This (vs. the 'electrical activity' measured via EEG) is a growing area of therapeutic interest.
RH - Acronym for Right Hemisphere (of the brain). Responsible for activity on the left side of the body. Associated with face recognition, spatial skills, music, auditory skills (as is LH), nonverbal expression, social encoding, emotional processing. Singing, swearing, humor, creativity, intuition, insight, empathy, are associated with this. (See Lateralization)
SBD - Acronym for Slow Brainwave Disorder. This is a group of health disorders that are associated with having too much of the lower-Hz brainwaves present or dominant. They include PMS [at clinical levels], ADD, CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome), and minor head injuries.
SCHUMANN RESONANCE - a standing wave in the Earth-ionosphere cavity with a wavelength equal to the circumference of the Earth. The higher resonance modes are spaced at approximately 6.5 Hz intervals, a characteristic attributed to the atmosphere's spherical geometry. The eighth overtone lies at approximately 59.9 Hz. Greatly created by global lightning activity. The frequency can vary slightly. (In oversimplified English, this seems to be the default frequencies of planet earth, in some respects.) The principal background in the electromagnetic spectrum between 3–69 Hz, this appears as distinct peaks at extremely low frequencies around 7.83, 14.3, 20.8, 27.3 and 33.8 Hz.
SIGMA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 12.3 Hz - 13.2 Hz (normally in the 'beta' span). Many systems do not acknowlege this as a named span at all.
SOMNATIC SHOCK - An effect (as-yet unexplained) that can happen if a person in a session (especially the deeper the brainwave state) is abruptly startled. This can happen if the session ends abruptly, which is why they should be designed to fade-out (over 30-90 seconds) instead. It is thought that the mind is not using ordinary filters at that point to deal with such experience. Disorientation and nausea are not uncommon. 'Somatic Trauma' is another term sometimes used. (See the 'fight or flight response' and 'Thalamus' entries. This may be a 'lite' effect of that from the sudden cessation of a bunch of energy/activity in the brain.)
ST - Acronym for Skin Temperature. This particular measure is one used in biofeedback. Not to be confused with GSR or EDR biofeedback which also are sensors on surface of skin.
STROBOSCOPE - An electronic machine that flashes light (strobe-light). Used in 1940's research for example on photic stimulation response.
SYNCHRONIZATION - in this context, meaning the vibrating frequency of both lateral (left/right) hemispheres of the cerebral cortex (brain) take up the same or harmonic 'dominant' frequency. Nearly all forms of brainwave stimulation cause some degree of this including all tone types used with BWE (isochronic, monaural, binaural). The first ref I find to "brainwave synchronizer" product/term is Sidney Schneider "Brain Wave Synchronizer" 1959 (published about the effects with William Kroger). (The first goggles-with-bulbs 1972 Richard Townsend.)
TACTILE STIMULATION - tactile = touch; you can invoke FFR via repetitive stimulation of the body as well as of eyes or ears. Dempsey and Morison (1942) is the ref though I can't find the paper. They used the sciatica nerve
THALAMUS - part of the brain and Limbic System (I think). Records 'fight or flight response' (see that entry). See also Cerebral Cortex for more related to Thalamus.
THETA - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 4 Hz - 8 Hz, although there is debate, with named spans ranging from 3 to 8 (and some introducing a 3.0 - 5.5 Hz as 'Theta I' and 5.5 - 8 Hz as 'Theta II'). These brainwaves are usually generated in the right hemisphere of the brain. This is considered the dominant brainwave state for a person in relaxed dream-state sleep.
THETA II - Greek letter used in many scientific ways, in thise case to represent a certain range of frequency of brainwaves. This spans the range of 5.5 Hz - 8 Hz. Many systems do not separate the Theta span.
TYPES OF BIOFEEDBACK - a collection of the acronyms of various common BF processes. See entries under them. EEG; EMG; EDR; GSR; HEG; ST; MRI or fMRI; PET; SPECT;
VISUAL CORTEX - part of the cortex, of the brain. Thought to consist of ~300 million neurons. This area can be measured via BF to determine the "natural Alpha range" of the individual -- their default brainwaves. I'm not sure why, but the findings are that the wider the range of 'natural' alpha in this area, the narrower the range of 'photic stimulation' that person's brain will actually entrain to, and vice-versa. Everyone seems to have a strong photic FFR response at their own natural frequency (as measured in the visual cortex) which is somewhere between 9 Hz and 11 Hz but is different for each person. Note that even though 'entrainment' may not be happening that doesn't mean effects are not. For example a person might enter a deep trance at a certain Hz but not have BWE.
VOCAL RANGE - 70 Hz to ~9,000 Hz is considered the range of the human voice.
PJ
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