ALL THE RESOURCES YOU NEED FOR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Holosync® and Other Neurotechnologies By Bill Harris
Science ushered in a new era in our ability to learn, be
creative, remember, control our moods, reduce stress, resolve
unwanted behavior patterns, and a host of other desirable
ends, with the publishing of a remarkable paper by Dr. Gerald
Oster of Mt. Sinai Medical Center in the October 1973 issue
of Scientific American. Oster's
paper, entitled "Auditory Beats in the Brain", described
how pulsation's called binaural beats occurred in the brain
when tones of different frequencies were presented separately
to each ear. As a result, the entire brain becomes entrained
to the internal beat and begins to resonate to that frequency.
In other words, Oster discovered a method for what is called
"entrainment" of brain wave patterns. (1) Simultaneously,
Robert Monroe of the Monroe Institute of Applied Sciences
was also investigating binaural beats. In thousands of experiments,
using an EEG machine to monitor subject's electrical brain
wave patterns, Monroe verified that he could indeed entrain
brain wave patterns using binaural beats. In addition, he
noted that the response did not only happen in the area
of the brain responsible for hearing, or only in one hemisphere
or the other, but rather the entire brain resonated, the
wave forms of both hemispheres becoming identical in frequency,
amplitude, phase, and coherence. Many
researchers have also verified this phenomenon. Language
and speech pathologist Dr. Suzanne Evans Morris, Ph.D.,
says "Research supports the theory that different frequencies
presented to each ear through stereo headphones...create
a difference tone (or binaural beat) as the brain puts together
the two tones it actually hears. Through EEG monitoring
the difference tone is identified by a change in the electrical
pattern produced by the brain. For example, frequencies
of 200 Hz and 210 Hz produce a binaural beat frequency of
10 Hz. Monitoring of the brain's electricity (EEG) shows
that the brain produces increased 10 Hz activity with equal
frequency and amplitude of the wave form in both hemispheres."
(2) Research
of Dr. Lester Fehmi, director of the Princeton behavioral
Medicine and Biofeedback Clinic and perhaps the foremost
authority on hemispheric synchronisation in the brain, also
confirms that hemispheric synchronisation and brain entrainment
can be induced by binaural beats. (3) Dr.
Arthur Hastings, Ph.D., in a paper entitled "Tests of the
Sleep Induction Technique" describes the effects of subjects
listening to a cassette tape specially engineered to create
binaural beats in the brain. In this case, the sounds on
the tape were designed to slow the brain wave patterns from
a normal waking "beta" brain wave pattern to a slower alpha
pattern, then to a still slower theta pattern (the brain
wave pattern of dreaming sleep), and finally to a delta
pattern, the slowest of all, the brain-wave pattern of dreamless
sleep. Hastings says: We
were able to test the effects of the sleep tape on brain
waves with an EEG machine through the courtesy of the
researchers at the Langely-Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute,
part of the University of California Medical School in
San Francisco. Dr Joe Kaniya, Director of the Psychophysiology
of Consciousness Laboratory, monitored the brain-wave
frequencies of one subject as he listened to the sleep
tape. The
chart recording showed a typical sleep onset pattern: initial
alpha waves, then a slowing of the brain waves with sleep
spindles, and finally a pattern of stage 2 and 3 sleep brain
waves in the low theta range...the patterns in the various
stages suggested that the tape was influencing the subject's
state. (4) Dr.
Bill D. Schul also refers to this brain entrainment phenomenon:
...[P]hased
sine waves at discernible sound frequencies, when blended
to create 'beat' frequencies within the ranges of electrical
brain waves found at the various stages of human sleep,
will create a frequency following response (FFR) within
the EEG pattern of the individual listening to such audio
waveforms. The FFR in turn evokes physiological and mental
states in direct relationship to the original stimulus.
With the availability of this tool, it be- comes possible
to develop and hold the subject into any of the various
stages of sleep, from light Alpha relaxation through Theta
into Delta and in REM (dreaming)." His conclusion was
that "Binaural beat-frequency stimulation creates a sustaining
FFR that is synchronous in both amplitude and frequency
between the brain hemispheres.(5) F. Holmes
Atwater describes the neurophysics of the binaural beat
brain entrainment process: Within
the sound processing centers of the brain, pulse stimulation
provides relevant information to the higher centers of
the brain. In the case of a wave form phase difference
the electron pulse rate in one part of a sound-processing
center is greater than in another. The differences in
electron pulse stimulation within the sound processing
centers of the brain are an anomaly. This anomaly (the
difference in electron pulse stimulation) comes and goes
as the two different frequency wave forms mesh in and
out of phase. As a result of these constantly increasing
and decreasing differences in electron pulse stimulation,
an amplitude modulated standing wave (the binaural beat)
is generated within the sound processing centers of the
brain itself. It is this standing wave which acts to entrain
brain waves. Atwater
further states, "A conventional binaural beat generates
two amplitude modulated standing waves, one in each hemisphere's
olivary nucleus. Such binaural beats will entrain both hemispheres
to the same frequency, establishing equivalent electromagnetic
environments and maximizing interhemispheric neural communication."(6)
The
ability to entrain brain wave patterns opens up an exciting
world of almost mind-boggling possibilities. Many neuroscience
researchers have expressed their excitement. "It's
difficult to try to responsibly convey some sense of excitement
about what's going on," said UCLA neurophysiologist John
Kiebeskind. "You find yourself sounding like people you
don't respect. You try to be more conservative and not say
such wild and intriguing things, but damn! The field is
wild and intriguing. It's hard to avoid talking that way...We
are at a frontier, and it's a terribly exciting time to
be in this line of work."(7) Neurochemist
Candace Pert of the National Institute of Mental Health
had this to say: "There's a revolution going on. There used
to be two systems of knowledge: hard science „ chemistry,
physics, biophysics -- on the one hand, and, on the other,
a system of knowledge that included ethology, psychology
and psychiatry. And now it's as if a lightning bolt had
connected the two. It's all one system -- neuroscience...The
present era in neuroscience is comparable to the time when
Louis Pasteur first found out that germs cause disease."
(8) David
Krech, University of California at Berkeley psychologist
predicted almost twenty-five years ago: "I foresee the day
when we shall have the means, and therefore, inevitably,
the temptation, to manipulate the behavior and intellectual
functioning of all people through environmental and biochemical
manipulation of the brain." (9) That
day may very well be here now, and the gentle altering of
brain wave patterns using sound may be the easiest, most
potent, and safest way to do it. Centerpointe Research Institute
currently uses a sound technology called Holosync® to entrain
brain wave patterns, giving us the ability to influence
and/or create tranquility, pain control, creativity, euphoria,
excitement, focused attention, relief from stress, enhanced
learning ability, enhanced problem solving ability, increased
memory, accelerated healing, behavior modification, and
improvements in mental and emotional health. Michael
Hutchison in his book Megabrain Power sums up this revolution
in neuroscience: ...[N]ew
breakthroughs in neuroscience and microelectronics have
permitted scientists to 'map' the electrical and chemical
activity of the brain in action. Scientists have used
the new technology to monitor the brains of those meditators,
artists, and other rare individuals who are able to enter
peak domains at will and to map their brain activity during
those peak states. Their
first findings were that those peak states are not mysterious
and unpredictable phenomena, but are very clearly linked
to very specific patterns of brain activity. These include
dramatic changes in brain wave activity, hemispheric symmetry,
and rapid alterations in the levels of various neurochemicals.
If we could learn to produce these patterns of brain activity,
they reasoned, we should be able to produce the peak states
they are associated with. ...They
found that by using types of mechanical stimulation, such
as...precise combinations of pulsating sound waves...they
could actually produce those same 'peak state' brain patterns
in ordinary people... (10) Just
as we exercise our bodies to feel better and improve our
physical health, stimulating the brain in this manner "exercises"
the brain, bringing better mental and emotional health and
increased intellectual functioning. Researcher Robert Cosgrove,
Jr., Ph.D., M.D., an authority in pharmaceutics and biomedical
engineering, noted that technologies that alter brain-wave
patterns "with appropriately selected stimulation protocols
[have] been observed by us to be an excellent neuropathway
exerciser. As such we believe it has great potential for
use in promoting optimal cerebral performance...Furthermore,
the long-term effects of regular use...on maintaining and
improving cerebral performance throughout life and possibly
delaying for decades the deterioration of the brain traditionally
associated with ageing is very exciting." (11) There
are four categories of brain wave patterns. The most rapid
brain wave pattern is that of beta, from about 14 Hz to
more than 100 Hz. This is the pattern of normal waking consciousness,
and is associated with concentration, arousal, alertness,
and cognition, while at higher levels, beta is associated
with anxiety. As we become more relaxed, the brain wave
activity slows into the alpha range, from 8 to 13 Hz. These
are the brain wave patterns of deep relaxation, and of what
has been called the "twilight state" between sleep and waking,
while the higher end of alpha represents a more relaxed
yet focused state. Slower
still are theta waves, between 4 and 8 Hz. This is the state
of dreaming sleep and also of increased creativity, superlearning,
integrative experiences, and increased memory. The slowest
brain wave pattern is delta, that of dreamless sleep, below
4 Hz. Generally people are asleep in delta, but there is
evidence that it is possible to remain alert in this state
-- a very deep trance-like, non-physical state. It is in
delta that our brains are triggered to release large quantities
of healing growth hormone.(12) As we
slow the brain wave patterns from beta to alpha to theta
to delta, there is a corresponding increase in balance between
the two hemispheres of the brain. This more balanced brain
state is called brain synchrony, or brain synchronisation.
This balancing phenomena was noted in early EEG studies
of experienced meditators in the 1970s. In deep meditative
states, their brain waves shifted from the usual asymmetrical
patterns, with one hemisphere dominant over the other, to
a balanced state of whole-brain integration, with the same
brain wave frequency throughout. As we shall see, there
are various mental abilities and experiences that naturally
happen in these different brain wave patterns, many of which
are rather remarkable. Robert
Monroe reported that inducing brain wave patterns through
the creation of binaural beats in the brain had a wide range
of effects, including "focusing of attention, suggestibility,
problem solving, creativity, memory, and learning...sleep
induction, pain control...and enhanced learning..." (13)
Other
scientists have noted that these slower brain wave patterns
are accompanied by deep tranquillity, flashes of creative
insight, euphoria, intensely focused attention, and enhanced
learning abilities. Dr. Lester Fehmi, director of the Princeton
Biofeedback Research Institute has said that hemispheric
synchronisation represents "the maximum efficiency of information
transport through the whole brain" and "is correlated experientially
with a union with experience, and 'into-it-ness'. Instead
of feeling separate and narrow-focused, you tend to feel
more into it -- that is, unified with the experience, you
are the experience -- and the scope of your awareness is
widened a great deal, so that you're including many more
experiences at the same time. There's a whole-brain sensory
integration going on, and it's as if you become less self-conscious
and you function more intuitively." (14) One
of the observed effects of this type of sound-induced brain
synchronisation is increased learning ability. What is now
known as "super-learning" began in the late 1960s and early
1970s with the work of Bulgarian psychiatrist Georgi Lozanov.
Lozanov used deep relaxation combined with synchronized
rhythms in the brain to cause students to produce alpha
waves. In this state, he found that students learned over
five times as much information in less time per day, with
greater retention. In some cases, as much as thirty times
as much was learned. Speech-Language
pathologist Suzanne Evans Morris, Ph.D. extensively describes
the relationship between different brain-wave patterns and
learning, as well as other related states such as concentration,
problem solving, receptivity, and creativity. "Receptivity
for learning is related to specific states of consciousness.
Predominant brain-wave patterns are associated with different
states of consciousness or awareness (Bruya 1984, Budzynski
1981, Funderburk 1977, Furman 1978, Goldberg 1983, Rama
et al 1976). For example, beta frequencies ranging from
13-26 Hz are associated with concentration, and alert problem
solving; alpha frequencies (8-13 Hz) occur when the eyes
are closed and a state of alert relaxation is present; theta
(4-7 Hz) is associated with deep relaxation with a high
receptivity for new experiences and learning..." Morris
also describes how cassette tapes containing binaural beat
signals can be used to "create the ability to sustain this
theta period of openness for learning." (15) Morris
goes on to say that "[t]he introduction of theta signals...into
the learning environment theoretically allows for a broader
and deeper processing of the information provided by the
teacher" and "increases...focus of attention and creates
a mental set of open receptivity." She notes that in the
use of such binaural beat signals in a classroom setting,
children exhibited "improved focus of attention" and "a
greater openness and enthusiasm for learning". Morris
further describes what happens in the brain that makes this
type of accelerated learning so effective: The
presence of theta patterns (4-7 Hz) in the brain has been
associated with states of increased receptivity for learning
and reduced filtering of information by the left hemisphere.
This state of awareness is available for relatively brief
periods as the individual enters a state of reverie or passes
in and out of the deep sleep phase of the 90 minute sleep
cycle. [Binaural beat] signals, however, can facilitate
a prolonged state of theta to produce a relaxed receptivity
for learning...[These signals] create a state of coherence
in the brain. Right and left hemispheres as well as subcortical
areas become activated in harmony, reflected by equal frequency
and amplitude of EEG patterns from both hemispheres. This
creates an internal physiological environment for learning
which involves the whole brain. The linear, sequential style
of problem solving preferred by the left hemisphere is brought
into balance with the global, intuitive style of the right
hemisphere and limbic system (subcortex). This allows the
learner to have greater access to internal and external
knowledge and provides a milieu for expanding intuition
in problem solving. One of the by-products of hemispheric
synchronisation appears to be a highly focused state of
attending. The ability to reduce 'mind chatter' and focus
the attention is critical for efficient learning.(16) Binaural
beat signals have been used in the classroom to enhance
learning ability. Teachers in the Tacoma, Washington public
schools, under the direction of psychologist Devon Edrington,
used audio tapes containing a binaural beat sound technology
to influence the learning ability of students. They found
that students who were taught, studied, and took tests while
these tapes were playing did significantly better than a
control group not using the tapes. (17) The
theta state also seems to be one where behavior and belief
system changes can more easily be made. Suzanne Evans Morris
discusses the work of neurotechnology and biofeedback researcher
Thomas Budzynski (1981) in which he described the theta
state as a transition
zone between wakefulness and sleep in which one can absorb
new information in an uncritical, non-analytical fashion."
[Budzynski] speculated that this allows new information
to be considered by the right hemisphere through bypassing
the critical filters of the left hemisphere. Thus, information
leading to a change in self-concept would become more available;
modification of habitual behaviors or consideration of one's
belief system could occur more easily if alternatives were
presented during a period of theta activity. (18) Medical
researcher Dr. Gene W. Brockopp also believes behavior modification
is enhanced when the subject can be placed in slower, more
receptive brain wave patterns. He speculates that using
technology to induce brain wave changes can actively
induce a state of deactivation in which the brain is passive,
but not asleep; awake, but not involved with the 'clutter'
of an ongoing existence. If this is true, then it may be
a state in which new cognitive strategies could be designed
and developed...[i]f we can help a person to experience
different brain-wave states consciously through driving
them with external stimulation, we may facilitate the individuals
ability to allow more variations in their functioning through
breaking up patterns at the neural level. This may help
them develop the ability to shift gears or 'shuttle' and
move them away from habit patterns of behavior to become
more flexible and creative, and to develop elegant strategies
of functioning. (19) Many
other researchers have described the benefits of alpha and
theta brain wave states. Budzynski has done extensive research
on learning and suggestion when the brain is in a theta
state. Theta, Budzynski suggested, is the state in which
"superlearning" takes place -- when in theta, people are
able to learn new languages, accept suggestions for changes
in behavior and attitudes, or memorize large amounts of
information. He says: "We take advantage of the fact that
the hypnagogic [theta] state, the twilight state...has these
properties of uncritical acceptance of verbal material,
or almost any material it can process." In this state, Budzynski
says, "a lot of work gets done very quickly." (20,21) Budzynski
and psychobiologist Dr. James McGaugh of the University
of California at Irvine have both found that information
is also more easily processed and recalled in a theta state.
Noted researchers Elmer and Alyce Green of the Meninger
Foundation have also studied this phenomena, finding that
memories experienced in a theta state "were not like going
through a memory in one's mind but rather like an experience,
a reliving." Those producing theta waves also had "new and
valid ideas or synthesis of ideas, not primarily by deduction
but springing by intuition from unconscious sources." In their
seminal book Beyond Biofeedback, the Greens further discussed
many remarkable effects of the theta brain wave state. They
found that those producing theta waves became highly creative.
They had life-altering insights, what the Greens called
"integrative experiences leading to feelings of psychological
well-being". On psychological tests, subjects scored as
being "psychologically healthier, had more social poise,
were less rigid and conforming, and were more self-accepting
and creative". Another remarkable effect was that these
subjects became very healthy. Emotionally, these people
had "improved relationships with other people as well as
greater tolerance, understanding, and love of oneself and
of one's world." (22) Alpha
and theta states have also been shown to facilitate addiction
recovery. Dr. Eugene Peniston and Dr. Paul Kulkosky of the
University of Southern Colorado trained a group of alcoholics
to enter the alpha and theta states. These alcoholics showed
a recovery rate many orders of magnitude greater than a
control group. Thirteen months later, this alpha-theta group
showed "sustained prevention of relapse", and these findings
were confirmed in another follow up study three years later.
In addition, this group showed a marked personality transformation,
including significant increases in qualities such as warmth,
stability, conscientiousness, boldness, imaginativeness,
and self-control, along with decreases in depression and
anxiety. (23) At the
brain wave pattern at the juncture between the alpha and
theta rhythms, often called the "crossover point" by neuroscientists,
subjects have experienced some remarkable changes. Houston
therapist William Beckwith has reported that in his clients
the experience of this crossover point is often accompanied
by "the seemingly miraculous resolutions of complex psychological
problems." (24) Other
studies have suggested that states of brain synchronisation
increase memory. McGaugh's research on memory and theta
waves showed that "the more theta waves appeared in an animal's
EEG after a training session, the more it remembered. This
was true in all cases...Apparently, the best predictor of
memory was the amount of theta waves recorded in the animal's
brain. [Theta waves] show that the brain is in the right
state to process and store information." (25) Scientists
have discovered that for memories to form, the brain must
undergo a process called long-term potentiation (LTP), involving
electrical and chemical changes in the neurons associated
with memory. Without LTP, incoming information is not stored,
but rather quickly and totally forgotten. Neurophysiologist
Dr. Gary Lynch and associates at the University of California
at Irvine discovered that the key to LTP is the theta brain
wave pattern. "We have found the magic rhythm that makes
LTP. There's a magic rhythm, the theta rhythm." According
to Lynch, this is the natural rhythm of the hippocampus,
the part of the brain essential for the formation and storage
of new memories and the recall of old memories. (26) Other
studies have confirmed the incredible benefits of the theta
state. In experiments conducted at the Monroe Institute
of Applied Science, subjects who produced theta waves (as
measured on an EEG) in response to binaural beats "invariably
emerged from the experience reporting all the mental phenomena
associated with the theta state, such as vivid hypnagogic
imagery, creative thoughts, integrative experiences, and
spontaneous memories." (27) How
do these amazing mental and emotional changes take place?
Many researchers believe different brain wave patterns are
linked to the production in the brain of various neurochemicals
associated with relaxation and stress release, increased
learning and creativity, memory, and other desirable benefits.
These neurochemicals include beta-endorphins, acetylcholine,
vasopressin, and serotonin. Dr.
Margaret Patterson in collaboration with biochemist Dr.
Ifor Capel at the Marie Curie Cancer Memorial Foundation
Research Department in Surrey, England, has shown that certain
frequencies in the brain dramatically speed up production
of a variety of neurotransmitters, different frequencies
triggering different brain chemicals. For instance, a 10
Hz (alpha) signal boosts the production and turnover rate
of serotonin, a chemical messenger that increases relaxation
and eases pain, while catecholamines, vital for memory and
learning, respond at around 4 Hz (theta). According
to Capel, "as far as we can tell, each brain center generates
impulses at a specific frequency based on the predominant
neurotransmitter it secretes. In other words, the brain's
internal communication system -- its language, if you like
-- is based on frequency...Presumably, when we send in waves
of electrical energy at, say, 10 Hz, certain cells in the
lower brain stem will respond because they normally fire
within that frequency range." (28) Dr.
William Bauer, one of the foremost experts in the field
of electromedicine, elaborates: "What I think is happening...is
that by sending out the proper frequency, proper waveform
and proper current...we tend to change the configuration
of the cell membrane...Cells that are at sub-optimal levels
are stimulated to 'turn on' and produce what they're supposed
to produce, probably through DNA, which is stimulated through
the cell membrane...You're charging the cells through a
biochemical process that can possibly balance the acetylcholine
or whatever neurotransmitter needs to be turned on..." (29)
The
increased production of these different neurochemicals can
greatly enhance memory and learning. A research team at
the Veterans Administration Hospital in Palo Alto found
that a group of normal human subjects, when given substances
that increased acetylcholine production in the brain, showed
great improvement in long-term memory, while at MIT, students
taking acetylcholine enhancers had improved memory and increased
ability to learn lists of words. (30) Researcher Lester
A. Henry noted that acetylcholine "is essential to such
higher mental processes as learning and memory." (31) Recent
studies show that insufficient acetylcholine causes memory
loss and reduces learning and intelligence, and confusion
and memory loss in Alzheimer's disease have been linked
in part to a lack of acetylcholine. (32,33) Other studies
have shown that when individuals are given substances that
increase the amount of acetylcholine they show significant
increases in scores on memory and intelligence tests. (34,35)
Acetylcholine
has also been associated not only with a greater number
of neurons in the cortex but also with greater brain size,
with humans having the highest density of acetylcholine
in the brain. UC Berkeley researcher Mark Rosenzweig has
shown a direct connection between acetylcholine and intelligence.
(36) Other
neurochemicals that are produced in the brain in response
to binaural beats have been associated with increased memory,
learning, and other benefits. Men in their fifties taking
vasopressin, a neurochemical closely related to endorphins,
showed significant improvement in memory, leaning, and reaction
time. In another study, sixteen normal healthy subjects
of average intelligence were given vasopressin several times
and showed dramatic improvement in their ability to learn
and remember. (37) Dutch scientists further found that vasopressin
had a long-term "cementing effect on consolidation of information."
(38) At the
National Institute of Mental Health, research has indicated
that vasopressin boosts memory, enabling subjects to "chunk"
(group large amounts of information together into more easily
remembered bits) and encode information better. NIMH found
that decreasing vasopressin is associated with memory deficits.
Vasopressin is also associated with and enhances production
of theta waves which are associated with increased access
to memories and increased creativity. Vasopressin also stimulates
the release of endorphins and has restored memory in amnesia
victims. (39,40) Scientists
have also found that the endorphins released when the brain
is exposed to alpha and theta binaural beat patterns enhance
many mental functions. Endorphins have a powerful strengthening
effect on learning and memory, for instance, and have been
known to reverse amnesia. Researcher David de Weid found
that rats injected with endorphins increased the length
of time they remembered things. 1977 Nobel Prize-winner
Andrew Schally found that rats running complex mazes who
received injections of endorphins improved maze-running
abilities. (41) Why
do endorphins increase learning and memory? Neuroscientists
believe that in humans the places in the brain that produce
the most endorphins, and contain the greatest concentration
of endorphin receptors, are the same areas of the brain
involved most intimately with learning and memory. Aryeh
Routtenberg of Northwestern University located these pleasure
centers in the brain and noted that [T]he
evidence clearly shows that the brain reward pathways
play an important role in learning and memory...I have
speculated that the pathways of brain reward may function
as the pathways of memory consolidation. By this I mean
that when something is learned, activity in the brain
reward pathways facilitates formation of memory.... Evidence
for the reward effects of localized electrical stimulation...and
for the association of reward paths with memory formation
indicates that the neural substrates of self-stimulation
play a vital role in the guidance of behavior. (42) Scientists
now know of at least seven chemicals in the endorphin family
that have effects on memory and learning. Endorphins, according
to neuroscientists, "serve as the body's 'natural reward
system', providing us with a rush of pleasure whenever we
learn something or act in some way that is conducive to
our survival as a species." (43) This means that new belief
systems designed to effect desirable behavior changes, if
presented to the mind when it is flooded with endorphins,
may be perceived as beneficial and adopted as such -- a
powerful boost to any behavior modification protocol. Candice
Pert of NIMH, the discoverer of the opiate receptor, has
also described this process, noting that "the endorphins,
our natural opiates, are a filtering mechanism in the brain.
The opiate system selectively filters incoming information
from every sense -- sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch
-- and blocks some of it from percolating up to higher levels
of consciousness." (44) Scientists
now believe that the moment when learning takes place --
the 'aha' moment -- is that moment when a particular reality
has been selected and filtered by our endorphins and is
suddenly apprehended by our brain in such a way that we
learn something new, this learning being rewarded by a flood
of endorphins along our pleasure-learning pathways. (45)
The
production in the brain of alpha and theta patterns in the
brain is also correlated to the "relaxation response" --
the mirror image of the more well known "fight or flight
response." The fight or flight response takes blood flow
away from the brain and toward the periphery of the body,
floods the bloodstream with sugar, and increases heart rate,
blood pressure and breathing in order to prepare one for
defense or flight. In this state learning ability, as well
as other mental functions including problem solving and
reasoning ability, are inhibited. The
relaxation response, on the other hand, mobilizes us for
inward activity by reducing heart rate and blood pressure,
relaxing muscles, and increasing the percentage of oxygen
flow to the brain. As one might expect, the fight or flight
response is accompanied by low amplitude, high frequency
beta brain wave patterns in the brain, while the relaxation
response so beneficial to learning and problem solving is
accompanied by high amplitude, low frequency alpha and theta
rhythms. (46, 47) When we use sound technologies to induce
these slower brain wave patterns, we also induce the relaxation
response, another possible reason for the increases in learning
ability noted by so many researchers. A recent
study (unpublished as of this writing) performed by Dr.
Vincent Giampapa, M.D., of Longevity Institute International
and vice president of the American Society of Anti-ageing
Medicine, revealed that placing a listener in the alpha,
theta, and delta brain wave patterns using Holosync® audio
technology dramatically affects production of three important
hormones related to both increased longevity and well-being:
cortisol, DHEA, and melatonin. Cortisol
is a hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands. According
to Dr. Giampapa, cortisol is the major age-accelerating
hormone within the brain. It also interferes with learning
and memory and is, in general, bad news for your health
and your well-being. L DHEA
is also produced by your adrenal glands. It is a precursor,
or source ingredient, to virtually every hormone your body
needs. DHEA levels are a key determinant of physiological
age and resistance to disease. When DHEA levels are low,
you're more susceptible to ageing and disease; when they're
high, the body is at its peak -- vibrant, healthy, and able
to combat disease effectively. DHEA
acts as a buffer against stress-related hormones (such as
cortisol), which is why as you get older and make less DHEA
you are more susceptible to stress and disease. A study
published in the New England Journal of Medicine (12/11/86)
found that a 100 microgram per deciliter increase in DHEA
blood levels corresponded with a 48% reduction in mortality
due to cardiovascular disease -- and a 36% reduction in
mortalityfor any reason. Melatonin,
everyone knows, is a hormone that helps to create restful
sleep. We make less of it as we age, and since during sleep
many important rejuvenating substances are created in the
brain, the inability to sleep soundly can dramatically decrease
the quality of your life and greatly accelerate the ageing
process. In a
before and after study of 19 people using Holosync® audio
technology, the following changes were noted in levels of
melatonin, DHEA, and cortisol: Prigogine
had been working in the field of thermodynamics where, for
over a century, scientists had been aware of a seeming contradiction
between two laws of nature. On one hand, the second law
of thermodynamics states that the amount of randomness or
chaos - often called entropy - in the universe is always
increasing. On the other hand, many things, including life
itself, are obviously part of a process of increased ordering,
less randomness. Why is it, scientists wondered, that some
things evolve and grow when the overall tendency in the
universe is for things to break down and become less ordered?
What
Prigogine noticed was that what he calls "open systems"
-- systems that are able to exchange energy and matter with
their environment -- are able to maintain their structure
and even grow and evolve into more complex systems because
they actually have the ability to dissipate entropy to their
environment in such a way that the total amount of entropy,
overall, does increase -- obeying the second law of thermodynamics.
These systems maintain their orderliness -- and even increase
it -- at the expense, entropically speaking, of their environment.
An open
system -- of which a human being is a prime example -- is
a flow of energy. We constantly take in light, air, water,
heat , nutrients, as well as all kinds of information from
our senses. In turn, we dissipate to our environment carbon
dioxide, heat, waste products, activities of various kinds,
and so on. And, scientists have noted, we are more than
just a tube with something flowing through it, we are the
flow itself -- not just a "thing," but a living, changing,
evolving process. Open
systems (which Prigogine also calls "dissipative structures")
are very plastic and can handle all kinds of fluctuation
and variations in input from their environment, but each
system (in this case, each person) has an upper limit of
how much randomness, how much entropy, it can dissipate
to its environment. This limit is based on the system's
structure and its degree of complexity. The higher the complexity,
the greater the ability to dissipate entropy. If fluctuations
from the environment exceed this limit, the system cannot
dissipate enough entropy to maintain its structure. If this
condition persists, at a certain point the system is pushed
to reorganize itself at a higher level of functioning in
order to create a new structure that can handle these increased
fluctuations. This
point, which Prigogine called a bifurcation point (bifurcate
meaning "to divide into two branches"), is the point at
which the system spontaneously re-orders itself in an entirely
new way. The new structure will be totally non-causal and
non-linear with what went before -- the change is a true
quantum leap, a death and re-birth, and the main characteristic
of the new system is that it has the capacity to handle
the fluctuations, the input from the environment, that the
original system could not handle. In Prigogine's words,
the system "escapes into a higher order." Prigogine's
work has been applied to all changes in all kinds of open
systems -- everything from a seed germanating, to a corporation
expanding, a highway system growing, a cell dividing, or
a human being making behavioral or emotional changes. The
human brain is the ultimate open system, constantly exchanging
energy with its environment. Up to a point, the system can
handle all kinds of fluctuations. But if the input becomes
too much, the system is pushed past its limits and the system
reorganize s itself at a higher order. A runner, for instance,
gives more physical input to his body than it can handle,
and it responds by reorganizing itself at a higher level
that can handle this increased input -- which we call "getting
in shape". In using
binaural beat technology to change brain wave patterns,
we are creating a similar effect in the brain. The alpha,
theta, and delta brain wave patterns are states of great
fluctuation in the brain. A graphic representation of these
brain wave patterns shows that the amplitude (the height
of the wave form) increases as we move from alpha to theta
to delta. In other words, the amount of fluctuation increases.
These increased fluctuations are more than the nervous system
can handle with its current structure, and the brain responds
by reorganizing itself at a higher, more complex level of
functioning. It does this by creating new neural pathways
in the brain, creating increased communication between parts
of the brain that previously were not communicating (in
other words, by creating balance, or synchronisation, between
the two hemisphere's of the brain). This synchrony brings
with it many remarkable changes. As noted earlier, Lester
Fehmi of the Princeton Biofeedback Research Institute feels
that "synchrony represents the maximum efficiency of information
transport through the whole brain." (49) As demonstrated
earlier in this paper, there are two main effects of reorganization
and increased synchrony in the brain. One is an increase
in various mental capabilities: increased learning ability,
creativity, mental clarity, intelligence, intuition, and
so on. Second, each time the neural structure changes, positive
changes in mental and emotional health occur. As the brain
reorganize s at the next level of functioning, the subject's
model of the world changes with it. With the creation of
new neural pathways, more connections are perceived between
bits of information that previously seemed unrelated, and
more choices are available. Herein lies the theoretical
explanation for the amazing personality changes that researchers
have reported in subjects using this type of sound technology
to change brain wave patterns. Clearly
we are on the frontier of a marvelous new field with untold
possibilities. The ability to map and entrain brain waves,
and the states they represent, gives us a powerful new tool
to effect human change and growth. It has been shown that
induced brain wave states can effect superlearning, increased
creativity, sleep induction, pain control, behavior modification,
focusing of attention, relief from stress, increased memory,
and dramatic improvements in mental and emotional health.
Centerpointe Research Institute is proud to be at the forefront
of this new and exciting field. We invite you to join us
as we leap into the 21st century. Click here to become a participant
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