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Brainwaves:
Brainwave Therapy
Resources
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EEG Spectrum's Neurofeedback (Brainwave
Therapy) FAQ
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EEG
Spectrum's Disclaimer
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EEG Info, The
Complete Neurofeedback Resource
Warning
Persons subject to any
form of seizures or epilepsy, using a pacemaker, or suffering from cardiac
arrhythmias or other heart disorders, SHOULD NOT use any brainwave sentrainment device without medical supervision.
Alpha Waves
Neurotherapists believe that alpha brainwave
training may be helpful in treating people suffering from conditions
similar to hypervigilence such as PTSD, and
having low alpha. However, frequent exposure to alpha frequencies may cause a
release of endorphins.
Open Focus Therapy (Dr. Les Fehmi)
Article: EEG BIOFEEDBACK: (NEUROFEEDBACK)
Note: Don't use the
following recording when driving:
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Alpha Relaxation System
(Dr. Jeffrey Thompson)
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More information about Dr. Jeffrey Thomspon
General Effects
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“…Insomniacs - Delta Waves will
help you relax very quickly and fall asleep. You will wake up fell energized.
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Artists - Theta waves can make
you more creative. Alpha waves make colors look more vivid, objects
sharper, smells keener
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Daydreamers - Theta waves can help
with guided imagery.
Hypnosis - Theta and Alpha (referring to alpha/theta here?) waves can
put you in a hypnotic trance.
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Meditate - Theta Waves help you
to relax and concentrate in a trancelike state.
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Athletes - Alpha waves help you to relax
in competitions while providing you with an energy rush and better
circulation. You will play ‘in
the zone.’
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Depression - Alpha waves release serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins in the
brain and body.
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Manic Depression- Alpha waves can put you in a manic, hyperactive,
energetic, euphoric state.
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Partygoers - Alpha waves help you become more
social, lowering your inhibitions.
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Philosophers - Alpha waves give you insight you never thought you had.
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Social Anxiety Disorder - Alpha waves help you to relax and
socialize.
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Time Warp - Days after
listening to Alpha waves, time feels like it is going extremely slow.
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ADD, ADHD - Beta waves can help
you concentrate and calm down.
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Geniuses - Beta Waves help you to
Concentrate without Ritalin, Ginseng, or Ginkgo Biloba.
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Martial Arts - Alpha waves speed up muscle reflexes and lowers your pain
threshold.
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Students- Beta waves can help you
concentrate, remember, and organize your thoughts.
Lower brainwaves (Delta, Theta,
and low Alpha) may cause stupor and sleepiness. They tend to release
serotonin while higher frequencies (Beta and Gamma) release more
dopamine. Beta frequencies organize thoughts, helping you to remember things
and concentrate. Withdrawal from Alpha
Waves makes you remember childhood memories. Alpha waves relax the
body and helps blood flow to
extremities.”
Ultimate Brainwave Synchronization Cd 64 Tracks 2 General Side Effects
“Typical Side Effects of
Brainwave Synchronization [i.e. listing to brainwaves CDs]
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Headache
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Days to weeks after
listening to Brainwave Synchronization, some people report depression.
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Difficulty
concentrating (especially when trying to do math or read) after listening to
Alpha.
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Temporary memory
lapse/Displacement.
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Aggression/Anxiety
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Abnormal
fluctuations in circadian rhythm.
Other Side Effects of Brainwave
Synchronization
Delta (3Hz-6Hz)
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Very Sleepy,
difficulty waking up.
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Also difficulty concentrating.
Delta Treatment
A few minutes of High Alpha (12Hz) should help.
Theta (6Hz-8Hz)
Dreamlike state. Difficulty concentrating.
Many people have reported seeing ‘Swirls’ while listening to high intensity
Theta waves. Shortened attention span.
Theta Overload Treatment
You should return to normal a few hours later after you
have stopped listening to Theta waves. Also a few minutes of High Alpha
(12Hz) can help.
Alpha (8Hz-12Hz)
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One to two weeks
after listening to Alpha waves some people report seeing psychedelic colors
for 30-45 minutes. However, do not be frightened. Your vision should return
to normal. If this happens, I suggest that you stop listening to brainwaves
for a while.
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Some people report
feeling exhausted and having abnormal fluctuations in their circadian rhythm
(irregular sleeping patterns) one to two weeks after listening to Alpha
waves. Your sleep patterns should return to normal after about two weeks of
not listening to brainwaves.
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It has also been
reported that a person may have a photographic memory for from about a few
days to a week after listening to brainwave synchronization. Very Rare.
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Many people have
reported having vivid dreams after listening to Brainwave Synchronization.
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Dilated pupils.
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Some people may see
spots (which are often purple) and have eye pain a few days to weeks after
listening to Brainwave Synchronization.
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A week or two after
listening to Alpha brainwaves, sudden stabbing pains in the back of the head
are common.
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Paranoia,
sensitivity to lights, and sensitivity to sounds are common a week or two
after listening to Alpha.
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I have found that a
week or two after listening to alpha brainwave frequencies, I recall
childhood memories. I also see similarities in people's faces with people that I know or used to know. This
is very common.
Alpha treatment
I suggest that you discontinue use of brainwaves for a
few weeks if you are experiencing any of those side effects.
Beta Overload (12Hz-30Hz)
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Rapid heart beat.
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Pounding heart
beats.
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Vivid Dreams
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Focused attention
span
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Mania
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Paranoia
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Agitation
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Mood swings
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Insomnia
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Obsessive Compulsive
Beta Overload Treatment
If you have listened to too much Beta waves,
it can be treated by simply listening to some Alpha waves. I recommend
(8-10 Hz) for a few minutes to help you calm down.”
Atypical Side Effects of Brainwave Synchronization One to two weeks after listening to Alpha waves
Alpha-Theta Therapy
Things to Consider
Alpha-theta therapy may
stimulate memories in your subconscious mind. Evoking these memories may
exacerbate depression. Depression may lead to an even greater desire
to increase SMR and Beta brainwaves by engaging in activities which
require vigilence (e.g. surfing the Internet).
However, I personally believe that the benefits of meditation and alpha-theta
therapy are indispensible. Although it may not be a good idea to listen to an alpha-theta CD (mentioned
below) while using a computer.
More information about depression can be found on the Depression/Low Arousal page.
Training
Alpha-theta training
may be helpful in both treating hypervigilence
and in stabilizing levels of endorphins.
"Since elevations
in serum beta-endorphin levels are associated with stress, their
elevation in the traditional therapy group may indicate that this group is experiencing the stress associated with abstinence
[patients are not used to SMR state and have an higher intolerance for
SMR?] and fear of relapse. It is interesting
that the PKBWNT group did not show an increase in this stress hormone after
treatment, but instead showed a stabilization (Peniston & Kulkosky,
1989)."
The Peniston-Kulkosky Brainwave Neurofeedback
Therapeutic Protocol
Alpha-Theta CD
Note:
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Don't
listen to any of Dr. Thompson's CDs while driving.
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Dr.
Jeffrey Thompson believes that using stereo equipment is essential
when playing his CDs.
- If
you are using headphones place them comfortably with left channel
on you left ear and right channel on your right.
- If
you are using stereo speakers, make sure they are properly placed
to the left and right of where you sit or lie to achieve the proper
stereo separation. Place yourself as close as possible to the center and
in front of your speakers to achieve the best results.
·
Choose a
quiet, relaxed, and comfortable environment
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Try to
relax all of your muscles
Alpha-Theta CD (Part of Brainwave Suite collection by Dr.
Jeffrey Thompson)
Meditation
Meditation and
Brainwaves:
“The MEDITATION brainwave
pattern is a combination of alpha and theta where theta provides the
depth and profundity of the meditation experience – the subconscious inner
space from which creativity, insight, and healing spring – and alpha provides
the bridge, or the link, to the conscious thinking mind so
that you can actually remember the contents of your meditation.”
The Awakened Mind (Anna Wise)
Avoid Transcendental or
Mantra Meditation:
It may be wise to avoid
transcendental meditation or mantra meditation. I've found articles on
the Internet which claim that these forms of meditation can actually cause depersonalization
and derealization-among other things.
http://unstress4less.org/default.htm
Brainwave
Therapy: SMR
Example of SMR Neurofeedback
"For an
eight-year-old named Jake the rest of the world has disappeared as he sits
quietly in a darkened room and stares intently at a computer screen with a
yellow Pac-Man gobbling dots as it moves across a bright blue background. A soft, steady beeping is the only
sound. Jake is not using a joystick or keyboard to control the cartoon
character; instead, a single thin wire with a dime-sized, gold-plated cup is
fastened to his scalp with conducting paste.
The sensor picks up the boy's brain waves-his electroencephalogram
(literally, electric head picture), or EEG-and as he changes his brain waves
by relaxing or breathing deeply or paying closer attention,
he also controls the speed of the Pac-Man. (Page 1)"
Book: Robbins, Jim. A
Symphony in the Brain. Grove Press, 2000.
"Jake's brain has
places where the electrical activity is not as stable as it should be [Jake
is epileptic]. Research shows that the brain's electrical signals are subject
to change and that people can be taught how to change them. All neurofeedback does is help guide the client to a specific
frequency range and help him or her stay there. The brain does the rest. A
technician has set the computer Jake is
playing Pac-Man on so that when Jake spends time in those
hard-to-reach frequencies [SMR is'hard to
reach' for some epileptics], the Pac-Man gobbles dots and beeps like
crazy. When he is not in those frequencies, the Pac-Man stops gobbling
and turns black. Jake knows nothing about brain waves or his EEG, he simply
knows that when the Pac-Man is gobbling and beeping, he is winning, and so he
has learned how to adjust his brain waves to make the Pac-Man gobble
dots all the time. It was easy: he caught on in just one
session. As he spends more time in those frequencies his brain has trouble
generating, his brain learns to function there on its own. This exercise
makes the brain more stable [Note: SMR
increases stability for some epileptics. In other epileptics, SMR may
actually induce seizures] (Page 7)."
Book: Robbins, Jim. A
Symphony in the Brain. Grove Press, 2000.
Treating ADD with Neurofeedback
"Lubar's [Dr. Joel Lubar]
hypothesis for what is happening in an ADD brain is that with certain
subtypes of attention deficits, there is decreased metabolism and
decreased blood flow to the subcallosol
cortex. "They're turned off," he says. "That
means those areas are not getting enough norepinephrine
and other neurotransmitters." As is the case with epilepsy, Lubar believes that when the brain is trained with neurofeedback, blood bathes the cells in the frontal
cortex and acts as a kind of fertilizer helping cells overcome malformation,
due either to genetics or perhaps from cortisol
damage caused by emotional stress. Existing connections are
strengthened or reorganized, or perhaps they grow new branches.
Whatever the case, they make better, more robust
connections with adjoining cells, and so the transfer of current
and neurochemicals works much faster and more
efficiently. "What we hope we are doing is turning that area on,"
he says. However, Lubar doesn't think that the Neurofeedback is treating the subcallosol
cortex directly,
because it's deep in the
brain. "We're training the areas in the central and frontal cortex
that are involved in the focusing of attention, intent to attend, and
the evaluation of appropriate behavior," he says. "By training the
area that the subcallosol cortex projects or
connects to, it reflects back on how it is operating. That's what we
hypothesize.(P. 139)"
Book: Robbins, Jim. A
Symphony in the Brain. Grove Press, 2000.
Neurofeedback for ADHD
EEG Biofeedback for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (EEG Spectrum)
Neurofeedback: Beta vs. SMR
"For a long time
there were two basic approaches to neurofeedback.
Generally, those who do beta, or 15-to-18 hertz training on the left
side of the brain, feel alert, and those who do 12-to15-hertz SMR
training on the right side feel calm.
Most hyperactive kids respond better to SMR training; a minority do better
with 15-to-18-hertz.(P. 109)"
Book: Robbins, Jim. A
Symphony in the Brain. Grove Press, 2000.
Depression
Some people believe
that alpha-theta training can be useful in treating depression. The
following link contains more information about treating depression with
brainwave therapy.
EEG Spectrum International, Inc.
Flexibility: Moving between States
"…Sterman [Dr. Barry Sterman] did
research on B-2 test pilots, monitoring their EEGs as they performed the
complicated task of flying a bomber. Those that performed the task best, and
with the least amount of stress, were those whose brain waves were the most flexible-that
is, those who were able to go into the high-frequency, desynchronized
state of beta and, after the task was complete, to move quickly back
into synchronous alpha, a relaxed state. Those who didn't
experience the alpha reward were more anxious, more stressed. (Pages
227-228)"
Book: Robbins, Jim. A
Symphony in the Brain. Grove Press, 2000.
“The SMR and beta
training, Schroth says, allows people to focus
much better and attend to the task at hand; it increases their ability to move
between states. (Pages 227-228)"
Book: Robbins, Jim. A
Symphony in the Brain. Grove Press, 2000.
“In the future,
employees involved in complicated, stressful tasks might wear biofeedback
equipment all the time so they could 'turn on' the higher-frequency brain
waves when they need to and come to a complete rest
between tasks to keep burnout low. (Pages 227-228)"
Book: Robbins, Jim. A
Symphony in the Brain. Grove Press, 2000.
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