The Neuro-Protective Lifestyle

Ok so maybe don’t forget sex, try brainwave entrainment in addition too, not instead of, or maybe along with, sex- but still try it tonight.

But wait, what I’m I even talking about? Call it “neurofeedback“, “brainwave synchronization”, or “thalamo-cortical resonance”, it’s all the same thing.

photo credit: Brymo

In case you haven’t noticed, the mammalian brain is happiest when it is resonates at about 7.8 cycles per second. In fact all of nature, “mother-earth” included, resonates at about 7.8 Hz. In the fourth century BCE, the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi developed a “philosophy of mind” based on the “natural order” of the universe - Taoism. In Taoism, man’s central goal is to live harmoniously or “resonate” perpetually with the universe. The concept of wu wei - roughly translated as “effortless doing” is the mind-set required to achieve this natural state of resonance.

If you think I’ve gotten too “new age” for you, consider this. In 1905 the Croatian physicist Nikola Tesla described global electromagnetic resonances, a theory that was later expanded upon and predicted mathematically in 1952 by Winfried Otto Schumann. Schumann was in fact able to measure the frequency of the band of waves that circumnavigated the globe - 7.8 Hz.

You will remember from a previous post that the brain itself is an electromagnetic power-house and oscillates at a variety of frequencies. For example, alpha-waves are associated with “restful alertness” and are present when brainwaves are in the - no surprise, 7-8 Hz range. More importantly, when the brain is subjected to external sound waves, it spontaneously begins to oscillate at the same frequency. Neuroscientists know this phenomenon as “frequency following response” (FFR). This is where the fun begins.

A good deal of the dissonance in our lives is reflective of the loss of resonance with our natural environment. From the Taoist perspective yin and yang forces are not in balance. From a neurobiology point of view, day to day decision-making depends on complete coordination of a variety of brain structures. For example, the hippocampus must resonate with the prefrontal cortex via theta waves in order for “spatial” information to be properly communicated.

Brainwave Entrainment, is all about applying this principle to a number of medical disorders including: depression, generalized anxiety, OCD, ADD to name just a few. Insomnia responds remarkably well to “medical resonance” therapy. Autism, eating disorders, addictions, learning disorders, all can benefit from “sound therapy”.

So how do you do it? The technology is vast and varied, but in essence it all boils down to the same thing - frequency training. A forty-five minute session utilizing acoustically acceptable headphones and an mp3 sound file that is able to generate alpha, theta, delta or beta waves is all that is needed to get started. Binaural beats are a special effect consisting of two sounds with a slightly different pitch played in two separate ears. A third pitch is then generated in the auditory cortex as the brain attempts to resolve the difference in pitch. It is well known for example that pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus resonate happily in response to binaural beats thus encouraging memory consolidation and peak learning performance.

Better than sex? Maybe not, but better than drugs and endless psychotherapy sessions of questionable benefit. Remember, the brain is fully capable of healing itself, if first we get out of the way.

If you want to know more, check out the link in the side-bar (MIND STEREO) and do as the Taoists do - resonate freely!

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