From Sound Location to iMusic
Binaural Beat Technology, a Premature
Market
ABSTRACT: Certain training devices and some
sound effects can modify the global electrical
activity of your brain. From epilepsy to some
mood disorders targets for possible clinical uses
keep growing. Though insufficiently studied an
aggressively appealing new age industry is
flooding the market with recordings that give
promise of enhancing brain power; from
meditation to memorizing, from relaxation to
alert states of more efficient functioning.
The confusing information around this not-so-
new market and the Binaural Beats upon which
it is construed have led this comprehensive
review that explores the fundamentals of sound
location, the Binaural Beat effect, brain waves
and EEG biofeedback, in order to provide some
basic information with which to confront the
believe-it-or-not bet of new age "brain training".
Introduction
A Binaural Beat is a sound effect that creates a
wave "inside the head" of the listener. As the
frequency range of these waves is equivalent to
that of electrical waves generated by brain
activity binaural beats can be used to induce
specific brain waves and thus, supposedly, to
generate specific mental states.
The whole matter is really that simple. The aim
of this review is to discover how and to what
extent all this is true and how and to what extent
can the marketed promises of products such as
Hemi-Sync or iMusic recordings be given any
credit.
The first part of this article is dedicated to sound
location which will allow an understanding of
what Binaural Beats are. Then some general
ideas on the electrical activity of the brain and
electroencephalographic (EEG) measures are
purported to later discover how can those be
modified, either with EEG biofeedback or
Binaural Beat recordings, and its implications.
Sound Location
Under normal conditions any sound will
stimulate both, left and right ears,
independently.
From the very beginning the brain processes
auditory information binaurally (this is, from the
conveying information coming from both, left
and right ears). Binaural
processing allows the brain to identify single
auditory "objects", interpreting left and right
different inputs not as two distinct sounds but as
only one percept.
Imagine there is someone shouting right at your
left ear. Not only the left but also the right
auditory system will be stimulated by the
shouting although their information (left and
right) will differ as far as, for example, distance
to the sound differs from one or the other ear.
These differences will be compensated by
particular assemblies of neurons to form a
combined (single) perception and serve to
calculate, for example, the location of sound in
space.
Location of sound depends on inter-aural (left-
right) differences in volume (sound intensity),
time and phase differences (Fig 1) and on the
Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF), which
is an expression of the particular characteristics
of ears and cranial configuration and the way
these relate to sounds of different locations in
space. Basically the HRTF purports information
of distance to the sound in a sagittal plane while
intensity and time and phase differences provide
an angular value in a transversal (horizontal)
plane (Fig 2). Jointly a three-dimensional
spotting of the source of sound is thus
calculated.
Let us say left and right ears are stimulated with
sounds such as those expressed in Fig 3 and let
us convey that the HRTF function for these
sounds locate them 2 meters in front of the
listener. As far as there are no intensity or phase
differences no left-right angular deviation will
be perceived and so the source of the sound will
be located right in front of the listener. But let us
now imagine that the HRTF informs that the
distance to both ears is null; in this case the
source of the sound will be located inside the
cranium of the listener (Fig 4). This is precisely
what happens when one listens to (non-stereo)
music with headphones; sounds are perceived as
if located somewhere inside the head.
When using headphones a slight difference in
phase of left and right sounds (Fig 1) will shift
the location of the sound (still perceived as if
inside the cranium) a little bit towards the side
of the wave interpreted to come first (Fig 5; in
Fig 1 the Blue (right) wave would be interpreted
as arriving before the Red (left) one).
Binaural Beats
The pitch of a sound (Fig 6) is determined by its
wavelength (deeper sounds have larger
wavelengths than high-pitched ones). "Binaural
Beat" is the name given to the sound effect that
is perceived when listening to sounds in the left
and right ears (using headphones) that differ
slightly in pitch.
This slight difference in pitch produces a
progressive displacement of right and left waves
(Fig 7). As already seen in Fig 5 a mismatch in
the phase of right and left waves displaces the
perceived location of the sound towards one
side. A progressive mismatch will be perceived
as if the location of the sound (always inside the
cranium) was moving (Fig 8). When the
difference in pitch is small the mismatch-
rematch of both waves occurs so fast that the
"movement" of the sound is perceived as a
vibration, as if the source of the sound was
vibrating inside the cranium. This vibration can
itself be expressed as a wave and the value of its
wavelength is exactly the right-left wavelength
difference (pitch difference in cycles per
second). This value (the wavelength of the
perceived movement of the sound) is very
interesting as already mentioned and as we will
soon see.
For the binaural beat (the perception of a
vibrating sound inside the cranium) to take
place the right-left pitch difference must be less
than 30 Hz (cycles per second) or else the
listener will perceive two different sounds,
produced at the right and left ears (as it is
actually the case), instead of interpreting them
as a single sound.
Jeff Fletcher in his highly
recommendable article describes Binaural Beats
as hallucinations. Not wanting to lessen a bit the
magic of sound effects the truth is that every
perceptual process in the brain is a
"hallucination", a construct of "objects" from
small pieces of information, many times
unrelated. Allow me a digression to show you
The Dancer (and please take a trip to the
amazing web-page of Dr. Hugo; also, for visual
"hallucinations", check out this link). You may
perceive The Dancer (click on the image) as
turning around anti-clockwise or maybe
clockwise. If you try you can get yourself to
perceive The Dancer turning the other way
around. Some people do perceive spontaneously
The Dancer as constantly changing the direction
of her movement. Dr. Hugo oversimplifies when
explaining that the turning direction perceived
depends on right-left hemispheric dominance
but whatever the explanation truth is that her
very movement is a "hallucination". Anyway,
hallucination in this sense only means an effect
produced by a perceptual system that tries to
convey information into single percepts or
objects.
EEG and
the Electrical Activity of the Brain
Neuronal cells are believed to be the functional
substrate of mental activity. It is well known
that a neuron can release molecules -at the
synaptic spaces- that are able to change the
membrane properties of the cell such stimulated.
These membrane properties are related to the
balance of certain ions, inside and outside the
neuron, which is cause of the electrical changes
that can be measured at this level.
The electrical activity of single neurons can be
measured, even in humans, by inserting
electrodes in the neuronal tissue. Costly -and
rather aggressive- single neuron measures are of
limited interest when trying to understand
"mental states" or general brain function. The
Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a far less
specific but a non-invasive way to measure the
global electrical activity of the brain.
Usually 10 to 20 electrodes are placed around
the skull and measures of global electrical
activity of different regions of the brain are thus
obtained. Functional Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (fMRI), which measures oxygen
uptake, can also obtain indirect rates of brain
activity but it is important to note here that
either EEG or state-of-the-art fMRI measures
are but crude approximations to brain
functioning.
An EEG will show brain waves of different
frequencies as it detects the adding electrical
activity of enormous groups of neurons at a
given time. Depending on general activity
patterns it is observed that some kind of waves
appear more often than others. Generally, a
relaxed subject with closed eyes -or listening to
Mozart- will show waves that range from 8 to
12 Hz, mainly on the posterior regions of the
skull. These waves are called "alpha waves", as
they were the first to be identified.
A "beta
rhythm" corresponds to EEG waves of 12 to 30
Hz and appears often related to active and
sometimes anxious thinking. On the opposite
side very slow waves of less than 3 Hz are
usually found during deep sleep in normal adult
subjects.
Some pathological conditions do show
particular wave patterns. For instance EEG
studies are widely used to determine epileptic
predisposition, observing spikes and sharp
waves intermingled within the otherwise normal
and chaotic "beta" or "alpha" rhythms. Some
neurological conditions, drug induced states or
mood disorders do show general deficits or
excesses of particular wave frequency ranges.
For example there are studies that suggest that
some forms of attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) are related to an excess of low
frequency waves and some anxiety and mood
disorders are believed to be related to scarce
"alpha" wave production.
Although not always consistent these results
that point to more or less specific brainwave-
frequency deficits or excesses as related to
certain pathologies constitute the foundation of
brainwave-oriented treatments. EEG
biofeedback (or 'neurofeedback') is the
particular form of biofeedback with which an
individual can learn to stimulate and/or avoid
certain brain wave frequencies.
Biofeedback
Basically biofeedback is a procedure in which a
physiological variable (such as the cardiac
frequency or the electrical conductance of the
skin) is amplified and brought forward to the
attention of a subject. Then the subject is
motivated to find a way to change that variable
in a specified direction which will (almost
magically) enable him to (consciously) control
an otherwise autonomic response.
A common way of biofeedback presentation is
as a computer game in which the subject must
try to control for example the movements of a
spot on a screen (that changes its left-right
position accordingly to the physiological
variable being measured), following explicit
instructions and with no other tools than his
"mind" and the electrodes connected to the
machine.
Thus defined biofeedback might seem a silly
and inappropriate joke but truth is that it is an
incredibly simple but powerful learning
procedure. Its efficacy has been widely probed.
Paradoxically enough best results have been
found when the subject does not know what
variable is he trying to affect.
As previously noted when the physiological
variable being measured is (a localized) brain
wave frequency the subject ends up learning
how to facilitate the appearance of specific
frequencies over others (a process that is
sometimes called entraining). Many
controversial and still germinal studies point to
the efficacy of such a training method in certain
mood disorders (facilitating slow "alpha"
-relaxing- brain rhythms), ADHD (stimulating
normal EEG patterns) or epilepsy (stimulating
midrange brainwave frequencies).
Binaural Beats and the Frequency Following
Effect
Binaural Beats are said to allow yet a different
way of "tuning" the brain into specific wave
frequencies. It has been mentioned before that
binaural beats frequency range is below 30 Hz,
which is similar to the brain wave frequency
range found on EEG recordings. That range
equivalence allows the Frequency Following
Effect (FFE) to take place, by which brainwaves
should slowly shift towards the frequency of the
beat.
" similar results and patent links of this Institute
Christiaan Huygens found out in 1665 that two
pendulum clocks suspended by the side of each
other did establish an odd kind of sympathy; the
pendulum clocks swung with exactly the same
frequency and 180 degrees out of phase.
Synchronization has been found out to relay on
platform motion such that damping effects favor
antiphase motion (of the pendulums) while
inphase oscillations induce additional counter-
motion of the frame" (from Huygen's Clocks)
Synchronization means adjustment of rhythms
of self-sustained periodic oscillators due to their
weak interaction; this adjustment can be
described in terms of phase locking and
frequency entrainment. Biological systems do
also show synchronization effects and the FFE
would be but an example.
It has been described that the act of listening to
binaural beats does promote a general
brainwave pattern shift towards the (stable)
frequency of the beat. Although this forced
change of brainwave pattern has never been
related to spontaneous mood or "mental state"
corresponding changes "alpha" range Binaural
Beats were promptly marketed as able to
enhance meditative states or as anti-stress
devices, embedded in natural sounds (waterfalls,
bird singing, etc), slow repetitive mantras or
rhythms and hypnotic or guided imagery chat.
The Hemi-Sync provides one of the oldest such
recordings I know of; iMusic is one of the
newest ones. iMusic amplifies the range of
binaural beat frequencies extending it up to slow
and not so slow "beta" rhythms and also down
towards the slower side of "delta" sleep-
facilitating waves, embedding the binaural beats
in just normal music. Still very far from probe
iMusic is said to enhance brain power, to turn
you smarter, faster and probably happier.
As already mentioned an "alpha" rhythm is
found on relaxed subjects. A biological cause-
consequence confusion has led to believe that
"alpha" wave stimulation must provoke a
relaxed state. This has not been found.
Furthermore even the general brainwave shift
after binaural beat stimulation is controversial.
The FFE is actually related with short latency
auditory evoked potentials and not with general
effects over the brain. The Monroe Institute has
led the investigation on this field and its
consistently positive results relating binaural
beat and global brainwave shifts have been
called to caution after lack of independent
with Hemi-Sync products (for further discussion
read this experiment and critical review)
Conclusive Remarks
Passive training is probably one of the marks of
our times. Devices for no-effort cooking,
washing or physical shaping are in fashion.
Passive brain training is no exception.
Neurofeedback is a fascinating tool that could
well be used not only as a therapeutic
instrument but also as a training device to
prevent and equilibrate pre-morbid states.
Although deeper and more ample studies are
still needed preliminary results do show
promising trends.
The sliding towards binaural beat technology
and its appealing low-effort "training" combined
with an aggressive marketing and biased
"scientific" articles do only serve as a drawback
for the more serious investigation that the field
requires.
There is yet no proof that listening to binaural
beats can change the mental state of the listener
in spite of the observations that there might
exist a brainwave shift. Few independent studies
have been published on possible binaural beat
effects. Among the most interesting experiences
a single case study with positive results on an
epileptic dog is described by David S. Walonick.
On the contrary, depression enhancement and
some recall impairments have been described in
a small study with 7 Hz binaural beat exposition
(Wahbeh H et al)
Neurofeedback as a clinical procedure is still
under investigation. Its positive trends though
are confused as proof of Binaural Beat
technology. The truth is that the results of
Neurofeedback are till scarce and contradictory
and that there exists no relation yet between the . Silva Related
possible effects of EEG biofeedback active
training and the passive exposition to Binaural . Critical Review from Penn Engineering
Beats.
. Are neocortical gamma waves related to
Finally it is important to remember that, consciousness?
specially in healthy subjects, the EEG patterns
are excessively unspecific and interindividually . Human Central Auditory Plasticity Associated
variable so as to pretend, even accepting a With Tone Sequence Learning
particular brainwave shift, that such a shift
should be paralleled by specific brain function
empowerment of just any subject. . Huygens’ pendulums (abstract)

On EEG related treatments the most promising . The Story of Maynooth

fields of investigation today seem to be both
compensation therapies and specific brainwave . De la Localización del Sonido al iMusic
frequency range facilitation attending to
individualized activity patterns.

Chema Nieto

(bongobundos.blogs.com)

Figures & Graphics by Elisa Robles and Chema

Nieto

Further Reading & Links:

. Binaural Beats by Jeff Fletcher

. Binaural Beats (Wiki)

. Psychology Wikia

. Binaural beat technology in humans: a pilot

study to assess neuropsychologic, physiologic,
and electroencephalographic effects

. Role of Neurofeedback in the Treatment of

ADHD

. Neurofeedback in Addictive Disorders

Treatment

. Effect of neurofeedback training on the neural

substrates of selective attention in children with
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A
functional magnetic resonance imaging study

. The frequency-following response in subjects

with profound unilateral hearing loss.

. Human frequency-following responses to

monaural and binaural stimuli

. Monroe Institute Research Papers