Research
- Category: Binaural Beats Research
- Written by BRC Staff
By the ‘90s a number of consciousness-based journals had come into publication. The Hemi-Sync Journal (since renamed more than once) had been in existence for some time. With the accreditation of Maharishi Yoga University and the establishment of the New Science Institute, a number of other journals are now being published that question conventional limitations of the mind: Journal of Consciousness Studies, Consciousness and Cognition , Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, Anthropology of Consciousness ,The Journal of Mind and Behavior, Modern Science and Vedic Science . Yet with all of these, the only journal among these to consistently publish on binaural beats Is the Hemi-Sync Journal . These studies all looked good, far more credible than what is posing as actual research—i.e., research that comes up in keyword searches for today’s medical students. This is frightening at a time when the studies on binaural beats in more conservative leaning publications are increasingly negative. The only success stories are published in a journal tomorrow’s alternative health care professionals are not likely to read.
At the same time, solid studies on the results of sound therapy using binaural beats stopped appearing in reputable scholarly journals—at least in the U.S. Some can be found in Europe an d Canada and some in journals from other disciplines. One good example of a well done study is in the Canadian journal Anaesthesia, (Padmanabhan, Hildreth, and Laws, 2005).
Contrast this with a similar study in an Americanjournal that wishes to test the effects of brain synchronization on the hypnotic effects of anesthesia by administering a synchronizing tone during surgery (Dahu-Bornoc, et al., 2003). Ignoring the other problems with synchronization already touched on which these authors seem to be oblivious to (and which might not exist if they had “read the materials more thoroughly”), their lack of background in brain wave science is troubling.
For example, one ear was administered a tone of 370Hz and the other 380Hz, with the difference between them being 10 Hz, which is an alpha wave state. As we have seen, the alpha wave is a relaxed but awake state. At the low end, you have REM sleep, but this is high-end, very nearly Beta range. What does this mean? Dahu-Bornoc, et al.(2003) were attempting to entrain a brain under anesthesia –presumably in a delta state—to an alpha wave. Did they wish to wake the patients up? It is not surprising that no change was found in the amount of drug administered, if it was compensating for a brain that was trying to become more alert.
In addition, the patients’ self reports of dreams under anesthesia might have been worth noting, whether they entered into REM sleep. Finally, as synchronization is known to aid recovery time after surgery, was there follow up here? This study is typical—though certainly not the worst—of recent studies. (The review of literature section will touch on others.)
One problem with past studies in binaural beats—and biofeedback—has been the lack of control groups. Ethical guidelines are fuzzy, but these fields maintain that their standards do not permit them to refuse to administer treatment that they know will help, even in the interest of science.
In addition, while control groups are important to the hard sciences, assessing the brain’s responses nearly always involves going through the mind. Empirical science does not want the mind to bias drug trials (the placebo effect); with binaural beats and biofeedback, the active engagement of the mind and a positive outlook for healing has been found to contribute to the success of the treatment. This is not a point against the treatment; it is how it works. If the subject is willing and engaged, the treatment will be more likely to be successful. This is not a placebo effect so much as it is training the mind to respond to help.
Two studies in which the subjects were aware of what was happening and participated in treatment goals showed success with traumatized refugees (Furstenwald, 2005) and adults suffering from traumatic brain injury, whose needs included mastering skills to “structure their lives and to rehabilitate themselves cognitively” (Klepp, 2005).
In 2008 Huang and Charyton did a review of binaural beats literature that tested for measurable psychological improvements. Their belief was that If more practitioners were aware of these studies, binaural beats might experience a revival. The study is uploaded to : http://www.peakgenius.com/braintuneresearch.pdf
