The idea is to push and pull at your brainwave patterns, breaking stuck patterns, and to increase neuronal activation resulting in dendritic growth. I believe it will be beneficial for a wide range of conditions as well as general mental health and wellbeing.

You will need the Emotiv Epoc and Mind Workstation Professional or Enterprise for these sessions as they are advanced EEG driven sessions. I have created similar sessions that can be used with Neuro Programmer and Mind Workstation Regular. For those users, the effectiveness of these sessions will be greatly enhanced if the Biooptimization feature is used.

These sessions can be downloaded for free at Transparent Corp’s Community forum http://www.transparentcorp.com/community/forum/ or by contacting Transparent Support.

Today we’re releasing a video overview of Neuro-Programmer 3 designed to quickly introduce both the basics of brainwave entrainment, and how to get started with NP3. For those of you who already know the basics: more videos are coming soon, but we hope you’ll check this video out anyway and let us know what you think! For anyone new to this technology and software, this video is a great place to start learning!

Your favorite operatic concerto reaches its peak and you feel goosebumps, or the “chills”- maybe your hair even stands on end. But why?

The devices, Mind Wave Neurosky, a single channel unit that retails for $99, and the Emotiv Epoc , which retails for $299, are both solid units that each have their pluses and minuses. The Neurosky has the advantage of being extremely affordable and simple to use, but it is only a one channel unit, and the data you can collect from it is limited. The Epoc is a 14 channel unit and can provide EEG data to drive brainwave entrainment sessions, but costs more and requires a bit more setup each time you use it. Both units were originally designed and marketed to be game controllers.

For the serious user, the Emotiv Epoc will deliver far more accurate information, and can drive brainwave entrainment sessions, adjusting the frequency of a session to the most dominant brainwave within a set range instantly in real time. Research has found that the brain will entrain to the most dominant brainwave frequency and to those adjacent to it. With the Mind Workstation software, and the Epoc, you can experience the power of audio and visual stimulation attuned to these dominant frequencies. The results are nothing short of amazing, as it takes all the guesswork out of designing sessions.

Upon receiving your Epoc, the first thing you’ll need to do is to plug it in and charge its battery. The device is wireless, connecting to your computer with a dongle. Use this time to download the software and look over the instructions on how to set the unit up. You can download the Brain Activity Map for under $10, but the 3-D brain map software is well worth the additional investment. It will allow you not only to view your brainwave activity in real-time, it also allows you to record your brain activity during a session and then go back and see just what kind of affect your session is having. Both versions can be run simultaneously with either Neuroprogrammer or Mind Workstation.

Next you will have to install the felt sensor heads onto the headset. This can be quite frustrating, you may want to do an alpha session before attempting! You will receive a hydrator pack with 14 felt pads and their sockets. You give the heads a good soaking with saline solution, a small bottle is provided. Emotiv recommends using contact lens saline, as it contains a preservative. I have found that just regular table salt and water works just fine. A drop or two of iodine or bleach will provide antibacterial benefits if you wish. Next, remove the pads with the sockets, and attach them to each of the sensor arms of the headset. The sockets will lock in place with a quarter turn. Unfortunately, I discovered this when I installed my last sensor. While doing this, you will undoubtedly find yourself on your hands and knees chasing these little felt pads around. If you have a cat, lock it out of the room during this process. Emotiv does not provide you with any spares. No matter how careful you are, eventually you will end up losing one of these dots. Just recently, I watched in slow motion as one magically popped off the sensor arm, and went down the garbage disposal as I was rehydrating the sensors. Replacement pads are ridiculously expensive for what they are. You can make your own out of felt, but I found a small bit of cotton stuffed in the sensor socket works just as well if not better, and is disposable. Emotiv recommends taking the sensor heads out and storing in the hydrator pack each time you use it. If this was the case, I would be getting better sensor readings because I would have no hair left! Leave the pads in and rehydrate with a dropper bottle. Just don’t do it over an open drain! After a couple weeks of use, take sensor heads out and clean the gold contacts. Hopefully this whole ordeal will be spared when Emotiv comes out with their dry polymer sensors. This will be a retrofit, and they are hoping to have them out before Christmas. After that it’s just a matter plugging in the dongle, and positioning the unit on your head.

The traditional position of the headset on your head will work okay, but will have some challenges. Remember this unit was designed primarily as a joystick, picking up facial movements. I found wearing the headset backwards will put more sensors on the crown of the head, which is where entrainment is traditionally measured. This configuration will also allow you to lie down or recline, which is desirable to most for relaxation sessions. Just remember that the sensor map will be backwards. Experiment around to find which position works best for you. You should get an alpha spike when you close your eyes. Regardless of what position you are wearing, over the ear headphones will be impossible. You may be able to get on the ear phones to work, but it will be difficult. I have a set of Koss sport headphones that clip on the ear, and a pair of Klipsh noise limiting in the ear headphones that work great. Light goggles can be worn without too much difficulty.

Neuroprogrammer is limited to BioOptimization and will configure with a wizard just as you would a GSR device such as the Thoughtstream or the IOM. Optimization will be determined on EEG “scores” for meditation, focus, excitement, or frustration. These “scores” are algorithms based on research, and are surprisingly accurate.

You will need Mind Workstation to do EEG driven and neurofeedback sessions. While a number of the sessions are included in the Regular version, the Professional or Enterprise version with its timer and graphing engines will give you the most for your investment. You will also need the Enterprise version to export EEG sessions in real time. The timer function will allow advanced construction of sessions using multiple frequency ranges. As an example, you can entrain in the alpha range for a period of time and then ramp down to theta for the remainder of the session. A number of these advanced sessions are included in a separate download for Professional and Enterprise users. Using these sessions as a template, it is surprisingly easy to construct your own EEG driven sessions. It is even possible to specify which sensors will control which tracks, enabling construction of asymmetrical sessions. With the graphing engine you can record all the variables available from the Epoc, such as the EEG “scores”, and dominant brainwave frequency. Together with the 3-D brain map, the data is simply astounding for what you can do with a home unit.

When trying EEG driven sessions for the first couple times, don’t be surprised if you get that mild vascular headache. Even after years of entrainment, I got a headache couple of times. To me that was proof that the EEG driving is much more powerful, producing more blood flow to the brain. With the stimulus constantly changing with your EEG patterns, habituation is not an issue.

With this unit you will discover things about yourself and brainwave entrainment that just wasn’t possible without a hefty investment of time and money. I encourage anyone doing entrainment to join the 21st century and try one of these units out. Makes you wonder what is next, home MRI’s?

Today we’re releasing Mind WorkStation Version 1.3 and Neuro-Programmer Version 3.1. Along with bug fixes and general performance improvements, the main attraction in both updates is new compatibility with even more of the most advanced and popular EEG devices available. 4 new devices, representing developers that are true leaders in neuro-technology innovation, can now be utilized in both NP3 and MindWS:

• Emotiv EPOC EEG
• NeuroSky EEG
• ThoughtStream USB
• Mind-Reflection

Things may have appeared a little quiet around these parts lately, but I’m pleased to say that is about to change. I’m very honored to have gotten the chance recently to join the staff over at Transparent Corp, and just one great aspect of this opportunity is that I’ll get to write regular posts for this blog. I’m truly looking forward to continuing the Mind Update tradition of providing sharp commentary on developments in neuro-technology and audio-visual stimulation, plus discussions and links related to the world of neuroscience at large.

A bunch of great reads are already part of the Mind Update archives. For those of you dropping by for the first time, I’d encourage you to use our category menu to browse through the posts on any topic you’re interested in. Or, start from this selection of some of my favorite posts from the Mind Update archives to see what we’ve done in the past, and the kinds of info and insight you can come back for in the future!

New Study on Brainwave Entrainment by Dr. Tina Huang

Music and the Brain

Brainwave Entrainment and Depression

Thoughts on Mind Gaming

The Guardian Response

Alpha Wave Stimulation and Memory Improvement

Brain Art

An altered state is any resulting from an act of will, be it a mental practice, a physical stress or stimulation, or the ingestion of substances, that causes the brain to operate in a mode other than that which it would “choose” of its own accord.

Altered states can be used to accentuate any value system. They are also the places to find inspiration, novel connections and recollections that make new ideas possible.

Delta is associated with sleep-related processes – deep integration of recent experience. Meditative delta maintains a constant level of consciousness to direct the integration. Gamma seen during delta meditation is effectively only the minimum flicker of real time consciousness required to ensure that the place of meditation is not on fire, that it is just the gardener burning leaves. There’s no need to add it, but doing so does no harm.

Add low alpha/high theta to a sleep-style delta session and you’ll have the basic formula for lucid dreaming. You can run two parallel tracks or use bursts of theta in the delta track, or any combination that allows the two to be perceived separately. Delta needs to dominate in time and emphasis.

Lucid dreaming contains experiences corresponding to descriptions of out of body experiences, remote viewing and communication with entities. Irrespective of interpretation, delta/theta is the gateway. Likelihood of success is affected dramatically by sleep, nutrition, other practices, beliefs and so on. AVS/entrainment is supportive – it will not cause the thing to happen without you co-operating. This includes the understanding that you truly desire the thing to happen, and don’t just want to prove it doesn’t.

Once an altered state has been experienced, by whatever means, it becomes easier for the functional equivalent to be created in the non-altered states. An altered state is a perspective. If it doesn’t ultimately reconcile with the perspectives of the individual’s other states, then we have all the pre-requisites for mental illness.

AVS/entrainment uses techniques with names like “dissociative” and “hypnotic”, terms used to describe mental disorder and a doorway to the sleep-world. Working with altered states is an exercise in inducing various experiences that, if not under will, would be symptomatic of mental illness. Herein lies the integrative potential of psychoactive techniques in the treatment of mood, personality and dissociative disorders. Psychoactive substances and practices have been used for “healing” in most tribal cultures.

Once it is realised that some alternate realities are induced fabrications, it becomes easy to accept that all are, and to then be selective in which you choose to place value.

Theta/gamma with random beta is a good place to start for religious experiences and deep insights. It works best if recently exposed to inspiring information. A podcast on a relevant subject can be a good intro to a session.

Other altered states can be achieved by manipulating serotonin with 10Hz alpha, and stimulating anxiety/excitement sensations with beta.

Any session that attempts a complex interaction between states is improved by an unobtrusive but constant 40Hz gamma or random 30-50Hz gamma, or a delta track on a gamma pitch.

The most important thing to consider in designing altered states sessions is that some type of continuous consciousness has to be maintained in order for the content of the altered state to be recalled. Getting into a deep theta or delta state isn’t difficult. Most do it every night. The trick is to let all the autonomic functions free-fall into deep sleep while leaving sparks of consciousness intact in all the vital places to see what happens, and very frequently, influence the sequences of perceptions.

Whatever state you seek, the session is only part of the setting. Whatever symbols you identify with, they can be correctly used to support the objective of the session. Candle colours, incense, fabrics and furnishings, tools and rituals, mantra/prayer, posture, and so on. A Roman Catholic or Anglican Mass is an excellent example of the effectiveness of identifying mental states with full sets of sensual inputs, ritualised actions and recitation/repetition – the same techniques can be used to reinforce any perspective/belief.

Altered states techniques become more powerful as more people report them effective. It is very hard to write a session that is compellingly effective unless you know you are using techniques that have a better than average reputation. AVS/entrainment is absolutely excellent as a supporting technology for altered states exploration – right from the fundamental emulation of primitive drumbeats. Contemplate what the delta, theta and alpha states mean to you – design an altered states session to encourage the dominant activity you believe will be most useful at the times during the session that would correspond to your typical rate of progression through a complex thought.

Don’t expect the technology to prove itself to you. Let go of preconceptions and prejudices and engage or disengage with the session as appropriate to the design, and focus your thoughts on your conception of the desired outcome. Then be surprised. Engaging with a session is appropriate for interactive lucid dreaming or OOBE, disengaging for viewing applications. Engagement refers to degree of conscious awareness of the sound or structure of the session. Degree of engagement provides a real time control over beta activity – every time you engage in critique of the session, you use beta-rate processes.

Unless you’re using biofeedback or EEG to optimise a particular rhythm, the beat within a range isn’t all that important – more important is that the chosen beat has meaning, literal or symbolic, to you.

Audiostrobe, any visual stimulus that induces hallucination-like imagery, provides a model for non-real perception. The visuals provide an excellent opportunity to witness how the projection of the outside world on our retina gets turned into our recollection of what we saw. Being able to distinguish non-real from real perceptions is a useful indicator of mental well-being.

If you want to create a particular inner experience, then be prepared to use everything at your disposal to engage every aspect of your thought with related sensations, recollections and associations.

It is very easy to apply more meaning than can be justified to an altered-state experience. As all the states, altered and otherwise, align on a common perspective the individual begins to experience the unity implicit in most “higher” understandings.

Quality of this information… mostly optimistic extrapolation of absolutely reliable techniques and verifiable history supported by personal experience.

Cheers,
Craig

Like most things relating to a complex creature, sleep and relaxation are not isolated things, but spreads on a spectrum. Quality of information on the matter is also on a spectrum – the following is my take on what’s good at the moment. No warranty expressed or implied.

The spectrum in terms of brain rhythms ranges from 0Hz (dead) through delta (sleep/coma/baby) to 4Hz, on through theta (dreamy, hypnogogic, inspired half-sleep) to 8Hz, alpha (relaxed aware) to 12Hz, SMR/beta (motion and mundane thought) to about 18Hz, and into creative consciousness, currently recognised to about 100Hz.

In a naturally ordered life, with activity, rest, feeding and sleep correctly aligned to the solar day, the needs of our animal are properly met. Sleep/depression problems increase with distance from the equator – the latitude at which our animal was optimised.

Since then we’ve not only moved to latitudes where the solar cycles are sub-optimal for our animal’s genetics, we’ve further confused our natural rhythms, and prevented proper acclimatisation to a changing environment, by operating 24/7 with artificial lighting, climate control and on-demand feeding. The body is deprived of triggers for the neurochemical processes that cause the body to go into relax and sleep modes.

One innate requirement for sleep or relaxation is a sense of security. This is where stress and anxiety come into the picture. If things aren’t right in your world, then your desire for sleep is conflicting with fight-or-flight chemistry – guess which wins!

So, what to do about it?

First, make sure everything else is right. Nutrition, exercise, life schedule and substance use all affect sleep. Unattended problems will persist. Obviously there’s some choices.

If you are not exposed to natural light for a reasonable part of most days, bright light is an excellent way to re-sync that part of the clock. A wake-up session with Audiostrobe at high brightness is a great way to start the day – open eye white or blue being best. A wake-up session accompanied by a natural dawn chorus and the rays of a rising sun is the ultimate.

Sleep corresponds with serotonin/melatonin conversion, which, in the wild, was a response to the reddening light of evening and the security of a fire after an exhausting day of outside work. Closed-eye red is correct for sleep session Audiostrobe. Settling of SMR (sensorimotor region) also happens best as night falls – the SMR region is responsible for keeping the body still during sleep (loosely referred to as “sleep paralysis”). 14Hz SMR an hour or two before the desired sleep time can help simulate dusk (Insomnia Help protocols).

Once down, you want to encourage delta activity as quickly as possible. Stepping down from alpha to delta in 3-4 minute steps works superbly. Ramps sound nicer, but steps tend to be followed. Sine shaped isochronic beats are suitable across the range. Binaurals can be good from low theta down, but their action is quite different to the direct stimulus of isochronic – my impression is that binaural is better suited to theta/delta meditation than sleep induction, the asymmetric structure stimulating higher consciousness is not desirable for sleep (a good robust delta meditation will always be accompanied by gamma activity). Monaural beats (a particular build of isochronic) are a good compromise between the bluntness of standard isochronic beats and the subtlety of binaurals. Some great effects can be created by building monaurals from tracks with different pitch waveforms (MWS).

What to do after first arriving at somewhere in the 1-2Hz range (low end introduces pain relief and healing/growth features – the high end is more psychologically recuperative) depends on whether you typically get there on the first pass. Repeated ramps down to delta from ever lower starting frequencies can be very helpful. Knowing that there’s a plan for any initial restlessness helps alleviate insomnia anxiety – maybe start with 10Hz alpha to delta in 2Hz steps of 2 minutes each, followed by 3 minute 1Hz steps from theta to delta, finally 4 minute 0.5Hz steps from high delta to the sleep target. Adapt the frequencies and timing to match your wake/sleep behaviours. Don’t forget to use the automatic step calculation in MWS! Stepping or ramping slowly up and down 0.25Hz each side of the sleep target frequency allows for individual variation. Random periods of 1-3 minutes at random beats in the target +-0.25Hz range also work well. If you don’t like the sound of steps, short ramps between steps are fine. Sleep induction sessions can be played while settling for sleep – if you’re a pre-sleep book reader or TV watcher you can have the session in the background to help you along. TV or computer use too close to bed time is not recommended if you have sleep problems – very stimulating and lots of blue light – yellow tinted glasses in the evening can reduce negative effects of artificial lighting on serotonin/melatonin conversion. A computer monitor illuminating the bedroom with NP3 or MWS Screen Flashing, screen out of direct sight, is a great way to enjoy the benefits of sleep-time Audiostrobe without glasses-tangle.

Relaxation begins when you close your eyes. At that moment there is a burst of 10Hz alpha, a release of serotonin, and the present frame of visual perception is flushed creating something of a “wait state”. Any beat in the theta/alpha range will be conventionally relaxing – the lower the frequency, the greater the likelihood of slipping into sleep and the greater the psychological benefit if awake. 10Hz is a natural for quick breaks and the perfect place to start from for relaxation/sleep sessions, as the process begins with that moment of closing eyes. The 7.8Hz Schumann Resonance, has an excellent reputation for deep relaxation. Alpha is the range of choice for alleviating stress and anxiety, so alpha relaxation is invaluable for stress induced insomnia.

If plain sleep or relaxation is the objective, the simplest session that sounds relaxing to you will be the most effective. Isochronic noise (noise with modulation or entrainment) is excellent and can be woven into natural noise sounds – modulated synthetic noise is more compelling than a modulated wind, water or rain track, but a well balanced blend can be almost as effective. Pure sleep/relaxation sessions are the hardest to improve. You’re not supposed to be engaged with sessions such as these – your consciousness is meant to be elsewhere. If you’re engaged in aesthetic critique, or being challenged by complex structures, you are using faculties that require beta – and that’s the end of sleep, and your relaxation has become a contemplation. The best way to improve a simple session is to fine tune the frequencies to your brain’s responses. GSR biofeedback uses skin conductivity as the indicator of stress/relaxation. EEG can provide specific numbers for personal optimisation, or provide automatic optimisations with MWS Bio-Optimization. Your own experience will tell you if you relaxed or slept better – however clever the session may be, if it doesn’t work, then something different needs to be tried. In deciding what’s working, be persistent but not stubborn – if a therapeutic-type session isn’t delivering after half a dozen fair attempts, it’s probably not going to without changes. Bio-Optimization with NP3 or MWS is an excellent tool for mapping your personal responses. The preset sessions included with NP3/MWS can be considered “reference designs” – with very few frills or aesthetic compromises, these sessions appropriately apply the most verified research. They’re a great basis for new sessions – delete every track other than the essential beats and then add your own extras – that way you will always have the scientific basis in place. The bare-beat versions are very convincing on an EEG.

Once “in the zone” other things can be introduced to the session to encourage other aspects of a state. For example, the addition of theta and gamma to a sleep session increases the likelihood of dreaming. Triggers, ranging from direct stimulus to verbal and psychological prompts can be used to encourage more specific modes of sleep, dreaming or contemplation/meditation.

Clearly there are many factors influencing an individual’s ability to relax or sleep. AVS/entrainment helps in three specific ways; it directly supports natural processes, it provides a habit that means “stop”, and it alleviates some of the hopelessness that comes with powerlessness over well-being.

Cheers,
Craig

This abstract points to a great example of the work being done to verify what AVS/Entrainment enthusiasts already know – that emotions, brain rhythms and audio-visual stimulation are usefully inter-related.

When looking for answers that apply to people in general, statistical science has a lot to offer – it’s nice knowing that what you think is happening with your sessions has a sound underlying mechanism. On the other hand, once you become familiar with your own personal responses, emotion/stimulus correspondences much better than “the average recognition rate of 56.66% and 66.67%” can be routinely achieved, i.e. knowing what your own EEG typically looks like, you will be able to tell a lot more about yourself than you could with a “blind” EEG, and you will quickly be able to predict your own response to a particular stimulus.

Abstracts like this are a goldmine for session developers – tantalising snippets just begging to be incorporated into AVS sessions.

With such safety and simplicity, it’s easy to underestimate what can be achieved with sound and light.

Cheers,
Craig

In the last five years since the release of version 2, we have invested heavily into research to improve the neural stimulation and overall effectiveness of the program. We have also been collecting input from our customers on how to increase usability and enhance the user experience.

This release adds an array of new and exciting features, making Neuro-Programmer more powerful, usable and more effective than ever before.

Here are a few of the new features available in NP3:

- Improved sessions and neural stimulation methods

- Biofeedback-optimized neural stimulation

- Export to MP3 or OGG

- Reverberation / Echo effects

- Pitch / tempo effects

- Volume normalization

- Visual plugins and enhanced screen flashing

- ALL sessions are now editable

- Improved recording and hypnosis scripting tools

- New layout, wizards and overall enhanced user experience

Try it out for yourself today! Explore the website for more information:

What’s new

Purchase

Screenshots

Video Tutorials

Upgrade from version 2

Enjoy!