Brain State Technologies have recently developed the new
approach to the depression treatment. The developers claim that this process is
an effective, holistic and non-invasive method of achieving greater brain
balance. Improving brain function should offer efficient help dealing with
injuries, stress, depression, anxiety, pain, sleeplessness, major afflictions, addictive
dependencies, compulsive disorders, and challenges to learning. Let us review
the science behind the developers’ claims.
What is Brainwave
Optimization?
Brainwave Optimization is an individually tailored method
of balancing and harmonizing the brain. Brain State Technologies methods
involve collecting the brain waves of a person and producing individualized
computer feedback based on the data collected. This process includes personalized
exercises to balance and harmonize the brain.
Why Brainwave
Optimization?
Every system needs a control unit. The control unit for
our bodies, for our consciousness and for our spiritual perspective lies within
our brain.
Lee Gerdes, founder of Brain State Technologies states:
“Most of us believe that there is nothing we can do about genetic propensity. I
do not agree. I believe we will find a way to alter that and will do so in only
a few years. For now, it is what it is. However, consider this – if a number of
people have similar environments and degrees of trauma in their life journey,
then why not all of them respond with similar pathologies when the environment
and trauma were similar? Because, I believe, there is a genetic propensity
toward certain vulnerabilities for some of us. For instance, large numbers of
people are subjected to similar mercury input and face a similar pattern of
trauma, BUT a few of those people will develop mercury poisoning. Why not ALL
of them? I believe the difference is genetic propensity. Yes, I know – for all
of you analysts out there – we can’t be sure that the degree of trauma is the
same in the above case or that the environments are exactly the same either,
but for all practical purposes we can assume that genetic propensity certainly
does sway the scales. This is seen even more profoundly in those soldiers
returning from Iraq. Some have ridden in the same vehicle together and yet one
comes home with dramatic PTSD and the other doesn’t. Why does this happen?
I think of it as one leg of a 3-legged stool. Genetic
propensity is one element in the puzzle here. Pay attention to this: it does
not mean that we can’t help those with PTSD (for example), due to their genetic
propensity toward it – quite the contrary. Balance and harmonize the brain and
PTSD may dramatically diminish or simply disappear altogether.
Our environment is the second leg of the stool. As humans
we can alter our environment – especially if we have information that the
environment we are in has consequences we did not previously understand. When I
was a boy (uh-oh, now I date myself for sure) I didn’t have the information
that smoking was creating an environment which had a lot of risk for diminished
health of the smoker as well as those around him/her. When I had that
information about the environment caused by smoking, I realized that I needed
to stop – to change my environment – and I did. In the last few years I have
also learned that the incredible amount of information my brain receives every
day causes me undo stress. Now I take time to be quiet – especially to sit
still for a time, eliminating most of the media for news, and limiting TV
dramatically – this creates a more peaceful environment. And, to support myself
in my environment, I also spend time listening to my body every day. If I don’t
do these things, my environment will put me at risk for brain imbalance. If I
don’t have regular waste elimination and/or if I don’t eat healthy food and
exercise, again my environment will put me at risk. However, I can alter and
control my environment. If I wish to be healthy and balanced, I will alter my
environment based on the information I have.
Circumstance is the third leg of the stool, and is
something we can do little about at times. If someone runs a red light and
crashes into our car, BANG – we likely have just experienced trauma. There are
lots of trauma possibilities, some of which seem to have little to do with our
will. Any time the brain perceives (be it a correct or incorrect perception) that
it’s life is being threatened, a trauma is the result. And, as traumas stack up
during our life journey, one more small trauma may be the proverbial straw that
breaks the camels back, and off we go into some kind of imbalance or chaos
based on the neural-net which was created for the brain to protect itself. Did
environment play a role in that? Possibly. Did genetic propensity play a role
in that? Possibly. Certainly trauma created by circumstance was one leg of the
stool which is now tipped over or leaning, but environment and/or genetic
propensity can make that a lot worse.”
Additionally, in the last 50 years, input (stimuli) to
the brain has increased thousands of times per second. That means, if you are
50 years old, for example, your brain is getting bombarded with thousands of
pieces of information more than it did when you were born. The human will
evolve, and the brain will build sufficient filters over time to deal with this
amount of stimuli, but until then we’ll have to learn to rebalance our brains
ourselves.
Therefore, if we can balance and harmonize the brain, or
the control unit, all other systems of our body and consciousness will benefit.
Brainwave Optimization, which provides this balanced control unit, will
generate better concentration, better athletic performance, fewer obsessions or
unhealthy habits we want to change, and stronger immune systems.
In the last 50 years, input (stimuli) to the brain has
increased thousands of times per second. For example: if you are 50 years old,
your brain is receiving thousands of pieces of information more than it did
when you were born. The human will eventually evolve, building sufficient
filters to deal with this amount of stimuli, but until then we will have to
learn to rebalance our brains ourselves. Brainwave Optimization provides you
with the tools to accomplish this.
How is it
accomplished?
The cutting-edge training sessions help clients achieve
optimal results in real time. Clients of Brain State Technologies are greeted
in a warm, friendly environment, and then guided to a private, relaxing
training room to begin their training sessions. Upon their first visit, BST
trainer will conduct an introductory review where the client can discuss their
goals and areas of life they would like to see improvement. An assessment is
performed on the initial visit to gather brain wave data from different parts
of the brain. The proprietary software processes the assessment and goal data
to produce an individualized training plan.
The training involves computer translation of brain waves
into sounds that represent optimum patterns for the brain to function at a
given location. These sounds vary by note and by volume based on how the brain
is functioning. This allows the brain a means of observing itself. The client
relaxes in a zero gravity chair and is led through detailed visualizations to
assist the brain to find a more balanced state. A Brainwave Optimization
session usually lasts about two hours. Sessions are often done every day, or
multiple times per day.
What is the
process?
The brain is the control center for our entire body. It
controls every cell, every organ, every tissue and the entire autonomic nervous
system (composed of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems). The
three-pound mass between our ears is the most complex system in the world. Yet,
the brain is as strong as it is complex and fragile. For the brain to work
well, it needs to be in a balanced state. In such a state, neither the
sympathetic nervous system, nor the parasympathetic nervous system dominates.
The left and right hemispheres of the brain function in
tandem. The various lobes on each side of the brain are intended to be
naturally balanced and the activities within them are in intended to be in
harmony.
Traumas both emotional and physical can knock brainwaves
out of balance.
Many of us suffer from some measure of brain energy
imbalance. When this is the case, a difficult period in our lives can
exacerbate the imbalance, with unpleasant consequences. It is not possible for
any of us to go through life without experiencing a measure of trauma. Whether
in the form of the death of a loved one, a physical injury, being in or
witnessing a car accident, or experiencing the pain of the end of a
relationship, we all endure a measure of trauma.
The trauma will fall into one of two categories: a trauma
of infringement or a trauma of abandonment. In an act of self-preservation, the
brain responds to the threat. Abandonment causes parasympathetic dominance – a
freeze response. Infringement results in sympathetic dominance – a fight or
flight response.
The ways we behave are often our body’s way of working to
balance brainwaves that are out of sync.
Because the brain is causing the person to do what he or
she needs to do in order to survive, we see behaviors like addictions, rage,
eating disorders, depression, anxiety, shoplifting, learning challenges, and
self-harm as survival mechanisms, not as moral failings.
A fight-or-flight response can have serious
repercussions: hypertension, arrhythmia, panic attacks, angry outbursts,
chronic anxiety, irritability, heart disease, diabetes, or digestive or
circulation problems.
A freeze response can result in depression, weight gain,
low blood pressure, dizziness, fatigue, diarrhea and decreased clarity of
thought.
These symptoms are merely a result of our brain seeking a
way to balance itself.
Brainwave Optimization produces a map of the brain that
shows exactly where and how brainwaves are out of balance.
Brain training begins with an assessment of the
individual’s brain patterns. Performing a brain assessment is a straightforward
process that involves no more than connecting one end of a set of sensors to a
computer, then placing the other end on the individual’s head in a variety of
different locations in order to detect the energy patterns of the brain.
Brain activity is manifested in electromagnetic energy,
which can be measured. The energy is measured with tiny detection devices
placed on the head. These brain energy detection devices (Intellisensors) are
sophisticated sensors that contain a computer chip capable of picking up the
tiny current of the brain in an entirely noninvasive manner. The brainwaves
detected are replicated in a variety of colorful waveforms on a computer
screen, the underlying science is electroencephalography (EEG).
Through a process that takes only about one hour, data is
collected from the brain and then analyzed. The result is a brain map that
identifies where brainwave functioning is out of balance and produces a
blueprint for brain training. Having a look at the functioning of your own
brain is an opportunity that most people find enlightening, and encouraging.
Through sensors placed at the points of brainwave
disturbance that sounds of healthy brainwaves are transmitted to the brain,
enticing it to seek balance and harmony. This is what we call Brainwave
Optimization.
For thousands of years, people have sought to train their
own by brain by enabling it to become its own mirror through meditation.
Brainwave Optimization (also called “brain training”) takes a step beyond
toward relaxation and self-regulation. We simply create a “mirror effect,” by
showing the brain itself in an optimized state. The brain’s own balanced and
harmonized wave patterns are fed back to itself so that it can observe itself
in a balanced state. Those areas that are out of balance then begin to work
toward the healthy, balanced state.
How is the brain shown itself? The brain runs on voltages
of electricity. A brainwave is electromagnetic energy that can be broken down
into frequencies. Higher frequencies have more cycles per second and are represented
in sound as higher notes on a musical scale. To feed the brain’s own optimal
wave patterns back to it non-invasively, we place stereo headphones in the
ears. With sound, the response time from the brain back to the client takes
less than 50 milliseconds. As soon as the brain picks up on the sounds that are
transmitted to it, changes in the neural network begin to occur.
The brain hears and absorbs the healthy patterns and
returns to balance and harmony.
When the brain is balanced, it is working in an
integrated fashion, free of internal conflict between its regions. Each area of
the brain is active, as it needs to be in support of the activity of the other
areas. It means we are firing on all cylinders, with both the feeling and
thinking aspects of our brain functioning harmoniously.
It is when we are firing on all cylinders that we begin
to catch a glimpse of our limitless potential. This is because we think faster
and more effectively, are more intuitive, feel more deeply, and put all our
energy into acting creatively instead of reacting defensively. The brain is
experiencing itself as optimized, which ramps up our ability to be what we were
born to be.
What happens in my
brain?
Brain activity creates electromagnetic energy – captured
and observed as brain waves with EEG amplifiers and computers. That brain
energy turns into sound energy when the brain energy exists in an optimized
brain pattern. This optimized pattern is a signal to encourage the brain, using
computer graphics and other sound encouragements. Brainwave Optimization
encourages some brain waves and discourages others so the brain will begin to
function differently – it will create a balanced condition. This balance and
harmonizing of the brain waves, balances them into optimized patterns. Brain
activity is based on cells called neurons which interact and connect with each
other forming groups or neural-networks. These neural-networks are activated
based on stimuli. Clients have often recognized benefits in the first one to
three sessions, and require five to 30 sessions to make the benefits permanent
with dominant neural-networks. The average number of sessions is 10-12.
How do I change my
pathways?
Brainwave Optimization activates neural-networks based on
an optimal performing brain. When neurons in the brain connect, they do so with
electric energy and this energy can be recorded by sensors on the skull. The
waves of energy from the brain are fed into a computer that then analyze them,
based on a personalized protocol selected in the assessment process. This
protocol is created to optimize for specific purposes of the individual.
The brain changes when it experiences a state, or new
pathway created by its own neural-networks. Golfers can improve concentration
and guide the club smoothly into the ball. Artists can tap into realms of
creativity when they want to do so. CEO’s can lead and manage by using
consistently positive and creative leadership skills. All of these people do so
based on the creation of new neural-networks and therefore new consciousness
reached by the optimum brain. Sounds represent optimum patterns for the brain
to function at a given location. These sounds vary by note and by volume based
on how the brain is functioning in order that the brain will have a means of
observing itself. Additionally, intentions and visualizations can assist the
process.
The Mechanics of the
Cortex
This is a basic description of brain functioning in
certain lobes of the brain. This description is not definitive nor all-inclusive.
Frontal Lobes:
Have been found to play a part in impulse control, judgment, language
production, working memory, motor function, sexual behavior, socialization, and
spontaneity. The frontal lobes assist in reasoning, problem-solving, planning,
coordinating, controlling, emotions, and executing behavior. All placements
that begin with an “F” are in the Frontal Lobes.
Temporal Lobes:
Is involved in auditory processing and is home to the primary auditory cortex.
It is also heavily involved in semantics both in speech and vision. The
temporal lobe contains the hippocampus and is therefore involved in memory
formation. All placements which begin with “T” are in the Temporal Lobes.
Motor Cortex and
Somatosensory Cortex: This region of the brain, sometimes referred to as
the Central Lobe, is involved in the planning, control, and execution of
voluntary motor functions and receives information from the skin. All
placements which begin with a “C” except “CB” placements are concerning this
region. “CB” placements are in the cerebellum.
Parietal Lobes:
Play important roles in integrating sensory information from various parts of
the body, knowledge of numbers and their relations, and in the manipulation of
objects. Portions of the parietal lobe are involved with visuospatial
processing. This region is also filled with the stimuli related to touch,
pressure, temperature and pain. Placements beginning with the letter “P” are
placed on this region.
Occipital Lobes:
Are the visual processing center of the mammalian brain, containing most of the
anatomical region of the visuals cortex. The occipital lobes are also found to
play a part in calm sleep. All placements which begin with “O” are concerning
this region of the brain.
The Cerebellum:
Is considered the “little brain” and plays a role in the integration of sensory
perception and motor output. It controls fine movement and coordination,
balance, and equilibrium, and muscle tone. The placements for this region begin
with “CB.”
Brain Wave Basics
Delta Waves:
Delta waves run the physical body. They are found in non-dreaming sleep. It is
the brainwave that remains when all the others have shut down. These exist in
the frequency ranges from .5 to 3.0 Hz.
Theta Waves:
Theta is the frequency of the subconscious, which contains our memories,
emotions, emotional triggers, creative and spiritual insight. We also store our
painful secrets here, which we block out to survive what we feel unable to cope
with. These exist in the frequency ranges from 3.0 to 7.0 Hz.
Alpha: Alpha
is the brainwave of dreams, fantasies, feelings of connection and that all is
as it should be. It is also the gateway to meditation through relaxed
detachment. It is supposed to be most prominent during relaxation with eyes
closed, and upon deep self-introspection. These exist in the frequency ranges
from 7.0 to 12.0 Hz.
SMR (Sensory Motor
Response or Low Beta): This brainwave is the center of the mind-body
connection. This provides for voluntary body functioning and allows for a
connection to the present. This is important for “living in the now. “
Meditations to increase this brainwave focus on breathing and or body
functioning. This brain wave is within the ranges of 12 to 16 Hz.
Beta: Beta is
the most rapid of the brainwave. It is active when we are thinking or solving
problems, when our attention is focused on the world around us. This is the
active awareness state we experience from day to day in our work and our play.
These brainwaves are found from 16 to 23 Hz.
High Beta:
This brainwave frequency is found when we are performing logical processing and
complex problem solving. These brainwaves exist from 23-28 Hz.
Gamma: This
brainwave frequency set is still being researched. The gamma waives actually
can exist with frequencies from 26 all the way up to 70. The Brain State
Technologies technology does not yet effect Gamma Waives. However, work is
constantly being performed to improve this technology. This area of brain
waives is involved with cognitive activities.
Sources and
Additional Information:
