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The theta brainwave entrainment with a commercially available device not only improves the activity of theta waves, but also improves the performance of memory. This is the result of a new study by the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis, recently published in the journal Cognitive neuroscience.
The electrical activity in the brain causes different types of brain waves that can be measured outside the head. Theta waves occur at about five to six cycles per second, often associated with a brain actively monitoring something – such as the brain of a rat that navigates through a labyrinth.
In an earlier study, Charan Ranganath, a professor of psychology and colleagues at the Center for Neuroscience, discovered that high levels of theta wave activity just before a memory task predicted better performance.
"Training" devices use a combination of sounds and lights to stimulate the activity of brain waves. The idea is that patterns of oscillation of sensory inputs will be reflected in brain activity. The devices are marketed to address a range of issues such as anxiety, sleep problems, "bad moods" and learning. However, there is very little published scientific evidence to support these claims.
Brooke Roberts, a postdoctoral researcher in the Ranganath laboratory, obtained a theta wave training device and decided to test it. She asked 50 volunteers to use the device for 36 minutes, or listen for 36 minutes of white noise, then do a simple memory test.
Improved memory performance
The subjects who had used the device showed both improved memory performance and increased theta wave activity, she discovered.
Roberts showed his results to Ranganath, who was intrigued but cautious and suggested new controls. They repeated the experiment with 40 other volunteers, but this time, the control group received beta wave stimulations. Beta waves are a different type of brain wave pattern, occurring between 12 and 30 cycles per second, associated with normal sleep awareness.
Once again, theta wave training has improved the activity of theta waves and memory performance.
The Ranganath laboratory also conducted a separate study using electrical stimulation to improve theta waves. However, this had the opposite effect, disrupting the activity of the theta wave and temporarily weakening memory.
Ranganath said that he was surprised that the devices work as well as they seem to do.
"What's amazing is that the device has had a lasting effect on theta activity and memory performance more than half an hour after it's powered down." , did he declare.
Neuroscientists debate the function and role of these brain waves. Some researchers argue that they are simply the product of normal brain function, with no particular role. Ranganath, however, thinks that they can play a role in coordinating brain regions.
"Neurons are more excitable at the top of the wave, so when waves from two brain regions are synchronized, they can talk to each other," he said.
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