Brainwave entrainment
(aka. brainwave music or
sound) is a method to stimulate
the brain into entering a specific
state (such as relaxation, sleep or
alertness) by using a pulsing
sound, light, electrical or electromagnetic
field. The pulses elicit
the brain’s ‘frequency following’
response, encouraging the brainwaves
to align to the frequency of
a given beat. This ‘frequency following’
response of brainwave
entrainment can be seen in action
with those prone to epilepsy.
If a strobe flashes at their seizure
frequency, the brain will ‘entrain’
to the flashing light resulting in
a seizure. This technique is
commonly used in clinical neurology
to investigate seizure disorders.
This same mechanism is commonly
used to induce many different
brainwave states, such as a theta
band to induce trance, for enhanced
focus, relaxation, meditation
or sleep induction. The brainwave
entrainment effectively
pushes most of the brain or the
entire brain into the desired state.
Brainwave entrainment is a great
way to lead your mind into states
that you might usually have difficulty
reaching, allowing you to
experience what those states feel
like. The brain does not operate
in just one
single
frequency; the full spectrum
of brainwave frequencies is
always running, all the time. The
dominant frequency determines
our mental state – and entrainment
temporarily shifts our mental
state by boosting one frequency
to be louder than the others or
by increasing the frequency being
stimulated to the extent desired.
The frequency tuning of a system
can be directly determined by
perturbing it and by observing the
rate of the ensuing oscillations,
the so-called natural frequency.
This approach is used, for example,
in physics, in geology, and
also when one tunes a musical
instrument. Higher intensity
magnetic stimulation (TMS)
studies (Rosanova) found dominant
oscillations in various
brain areas - alpha-band (8-12
Hz) in the occipital brain cortex,
beta-band oscillations (13-20
Hz) in the parietal cortex, and
fast beta/gamma-band oscillations
(21-50 Hz) in the frontal cortex.
In healthy individuals each area
of the brain is normally tuned to
oscillate at a characteristic rate.
How is all this
relevant to help with pain? All pain
affects the brain and results in different
brain states. This is commonly
called centralization. Chronic pain is
very much associated with anxiety,
depressed mood, irritability, memory
changes, elevated stress responses
and problems with sleep, at the least.
While treating the area causing pain
may often be sufficient, treating the
brain and improving undesirable associated
brain or emotional states
may be necessary to provide a better,
more comprehensive and stable pain
reduction solution. Alpha (10 Hz) –
P1 - and theta (7.8 Hz) – P4 - band
PEMF stimulation induces relaxation,
improving anxiety and stress responses.
These two programs also naturally
reduce the perception of pain. Delta
(3 Hz) – P3 - band is used to improve
sleep, and with the FlexPulse can be
used on or under a pillow to run all
night long. Beta (23 Hz) – P5 - can
be used to improve alertness and to
help elevate mood and improve depression.
Because the FlexPulse is
battery-operated, it can be worn
throughout the day and even be run
all night long. For more information
see drpawluk.com or flexpulse.com.
Interna��onal Pain Founda��on—13
/drpawluk.com
/flexpulse.com
