Brainwaves & Brainwave Entrainment: Real or Myth?

[Steven Ellet]

http://www.brainworksneurotherapy.com/what-are-brainwaves
The above link explains what brain waves are.
There are also visual/auditory equivalent to brain waves (also known as brainwave entrainment), explained below.
http://www.brainworksneurotherapy.com/what-brainwave-entrainment
Is this real? Have there been studies? If possible, please provide link(s).

 

[nomadreid]

There are lots of references, some with links, at the end of the Wikipedia article on the subject:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainwave_entrainment

 

[Mentalist]

Here's another resource on brainwave entrainment. It talks about brainwaves, audio/visual entrainment, and also has cited research:
[Link deleted by moderator]

 

[jim mcnamara]

@Mentalist - no. Not a good reference. Even if we assume everything said there is correct, that still does make it a good primary reference. It is somebody's personal web page. I suppose you could say if you want to read what somebody who appears to be a little over the top has to say here is a link. I'm going to leave it and hope that @DiracPool or @Pythagorean will comment. Another mentor may remove your link, if that person feels this citation is simply too poor..

Here is one good review from pubmed as an example: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18780583

Kind of a counterexample:
Photosensitive epilepsy is characterized by exposure to flashing lights (sometimes other visual stimuli) which then results in an epileptic seizure. This is an example of negative effects of visual stimuli.

Here is a technical reference that explains one research effort further:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28334965 notice the discussion of "brain waves" refers to alpha waves in an EEG.

This link details a study that indicates there is a genetic basis for the photosensitive aspect of the response, and provides a hypothesis as to why.

 

[Drakkith]

There are lots of references, some with links, at the end of the Wikipedia article on the subject:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainwave_entrainment

Please note that there are multiple issues with this article, as listed at the top. I would not take this to be a trustworthy source by any means.

 

[Kuzon]

let me know if you find evidence of benefits on attention. i can't find anything convincing

 

[nomadreid]

@Mentalist - no. Not a good reference. Even if we assume everything said there is correct, that still does make it a good primary reference. It is somebody's personal web page. I suppose you could say if you want to read what somebody who appears to be a little over the top has to say here is a link. I'm going to leave it and hope that @DiracPool or @Pythagorean will comment. Another mentor may remove your link, if that person feels this citation is simply too poor..

Here is one good review from pubmed as an example: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18780583

Kind of a counterexample:
Photosensitive epilepsy is characterized by exposure to flashing lights (sometimes other visual stimuli) which then results in an epileptic seizure. This is an example of negative effects of visual stimuli.

Here is a technical reference that explains one research effort further:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28334965 notice the discussion of "brain waves" refers to alpha waves in an EEG.

This link details a study that indicates there is a genetic basis for the photosensitive aspect of the response, and provides a hypothesis as to why.

Along the same lines, the following source is interesting more in the reviewers' criticisms of the research (listed on the same page) than the research (or the conclusions the researchers draw) itself, which also gives one an idea of the flaws to look for in similar research: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0027030/

 

[jim mcnamara]

@nomadreid - Good link. Note that one of the authors of the paper under scrutiny works for some kind of brainwave software development company.
This affiliation prompts you to think that objectivity may be compromised has been a major bugaboo for environment->human interaction studies, with older human nutrition studies being probably the top offenders. Funding, and the who owns or runs the research center can also raise even more questions.

PS: your avatar is among the very best here on PF!