Hemi-Sync® Journal 1996-3 (Summer)

--- PAGE 1 (OCR) --- AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECT OF BETA FREQUENCY BINAURAL BEAT AUDIO SIGNALS ON FOUR MEASURES OF HUMAN MEMORY Vol. XIV Summer 1996 No. 3 A Research and Educational Publication of The Monroe Institute by Richard Cauley Kennerly, MA Richard Cauley Kennerly is currently the director of clinical services for an adolescent treatment center in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. He will begin doctoral studies this fall in behavioral medicine. Rick has a keen interest in effective nondrug therapies, neuronal regulation, means of accessing full human potential, and "in general, everything under the sun." His research was a direct outgrowth of his insatiable thirst for knowledge. After what he describes as a lifetime of academic struggle, Rick discovered that a combination of nutritional supplementation and binaural beat signals could offset his learning disabilities. Learning finally became a pleasure. This thesis arose from his personal success with and interest in binaural beat signals Introduction This study is an empirical inquiry into the facilitation of human — memory with the use of beta frequency binaural beat audio signals (BBSs) under conditions designed to control for confounding variables. Previous studies have not controlled for confounding variables, preventing any definite conclusions on the extent to which BBSs may facilitate memory. Statistically significant results in this study would support earlier nonempirical research which has found BBSs to be useful in facilitating improved academic performance among mainstream and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) populations. The results of the earlier studies, and more tightly controlled studies with other brain-wave training techniques, suggest that beta frequency BBSs should significantly facilitate memory. IN THIS ISSUE Anecdotal reporting has consistently supported Hemi-Sync's value for creating optimal learning environments and facilitating | mental focus. Richard Cauley Kennerly, MA, | applied empirical methods to investigating Hypotheses, Dependent Variables, and Operational Definition of Memory Four hypotheses were used, each postulating that in a study controlling for confounding variables the experimental group would display a statistically significant improvement in mean scores over the these observations. It is our pleasure to devote this issue to a condensed version of his 1994 ee eee eee eee thesis, which was presented to the graduate 7 control group at a .05 or less significance level. | faculty of West Georgia College in partial = Hypothesis one (H,) postulated a statistically significant higher mean . score for the experimental group as measured by a twenty-five-item word fulbllnnent of the requirements for a.zwaster's list recall test. This first test was a simple free recall memory task. Hypothesis two (H,) postulated a statistically significant higher mean score for the experimental group as measured by a twenty-five-item word list recall/recognition test. This test was a German vocabulary combined recall ‘recognition test given to obtain data on the facilitation of memory with a more complex associative recall/recognition task. Hypothesis three (H,) postulated a statistically significant higher mean score for the experimental group as rieasired| by the Welscher Adult degree in psychology. EEE: EEE a © 1996, The Monroe Institute 62 Roberts Mountain Road, Faber, VA 22938 804/361-1252 --- PAGE 2 (OCR) --- HEMI-SYNC® JOURNAL Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R) digit symbol subtest. Hypothesis four (H,) postulated a statistically significant higher mean score for the experimental group as measured by the WAIS-R digit span subtest. The third and fourth tests were administered in order to gain clarity on the observations of teachers who have re improvements in grades, student attention, and decreased hyperactivity while using binaural beats in their classes. Facilitation of the ability to attend and persevere at routine tasks may be in part, or in whole, the underlying factor in the facilitation of memory by binaural beat signals. Statistically significant improvement in the mean scores of the experimental group over the control group on any of the tests allows one to infer that facilitation of test performance occurred. In the absence of confounding variables, this facilitation of test performance can be attributed to the independent variable. ‘The free recall word list test and the combined ition/recall test are the two most memory-related tasks out of the four presented and thus the two most relevant to drawing any conclusions about the facilitation of memory. For the purposes of this study, memory was operationally defined as a subject's ability to reproduce on a test, within the time allocated, the information presented on each of four subtests. Review of Related Literature A quiet revolution has been occurring in the study of human cognitive functioning and its associated brain-wave activity. New interventions have arisen out of ongoing research in electroencephalographic (EEG) feedback. Utilizing this information, biofeedback researchers have been training subjects who have frequency patterns associated with various disorders to alter their brain-wave patterns to match those associated with normally functioning individuals. This approach has been found to be a rapid and effective intervention for many severe and resistant pathologies including depression, sleep disorders, seizures, chronic fatigue, headaches, mood swings, anxiety, alcoholism, addiction, ADHD, epilepsy, post- ‘traumatic stress, paralysis, and cognitive impairment asa result of a stroke or head injury. Possible Mechanisms Underlying Brain-wave Training Different neurotransmitters are triggered by different frequencies and wave forms. The implication is that the brain's neurochemistry, and thereby its functioning, can be altered with modifications of brain-wave frequency. There is also speculation that the neurochemical response to trauma may become entrained as a permanent state and that brain-wave training may allow a return to the pre-trauma neurochemical state. Perhaps the most famous research to date using EEG biofeedback training has been the work of Peniston and Kulkosky, developers of the Peniston protocol. Alpha-theta brain-wave training was used to increase the amount and amplitude of [alcoholic] subjects’ alpha and theta brain waves. The control group, who received traditional medical treatment, demonstrated an 80 percent relapse rate during the thirteen-month post- treatment follow-up period. The experimental group, who received fifteen twenty-minute brain-wave training sessions (and no other treatment) demonstrated only a 20 percent relapse rate during the same Other researchers have investigated the benefits of brain-wave training for beta frequencies. In a controlled study, Dr. Siegfried Othmer found that beta training average IQ increases of 23 percent. Where the starting IQ value was lower than 100, the average IQ increase was 33 points. Brain-wave training might actually increase the level of functioning of an unimpaired subject. Unfortunately, financial resources limit the availability of EEG biofeedback brain-wave training. It is hard to imagine a classroom with all twenty students seated, with electrodes on their heads, and a biofeedback therapist attending to each of them. Fortunately, EEG biofeedback training is not the only way to accomplish the EEG training. Audio and visual driving of brain-wave frequencies without a feedback loop has been found to be an effective method of performing brain-wave training, and cranial electrical stimulation introduces the desirable frequencies by low-level electrical currents applied to the cranium. There is another cost-effective method of conducting brain-wave training: binaural beat audio signals. Only sound driving is used to alter brain waves and, in specific forms of intervention, selected frequencies can be presented. By using audio stimulation only, equipment is reduced toa tape and personal stereo tape player. Access may also be provided by open air speakers, relieving the subjects from having to wear any equipment at all. Variables in This Study The independent variable was the presence of BBSs on the instrumental music tape for the experimental group and the absence of BBSs on the same instrumental music tape heard by the control group. The four dependent variables were the tests administered to fifty aduate students of West Georgia College, most of whom participated for extra credit or to meet a course requirement. A between- At the time of data collection, neither the experimenter nor subject knew which tape was for the experimental group and which was for the control group. groups design, also known as an independent subject design, was used in the study. Subjects were randomly assigned with a double-blind methodology (by a coin toss) to experimental and control groups. A .05 or less significance level was used to determine whether or not to accept the null hypothesis (p>.05) or reject it (p<=.05) in favor of the research hypothesis. The experimental group contained twenty-seven subjects who were presented with a music tape bearing binaural beat audio signals while performing four different learning tasks. The control group contained twenty-three subjects who performed the same four learning tasks as the experimental group. The music tape that the control group listened to did not contain the BBSs but was otherwise identical to the experimental group's tape. The two tapes were provided by The Monroe Institute. They were presented via headphones and a stereo tape player. ‘The researcher controlled the sound level to prevent possible confounding of the results by variations in volume. In order to counterbalance any effect of practice or fatigue, the four learning tasks were presented on a rotating basis known as Latin squares to insure the even distribution of any carryover effects from one learning task to another. Each subject completed a consent form in compliance with the West Georgia Institutional Review Board procedure for research with human subjects. It was explained that the purpose of the iment was to determine what effect, if any, listening to these tapes at a low volume has on memory tasks, that the tapes did not contain any subliminal messages, that there would be four separate memory tasks, and that the whole process should take no more than forty-five minutes. The results of the study and personal scores were available to subjects after the study was completed. At the time of data collection, neither the imenter nor subject knew which tape was for the experimental group and which was for the control group. Once a subject was assigned to a group, the appropriate tape was placed in the tape player, and the subject was asked to listen to the tape for fifteen minutes. This allowed time for entrainment of the --- PAGE 3 (OCR) --- Summer 1996 brain waves of the subjects in the experimental group. Subject numbers were placed on the front of the test packets, which were also marked for the sex of the subject, position in Latin square rotation, and group. At the end of the fifteen minutes of listening to the tape, each subject was instructed to continue listening to the tape during each of the four subtests. Each learning task was presented in the most uniform manner possible. Scoring of Tests The word list recall and the German vocabulary recognition/recall tests were scored with one point being assigned for each correct answer. The digit symbol and digit span subtests of the WAIS-R were scored and scaled before being analyzed, in accordance with the procedures outlined in the WAIS-R manual. Limitations To eliminate confounding variables, a simple post-test-only design was employed. Each subject was seen in a single interview to be assigned to a