Potentiating Neurotherapy: Techniques for Stimulating the EEG
Sep 23, 2011 |
by: Paul G. Swingle, Ph.D., R. Psych.
| Category: Neurotherapy
Since concentrating on neurotherapy as my primary therapeutic tool, my research has focused on developing techniques for increasing the efficiency and accelerat ing t he process of modifying brain functioning. Many neurotherapists do provide clients with various adjunctive self-administered treatments to facilitate the therapeutic process. These “add ons” include relaxation exercises, self-hypnosis, energy psychology rout ines, life style modification recommendations, subliminal affirmation devices, cranial microamperage stimulators, audiovisual stimulators and therapeutic harmonics. The reason for prescribing these procedures, of course, is because they are believd to potentiate the therapeutic process.
I have been particularly interested in the use of therapeutic harmonics and I have been doing research in this area for almost 20 years. One such harmonic (Alert) is a blend of several carrier frequencies providing a 10Hz overriding frequency that is imbedded in a filtered pink noise at between –15 and –25 dB(C). The effect of the Alert harmonic is that it suppresses EEG theta (3-7 Hz) amplitude (Swingle, 1996) and has been found to markedly accelerate the neurotherapeutic treatment of Common Attention Deficit Disorder (CADD) (Swingle, 2001). The Alert harmonic has been used by thousands of clients and is marketed by several companies. The data on this harmonic are very consistent. The suppressing effect is about the same with males and females (provided the sound pressure levels are presented at gender specific levels — see Swingle, 1992), but differs with age. For clients over 18 the suppression of theta amplitude is about 30% whereas for young children the suppression is about 15%.
It is not surprising that sound influences brain activity and further research has identified a number of harmonic blends that have specific effects on the EEG such as reducing beta amplitude or increasing theta amplitude and thus can be very useful as adjunctive treatments for sleep or anxiety difficulties. Harmonics have also been developed to enhance the Sensory Motor Rhythm (SMR) and slower frequencies, suppress high frequencies (28-40Hz) and to speed up alpha.
When working with subtle energy such as subliminal harmonics, it is important to prepare the stimuli so that they are within the effective range. In the case of sound, the effective range is very specific and narrow (techniques for preparing such materials are described in Swingle, 1992). If the sound is too close to supraliminal levels the information is not processed. This “gray zone” is found not only with sound but with other modalities as well (Gary Swartz, personal communication, reported this gray zone with olfaction). This suggests two independent processing systems for information above and below perceptual thresholds and importantly, an energy level zone in which the information is not processed efficiently in either system. The second finding suggesting that subtle energy may be processed differently from more potent stimulation is that identical stimuli produce different effects supraliminally versus subliminally. For example, when presented at 15dB(C) below ambient, a 10 Hz harmonic increases heart rate whereas a 25 Hz harmonic at the same intensity reduces heart rate, which is the opposite of what one would expect with supraliminal presentation of these same frequencies (Ohatrian et al, 1960, Swingle, 1993).
The adjunctive treatment procedures described above are static in the
sense that they are applied to have a specific effect on autonomic and/or
central nervous system functioning. The Alert harmonic, for example, is
prescribed for home use by a CADD child because at intake ...Read more--->
It is not surprising that sound influences brain activity and further research has identified a number of harmonic blends that have specific effects on the EEG such as reducing beta amplitude or increasing theta amplitude and thus can be very useful as adjunctive treatments for sleep or anxiety difficulties. Harmonics have also been developed to enhance the Sensory Motor Rhythm (SMR) and slower frequencies, suppress high frequencies (28-40Hz) and to speed up alpha.
When working with subtle energy such as subliminal harmonics, it is important to prepare the stimuli so that they are within the effective range. In the case of sound, the effective range is very specific and narrow (techniques for preparing such materials are described in Swingle, 1992). If the sound is too close to supraliminal levels the information is not processed. This “gray zone” is found not only with sound but with other modalities as well (Gary Swartz, personal communication, reported this gray zone with olfaction). This suggests two independent processing systems for information above and below perceptual thresholds and importantly, an energy level zone in which the information is not processed efficiently in either system. The second finding suggesting that subtle energy may be processed differently from more potent stimulation is that identical stimuli produce different effects supraliminally versus subliminally. For example, when presented at 15dB(C) below ambient, a 10 Hz harmonic increases heart rate whereas a 25 Hz harmonic at the same intensity reduces heart rate, which is the opposite of what one would expect with supraliminal presentation of these same frequencies (Ohatrian et al, 1960, Swingle, 1993).
The adjunctive treatment procedures described above are static in the
sense that they are applied to have a specific effect on autonomic and/or
central nervous system functioning. The Alert harmonic, for example, is
prescribed for home use by a CADD child because at intake ...Read more--->
