Do Binaural Beats Really Affect Brainwaves?

So the next question is: how would you do this (e.g. electrodes)? Following that, considering that we now don't actually know what entrainment does (by virtue of never achieving it), what would be the result of brain wave entrainment?

Re: Do Binaural Beats Really Affect Brainwaves?

#5

Post by itistoday2 » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 11:02 PM UTC

Um, brainwaves != subjective cognitive effects.

Even plain old, ordinary, non-binaural music has significant, meaningful cognitive effects (and is often used in gyms and therapy for that purpose).

Most know from first-hand experience that sound can affect the brain (and body) in significant ways. Sound affects neurotransmitters and hormones in the body. If it didn't, we probably wouldn't have ears. The purpose of ears is to make it possible for sound to affect us.

If your conclusion is "no effect", you're probably not listening hard enough, or for the right thing. That "Not much difference" could make all the difference.

Re: Do Binaural Beats Really Affect Brainwaves?

#6

Post by yaw » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 11:03 PM UTC

JohnTHaller wrote: post #2

TL;DR: No, they do not.

"we've done this experiment on two subjects"

Re: Do Binaural Beats Really Affect Brainwaves?

#7

Post by virmundi » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 11:03 PM UTC

As a user of them and isotones, I would like a more comllete attempt. I've got a few isotones from iso-tones.com. The headache mp3 actually helps. The focus ones do too. Perhaps this is just placebo, but with only one data point, myself, I think they can help.

Re: Do Binaural Beats Really Affect Brainwaves?

#8

Post by rosser » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 11:09 PM UTC

JohnTHaller wrote: post #2

TL;DR: No, they do not.

I wouldn't be too eager to draw a definitive conclusion from N=2.

Re: Do Binaural Beats Really Affect Brainwaves?

#9

Post by DiabloD3 » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 11:17 PM UTC

This study doesn't seem to track the long term use of them, such as doing a study comparing those learning how to meditate vs those learning how to meditate while listening to binaural beats.

Re: Do Binaural Beats Really Affect Brainwaves?

#10

Post by derefr » Tue, Jun 23, 2015, 11:21 PM UTC

itistoday2 wrote: post #5

Um, brainwaves != subjective cognitive effects. Even plain old, ordinary, non-binaural music has significant, meaningful cognitive effects (and is often used in gyms and therapy for that purpose). Most know from first-hand experience that sound can affect the brain (and body) in significant ways. Sound affects neurotransmitters and hormones in the body. If it didn't, we probably wouldn't have ears. The purpose of ear…

I think the "binaural beat" literature is focused on the question of whether such beats can affect people without conscious auditory processing—i.e., whether the particular firing pattern the beats create is an effective side-channel attack on the synaptic substrate.