![Brain Wave Stimulation Using Commercial Device Actually Do Work! Brain Wave Stimulation Using Commercial Device Actually Do Work!](https://images.medindia.net/health-images/1200_1000/boost-brain-power.jpg)
‘In the study, it was found that people who had used the device showed both improved memory performance and enhanced theta wave activity which considered as our gateway to learning, memory, and intuition.’
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In an earlier study, Charan Ranganath, professor of psychology, and colleagues at the Center for Neuroscience found that high levels of theta wave activity immediately before a memory task predicted better performance."Entrainment" devices use a combination of sound and lights to stimulate brain wave activity. The idea is that oscillating patterns in sensory inputs will be reflected in brain activity. The devices are marketed to address a range of problems such as anxiety, sleep issues, "low mood" and learning. However, there is very little published scientific evidence to support these claims.
Brooke Roberts, a postdoctoral researcher in Ranganath's lab, obtained a theta wave entrainment device and decided to test it. She had 50 volunteers either use the device for 36 minutes, or listen to 36 minutes of white noise, then do a simple memory test.
Improved Memory Performance
The subjects who had used the device showed both improved memory performance and enhanced theta wave activity, she found.
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Once again, theta wave entrainment enhanced theta wave activity and memory performance.
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Ranganath said he's surprised the devices work as well as they appear to do.
"What's surprising is that the device had a lasting effect on theta activity and memory performance for over half an hour after it was switched off," he said.
There is debate among neuroscientists over the function and role of these brain waves. Some researchers argue that they are simply a product of normal brain function with no particular role. Ranganath, however, thinks that they may play a role in coordinating brain regions.
"The neurons are more excitable at the peak of the wave, so when the waves of two brain regions are in sync with each other, they can talk to each other," he said.
Source-Eurekalert