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Binaural Beats – The History of Binaural Audio
by
Eric Shelton
A current area of interest for neurophysiologists who specialize in the investigation of hearing, is the phenomenon of binaural beats. Discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove in 1839, these low-frequency pulses are said to originate in the brain stem and have been connected with one s ability to locate the directions from which exterior sounds are generated. However, more recent advances in technology have given rise to other claims about their use.
Dove discovered that when two slightly different tones are introduced at once to the brain (via headphones), the brain would begin to produce an illusionary auditory pulse that exists exclusively within the auditory system. This discovery led to a number of positive implications with regard to hearing research, but it also led to a bit of controversy regarding which areas of the brain were actually affected and how those effects manifest themselves.
Recent research by Yale University, has led to an expansion of the idea that binaural beat effects in the human brain include the activation of a multitude of other cognitive functions located at other brain sites. In fact, it is now theorized that the pulses include visual or a mixture of both aural and visual stimuli. The implications of this discovery are far-reaching.
A practical application of binaural beats can be exemplified in inventor Ian Sommerville s conception, and the dream machine. This rotating metal cylinder from which a light is suspended has slits cut into its sides. The precise rotation of the cylinder causes light to pulse from between forty-five and seventy-eight revolutions per sixty seconds to correspond with the natural creation of electric oscillations already emitted by the human brain when it is at rest. As a result, this device has been used for various forms of relaxation therapy.
Robert A. Monroe, founder of the Monroe Institute, a research organization that explores human consciousness, developed another
application of binaural beats
that has expanded into consumerism. Monroe produced an entire series of CD s under the moniker, Hemi Synch. This specifically aural version of the dream machine s similar relaxing effect is currently being marketed as a meditation tool and is reported to place participants into a dreamlike state that encourages lucid dreaming.
Considered by some skeptics to be the equivalent of consumer snake-oil schemes, the discovery of binaural beats has had a wide scientific acceptance as an actual phenomenon. Those in doubt suggest that rather than produce specific effects such as lucid dreaming; the pulses instead merely mechanically produce a state of hypnosis or suggestibility that emulates deep, restorative sleep.
An open source software called, Gnaural is available for
download on the internet
to enable enthusiasts and skeptics alike to try the technology to arrive at their own conclusions about the effects of binaural beats. The software allows users to use headphones to experience the tonal pulses within the confines of their own homes. The caution is added that it is not recommended that users listen to binaural beats while driving or operating heavy machinery.
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