Binaural beats are fascinating. They were first dicovered in 1839 but not seriously investigated till 1973. They occur when slightly different tones are sent to each ear -- for example, a 500Hz tone to one ear and a 520Hz tone to the other. The difference, in this case 20Hz, will cause your brain to register an apparent 20Hz "beat" independent of the actual physical stimuli. (For that reason they're also known as "apparent sounds" and "auditory processing artefacts".)

What makes the effect more interesting is "entrainment", the tendency of the brain's own electrical frequency to move towards that of the dominant stimulus. In other words, to follow the frequency of what it's currently perceiving. So by listening to the appropriate binaural  beat, it's possible to alter your mental state!

Frequency	Name	Usually associated with...
> 40Hz	Gamma waves	Higher mental activity; preception, problem-solving, fear, and  consciousness.
13-40Hz	Beta waves	Active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration, arousal,  cognition.
7-13Hz	Alpha waves	Relaxation (while awake), pre-sleep and pre-wake drowsiness.
4-7Hz	Theta waves	Dreams, deep meditation, REM sleep
< 4Hz	Delta waves	Deep, dreamless sleep, loss of body awareness

[Source: Wikipedia]

The dominant frequency determines your current mental state, as outlined in the above table.

What's this got to do with Linux? Well Gnaural is a binaural beat audio generator. It allows  you to generate and experiment with binaural beats. Talk about Linux messing with your mind!

The program was written by Bret Logan who also provides a useful introduction to the concepts behind it, their history, and uses for the program itself...

"...I've found that the most important ingredient of a session is my intent. As in, the same schedule (usually focusing on a beat frequency range of 3 to 5Hz) can have either the effect of facilitating a deep meditative state, a deep sleep state, or even extraordinary alternative states of consciousness, each entirely depending on which  goal I choose to focus on."

While he makes no guarantees, Logan says, "Some of the more unusual applications I've heard  about with the Gnaural lineage include sustaining a heightened mental focus for online tournament gaming, and enhancing flotation-tank and related sensory deprivation environments. Many people also apparently use the technique to study more effectively."

Download the latest version (Gnaural2) here.

You'll find usage instructions and a brief FAQ here, and this link contains a collection of ready-made soundscape files to try. (Scroll down to the "classic" examples for some more useful files -- and some interesting accompanying comments.)

Experiment, see what you think, and post your findings in the Comments section below...


<--Previous Hidden Linux       Next Hidden Linux -->