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Revisited: music, 40 hertz, attention, consciousness

Chuck Davis roshicorp at xROSHI.com
Wed Jan 13 12:47:09 EST 1999


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                                  Article
                    Volume 11 : Number 4 : Article 1
              (Journal of scientific Exploration)
      Topographic Brain Mapping of UFO
                          Experiencers 
                                    by
                            Norman S. Don 
    Kairos Foundation and University of Illinois at Chicago, 1187
               Wilmette Ave., #174, Wilmette, IL 60091 
                                    and
                              Gilda Moura 
  Kairos Foundation, Caixa Postal 14528, CEP 22412-000, Rio de
                              Janeiro, Brazil 
                  Volume 11 Number 4: Page 435. 

A cohort of Brazilian subjects, claiming experiences with UFOs
involving contact or abduction, were selected for topographic brain
mapping. One of the most important selection criteria was the
ability to enter into a self-reported, non-ordinary state of
consciousness or trance that developed spontaneously after their
abduction or contact experiences. Analysis of their EEGs revealed
that all subjects entered voluntarily into an hyperaroused trance. In
this state, they maintained a condition of muscular relaxation and
immobility while their EEGs exhibited high frequency (beta) activity
at all 19 electrode sites, but with maximum activity at the prefrontal
and adjacent loci. Inspection of the EEGs from the
prefrontal/frontal sites revealed intermittent trains of rhythmic,
approximately 40 Hz activity, attaining very high amplitudes, at
times exceeding 40 microvolts. This activity was distinct in
morphology and frequency from faster, usually concurrent activity,
probably attributable to scalp muscle discharge (EMG). Analysis of
40 Hz, midline scalp activity, statistically controlling for the
effects of EMG, revealed significantly more 40 Hz activity in trance 
than inbaseline (p < .006). Also, the dominant alpha frequency increased
during trance (p < .01). Both EEG findings suggest the occurrence
of a state of hyperarousal. There was no evidence of epileptiform
discharges in our data or clinical indications of possible epilepsy.
Also, there was no brain activity suggestive of psychopathology,
particularly schizophrenia, nor were there clinical indications of
psychopathology. The EEG results were related to the physiological
effects of highly focused attention and recent findings in
neuroscience. Also noted were similarities to advanced meditative
states and differences from psychopathology. 

[Followup to this article] [Reply via e-mail]
> 
> Relative to our previous discussion regarding how music effects behavior,
> consciousness being related to 40 hertz, and their effect on attention,
> a recent communication from Wolfgang Skrandies adds new information
> relevant to these topics.
> 
> Music is related to 8 hertz, 8 hertz is related to retrieval of long term
> information,
> 8 hertz is a harmonic of 40 hertz.  40 hertz is related to consciousness.
> 40 hertz is the natural frequency that would occur from electrons in water
> in a microtubule from quantum entanglement.
> 
> Wolfgang Skrandies's full paper is in press in "Neuroscience Letters"
> entitled Electroencephalographic Cortical Oscillations and Saccadic Eye
> Movements
> in Humans by W.  Skrandies and E. Anagnostou, School of Medicine
> Justus-Liebig University,  35392  Giessen,  Germany
> 
> Skrandies and Anagnostou have observed "cortical oscillations in humans
> preceding eye movements. It turns out that oscillations in the alpha and beta
> bands
> PRECEDING a saccade by 256 ms determine whether a given subject will
> make a regular or an express saccade."
> 
> Attention is related to expressed saccade.
> 
> ABSTRACT:
> 
> >A model predicting different types of saccades has suggested that the
> >presence of rhythmic brain activity determines whether a subject will
> >produce regular or express saccades. We studied cortical oscillations
> >preceding saccadic eye movements.
> >Brain electrical activity was recorded in 9 healthy adults continuously
> >from 30 electrodes while subjects performed saccades. In a so-called gap
> >
> >condition multimodal latency distributions resulted. Express saccades
> >were preceded by dif-ferent oscillatory activity than regular saccades.
> >This was a highly significant finding restricted to the alpha and beta
> >bands of the EEG. Step-wise discriminant analysis showed that cortical
> >oscillations measured from only few electrode sites allowed to predict
> >reliably which type of saccade a subject will make.
> >These findings support the notion that stimulus-induced oscillations of
> >the human EEG may modulate thresholds for triggering saccades.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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-/--Chuck Davis -------\-----/---\---/-\---/---\-----/-----\-------/-------\--
    RoshiCorp at ROSHI.com \   /     \_/   `-'     \   /       \     /
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