Brain Activity by Terrance A. Bastian The human brain is a wondrous and complex organic computer that governs every motion of our bodies. Within this computer there is a virtual storm of electrical, magnetic, and chemical activity. This storm of seeming chaotic activity is a big part of what gives us order in our lives. Since the early 1900's doctors and scientists have been able to look into the brain and view this activity, in hopes to decipher why people do one thing verses another. While the doctors and scientists were probing the regions of the brain they found out that for the most part the activity detected was composed of many different frequencies of rhythmic and non-rhythmic waves or pulsations ranging from 0.2 to several hundred hertz. These pulsations were further broken down into individual categories for easier study and for there particular properties. These categories are the Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta waves. The first type of brain wave is the Beta wave. This wave is in the range of approximately 10-30 hertz or pulses per second, sometimes Beta waves are also referred to those frequencies up into the hundreds of hertz. The mental activity normally assoiated with Beta waves is the active awareness state that we experience from day to day at work and play. There are many external chemicals that can be induced into the brain to produce this state and they are known generally as stimulants. Some of those stimulants are small amounts of alcohol, the nicotine in cigarettes, caffeine in coffee and tea, diet pills, and aphetamines (which are illegal). The second type of wave and I should say the most widely known and publicized is the Alpha wave. Most people equate this wave with ESP, meditation, and all sorts of strange ideas. The truth is the alpha waves account for only half the story. Alpha ranges between 7-12 hertz and is prominent during relaxation mostly with eyes closed, day dreaming, and upon deep self-introspection. The 1960's made this activity famous when it was found out that cannabis or marijuana, which grew naturally, induced this state in people. Scientist have found out that it was the chemical THC that caused this euphoric feeling by being a substitute for the brain's natural pleasure chemicals which are called endorphans. The next wave activity is the Theta region and is the least known type outside the confines of the dream research laboratories. This wave is in the range of 5-8 hertz and is characterized mainly with light sleep, Rapid Eye Movement(REM) dreams, and hallucinations. The brain uses this state to exercise itself, somewhat like working out your muscles to make them stronger and to release overall tension. The drugs that promote this activity are, on the whole, illegal. These substances are in the general category of hallucinegics (LSD, Acid, Magic mushrooms, etc...). The fourth kind of wave and I can say a very important one is the Delta wave. The Delta's frequency is in between 0.2 & 6 hertz which can be as low as 1 cycle per month or even pure direct current (DC). The outward appearance of this area is dead to the world sleep, no dreaming, and coma occour during this state. Many people have had more than their share to drink after work or at an office party and had the irresistible urge to just go to sleep, or in extreme instances just to outright pass out wherever you were. Excessive ammounts of alchol induces the brain into the Delta state as so the body can repair and filter out toxins and poisons within itself. The body uses this state to put full effort to repair itself from the days activities. Its significant to know that 2/3's of your sleep time is taken up by this state to complete these repairs and to give the brain time to rest. Other chemicals that induce this Delta state are known as downers, things like sleeping pills, aspirin, muscle relaxants, and barbiturates. All these chemicals can be very dangerous if taken in excessive amounts which causes the brain and body to totally relax into death itself. Out of all the different types of brain waves there is a very interesting range called the Alpha-Theta border. I've already mentioned that the Alpha was half the story, well the Theta wave is the other half of a state of mind that brings about creativity, intelligence, and a host of other abilities the brain is capable of doing when properly stimulated. It is a state where the central nervous system reduces input from the peripheral nervous system. The lowering of sensory input serves to normally protect the central nervous system from sensory overload caused by stress or physical damage. Without these outside functions for the brain to control the brain expands its functioning powers. The normally unused portion of the brain becomes active and performs at maximum capacity. This range is between 7-8 hertz and this is not so surprising when you learn that the resonant frequency of the earth and ionosphere is approximately 7.5 hertz. Our brains evolved within this dynamic field and used it as a standard to function on. The mind experences the body in a half-in half-out state of sleep or detachment. The feeling is of being concious of all things around you but the body being in deep relaxation. Many cultures discovered this and the methods to achieve this state naturally and artificially. Many of the worlds religions were founded on reaching this state and devised strict disciplines to do so. The Alpha-Theta range occurs during reverie, hypnogoic imagery, meditation, and by self-hypnosis. The drugs that achieve this state are controlled use of cannabis and hallucinegics. Science and medicine have devised several ways to monitor brain waves. The main methods are the electroencephalogram (EEG) and the magnetoencephalogram (MEG). The EEG measures the electrical potentials on the surface of the scalp or at times on the surface of the brains cortex. The EEG has many drawbacks in that it measures the average frequencies in the brain. The electrodes are separated from the brain for the most part by the thick barrier of the skull. This is like a scientist in a good year blimp flying over a football game: he could hear the crowd roar but thats about it. The MEG senses and records the subtle magnetic fields generated by the brain. This is difficult because each neuro cell "talks" to one another in the brain through electrical signals that generate weak magnetic fields, about one billionth the strength of the earths field. But by using the new superconducting technology the problem is being rapidly done away with, more and more sensitive magnetic sensing coils are being made. Using a superconducting neuromagnetometer placed near a persons head, like an antenna, it picks up the magnetic field emerging from the brain. This information is sent to a computer and a accurate map of the brains activity can be made and analyzed. In the last few years a new approach to brain waves and human emotion is being explored in the form of brain entrainment. This is a form of bio-feedback and stimulation to promote a specific wave state that is desired. This can be done by various methods; flashing lights ,sound pulsations ,electromagnetic pulses ,and physical vibrations. These stimulation techniques require that the pulses, vibrations, or flashings occour at the desired frequency rate so that the brain can synchronize with the external signals. Any one or a combination of these methods can have a profound effect upon the operation of the brain. It has been known that the Soviet Union and the United States has used external stimulation to induce sleep ,hypnosis, and other altered states in people. The area of brain wave activity is an active and dynamic field indeed. Many scientific discoveries are bound to be made, from the relief of stress to increasing the power of the human mind. Who really can say what will happen in the future.