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Gamma binaural beats (BB) entrainment has become more ubiquitous in recent decades, with studies showing improvements in mood and cognition. We aimed to investigate whether listening to 40 Hz BB could help mitigate mental stress and cognitive dissonance in a group of nursing faculty members and students. Participants listened to an auditory stimulus of 40 Hz BB for 15 minutes for a total of nine sessions over the duration of a three-week period. Mood and cognition were assessed with Brunel Mood Scale and Stroop's test, respectively, before and after a 15-minute BB stimulation. The pre- and post-interventional study was conducted for the data analysis. The emotional states and cognitive performance of both groups were enhanced by 40 Hz BB entrainment. However, students benefited more from BB for navigating emotion, whereas faculty benefited more with the cognitive task. In addition, the enhancement mediated by BB improved over time among the students. Thus, 40 Hz BB seem to play a major role both in improving emotional well-being, as well as improving cognitive function, in an age-dependent manner. Implementing BB into daily routines as a part of stress management strategy may offer a low-cost noninvasive method to foster emotional stability and enhance cognitive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the development of a wireless in-ear EEG device designed to monitor brain activity during sleep and deliver auditory stimuli aimed at enhancing deep sleep. The device records EEG signals and plays a combined auditory stimulus consisting of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) and 3 Hz binaural beats at a 60:30 dB ratio, intended to promote delta wave activity and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stage 3 sleep. Fifteen participants completed this study, which included two consecutive nights: a baseline night and a testing night. Participants were divided into an experimental group, which received the combined ASMR and binaural beat stimulus, and a control group, which received only ASMR. The combined stimulus was delivered upon entering NREM stage 2 and replaced by ASMR when NREM stage 3 was reached. Results showed that the experimental group experienced an increase in NREM 3 sleep, a decrease in NREM 2 sleep, and a slight increase in NREM 3 latency compared to the baseline night. Although the findings are promising, further testing with a larger sample size is required to confirm the device's potential to enhance sleep quality and promote delta activity in the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Binaural beats, or the perceptual auditory illusions created when simultaneously presenting two similar frequencies to each ear separately, have been used to reduce anxiety in various procedures. Unfortunately, no prior study involved preprocedure binaural music exposure among patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and this study sought to investigate its effect on anxiety and tolerance among participants undergoing sedation-free upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Methods: The prospective, controlled, randomized trial included the participation of 96 Turkish patients aged between 18 and 70 years who were scheduled for an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, regardless of sex or illness, and were divided randomly into two different groups to undergo endoscopy, namely, the binaural beats group (n = 48) and a control group (n = 48). Patients in the binaural beat music group wore headphones, and music was given 15 mins before endoscopy; however, no particular treatment was given for either group. Anxiety levels were assessed by using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire, in addition to changes before and after endoscopy to measure patient satisfaction based on the physician's recorded numbers of retches noted by doctors as tolerance was documented and compared among both groups. Results: The results showed that following this procedure, in the music group, state scores remained significantly lower than before them (p = 0.016), compared with the control group (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference regarding changes in diastolic or systolic heart rate or blood pressure (p > 0.05). However, the procedure tolerance and satisfaction scores were significantly higher in the music group than those without music (p < 0.05). Conclusion: For patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, music with binaural beats was found to significantly reduce anxiety levels and increase patient tolerance, providing an alternative option to sedative medications as a potential sedative treatment option.Clinical trials registration number: NCT06114524. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binaural beats can entrain neural oscillations and modulate behavioral states. However, the effect of binaural beats, particularly those with slow frequencies (< 1 Hz), on sleep remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that 0.25-Hz beats can entrain neural oscillations and enhance slow-wave sleep by shortening its latency or increasing its duration. To investigate this, we included 12 healthy participants (six women; mean age, 25.4 ± 2.6 years) who underwent four 90-min afternoon nap sessions, comprising a sham condition (without acoustic stimulation) and three binaural-beat conditions (0, 0.25, or 1 Hz) with a 250-Hz carrier tone. The acoustic stimuli, delivered through earphones, were sustained throughout the 90-min nap period. Both N2- and N3- latencies were shorter in the 0.25-Hz binaural beats condition than in the sham condition. We observed no significant results regarding neural entrainment at slow frequencies, such as 0.25 and 1 Hz, and the modulation of sleep oscillations, including delta and sigma activity, by binaural beats. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the potential of binaural beats at slow frequencies, specifically 0.25 Hz, for inducing slow-wave sleep in generally healthy populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to observe the impact of pure Binaural Beats (BB) stimulation in the inaudible frequency range, excluding the influence of sound, on visuospatial memory. Additionally, we investigated whether the brainwave changes induced by BB stimulation directly affect brain activation. The experiment involved 17 participants (12 males with a mean age of 23.2 ± 1.7 and 5 females with a mean age of 21.0 ± 0.7) in their 20s. Each participant received 10 Hz BB stimulation by presenting frequencies of 18,000 Hz and 18,010 Hz to the left and right ears, respectively. The experiment consisted of Rest phase (5 min), Task phase (5 min), and Rest phase (5 min). The Task phase included conditions where participants performed the task either without BB stimulation "Task only" or with BB stimulation "Task + BB". Visuospatial memory was evaluated using the 3-back task. To observe brain activation, functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was employed to measure hemodynamic responses in all phases. The cognitive task performance (Accuracy, Reaction time) and oxyhemoglobin (HbO) concentration during the Task phase were compared between conditions with and without BB stimulation using paired t-tests. Results indicated a significantly shorter Reaction time in the Task + BB condition compared to the Task only condition. Moreover, an increase in HbO concentration was observed in the F1-F3, F2-F4, and P2-P4 regions during the Task + BB condition. In conclusion, the observed increase in HbO concentration suggests a positive influence on task performance. This study is meaningful in objectively demonstrating the impact of inaudible BB stimulation on visuospatial memory, utilizing both behavioral data and direct neural activation reflected in hemodynamic responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the effects of a novel intervention, binaural beats (BB), on anxiety levels of anatomy students during cadaveric dissections and its impact on the learning environment. The study was quasi‐experimental, employing a purposive sampling strategy. State (SA) and trait (TA) anxiety levels were measured using the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory during two routine dissection sessions. SA was measured at three time points: at the start, after a 3‐min control (silence)/intervention (10 Hz BB) session, and at the end of the dissection. A post‐study survey was distributed to the participants to obtain qualitative feedback on their perceptions of BB use during cadaveric dissections. Thirteen female students participated in this study (mean age 19.62 ± 0.65 years). Both control and intervention measures significantly reduced SA levels, with BB demonstrating a greater effect size (Hedges' g = 0.98 for intervention vs. 0.76 for control). SA decreased significantly after the BB intervention (t(12) = 3.78, p = 0.003) and remained low throughout the session, in contrast to the control session, where the reduction post‐measure was not sustained (t(12) = −0.64, p = 0.54). Feedback from the post‐study survey indicated that most students found the BB intervention effective in reducing their anxiety levels before the dissection. The BB intervention was effective in reducing and maintaining students' SA levels during dissection. Students reported positive experiences with BB. Further investigations are warranted to determine whether the findings of this study can be generalized to larger and more heterogeneous populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Binaural beats can entrain neural oscillations and modulate behavioral states. However, the effect of binaural beats, particularly those with slow frequencies (

Abstract This study aimed to observe the impact of pure Binaural Beats (BB) stimulation in the inaudible frequency range, excluding the influence of sound, on visuospatial memory. Additionally, we investigated whether the brainwave changes induced by BB stimulation directly affect brain activation. The experiment involved 17 participants (12 males with a mean age of 23.2 ± 1.7 and 5 females with a mean age of 21.0 ± 0.7) in their 20s. Each participant received 10 Hz BB stimulation by presenting frequencies of 18,000 Hz and 18,010 Hz to the left and right ears, respectively. The experiment consisted of Rest phase (5 min), Task phase (5 min), and Rest phase (5 min). The Task phase included conditions where participants performed the task either without BB stimulation “Task only” or with BB stimulation “Task + BB”. Visuospatial memory was evaluated using the 3-back task. To observe brain activation, functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was employed to measure hemodynamic responses in all phases. The cognitive task performance (Accuracy, Reaction time) and oxyhemoglobin (HbO) concentration during the Task phase were compared between conditions with and without BB stimulation using paired t-tests. Results indicated a significantly shorter Reaction time in the Task + BB condition compared to the Task only condition. Moreover, an increase in HbO concentration was observed in the F1-F3, F2-F4, and P2-P4 regions during the Task + BB condition. In conclusion, the observed increase in HbO concentration suggests a positive influence on task performance. This study is meaningful in objectively demonstrating the impact of inaudible BB stimulation on visuospatial memory, utilizing both behavioral data and direct neural activation reflected in hemodynamic responses.

Abstract The aim of the present study was to identify cognitive alterations, as indicated by event-related potentials (ERPs), after one month of daily exposure to theta binaural beats (BBs) for 10 minutes. The recruited healthy subjects (n = 60) were equally divided into experimental and control groups. For a month, the experimental group was required to practice BBs listening daily, while the control group did not. ERPs were assessed at three separate visits over a span of one month, with a two-week interval between each visit. At each visit, ERPs were measured before and after listening. The auditory and visual ERPs significantly increased the auditory and visual P300 amplitudes consistently at each visit. BBs enhanced the auditory N200 amplitude consistently across all visits, but the visual N200 amplitude increased only at the second and third visits. Compared to the healthy controls, daily exposure to BBs for two weeks resulted in increased auditory P300 amplitude. Additionally, four weeks of BBs exposure not only increased auditory P300 amplitude but also reduced P300 latency. These preliminary findings suggest that listening to BBs at 6 Hz for 10 minutes daily may enhance certain aspects of cognitive function. However, further research is needed to confirm these effects and to understand the underlying mechanisms. Identifying the optimal duration and practice of listening to 6 Hz BBs could potentially contribute to cognitive enhancement strategies in healthy individuals.

Objective. To test the hypothesis that there are differences between three mean values of sleep latency (SL) when falling asleep: when accompanied by audio stimuli based on binaural beats (BB), after listening to suggestive instructions on how to relax the body, and accompanied by BB-based audio stimuli after listening to suggestive instructions for relaxing the body (i.e., 1 and 2 combined). Materials and methods. A special app was written for the Android operating system for the purpose of conducting this study and was installed on subjects' individual smartphones. The app included a screen touch test as a control for falling asleep. Data were analyzed from 63 subjects who were presented with the three types of sound stimuli noted above in a counterbalanced design. Results. Statistical analysis confirmed the hypothesis noted above that the SL depended on the type of sound stimulus (p < 0.05). Pairwise comparison of SL showed significant differences between stimuli (3) (1149 ± 113 sec) and (1) (1469 ± 89 sec) (p < 0.01). The SL for stimulus (2) had an intermediate value of 1269 ± 112 sec (differing from stimulus (1) at the level of a trend). Conclusion. The use of a sound background consisting of BB enhances the effect of suggestive instructions in improving sleep. However, the decisive role belongs to suggestion as a psychotherapeutic technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Enhanced normalized EEG power was observed during ITd than during both WN and BB. • ITd modulated neural oscillation compared in alpha and beta frequency bands. • Changes in brain activity induced by ITd persist for minutes after stimulation. Auditory beats stimulation (ABS) has received increased attention for its potential to modulate neural oscillations through a phenomenon described as brain entrainment (i.e synchronization of brain's electrocortical activity to external stimuli at a specific frequency). Recently, a new form of ABS has emerged, inspired by isochronic tones stimulation (IT d). This study investigated neural oscillatory responses induced by IT d in comparison with formerly well-established ABS protocols, such as gamma-binaural beats (BB) and white noise (WN). We recorded the electroencephalographic brain activity in 28 participants during 4 min of BB, IT d , and WN presentation. Data demonstrated that while both BB and WN enhanced oscillatory power on the EEG gamma band, consistently with the expected brain entrainment effect, IT d yielded greater changes in EEG power (p < 0.001). This was confirmed by time-based analysis, which showed a progressive increase in normalized EEG power within the IT d window compared to BB (p < 0.05). Findings also revealed that IT d elicited acute changes in the alpha band of EEG oscillations, through a progressive decrease in power over time, which was distinctly different from the pattern observed while listening BB and WN. Such dual alpha-gamma effects underline the promising and unique potential of IT d to modulate neural oscillations which selectively differ from BB and WN. This study contributes to the evolution of ABS research, highlighting the promise of IT d for cognitive enhancement and clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to identify cognitive alterations, as indicated by event-related potentials (ERPs), after one month of daily exposure to theta binaural beats (BBs) for 10 minutes. The recruited healthy subjects (n = 60) were equally divided into experimental and control groups. For a month, the experimental group was required to practice BBs listening daily, while the control group did not. ERPs were assessed at three separate visits over a span of one month, with a two-week interval between each visit. At each visit, ERPs were measured before and after listening. The auditory and visual ERPs significantly increased the auditory and visual P300 amplitudes consistently at each visit. BBs enhanced the auditory N200 amplitude consistently across all visits, but the visual N200 amplitude increased only at the second and third visits. Compared to the healthy controls, daily exposure to BBs for two weeks resulted in increased auditory P300 amplitude. Additionally, four weeks of BBs exposure not only increased auditory P300 amplitude but also reduced P300 latency. These preliminary findings suggest that listening to BBs at 6 Hz for 10 minutes daily may enhance certain aspects of cognitive function. However, further research is needed to confirm these effects and to understand the underlying mechanisms. Identifying the optimal duration and practice of listening to 6 Hz BBs could potentially contribute to cognitive enhancement strategies in healthy individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of brainwave entrainment on pre-operative fear and anxiety in pediatric dental patients. Methods: The study protocol received approval from the Institutional Ethical Committee under reference number 3010/IEC/2021. Pediatric patients (252) aged from 7 to 12 years, who reported to the dental department were randomized pre-operatively and presented either with brainwave entrainment (experimental), delivered using a "David delight plus device" or a standard behavior management protocol (control). Baseline and post-assessment of anxiety and fear levels were done using the Visual Facial Anxiety Scale and Frankl's behavior rating scale with Wright's modification. Vitals such as blood pressure and pulse rate were also measured. Results: The study sample (n = 252) comprised 118 females and 134 males. The non-significant differences for values of (VFAS1, FRS1, HR1, and BP1) indicated similar baseline characteristics. In the brainwave entrainment group, the p values of the Mann–Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test (p < 0.01) between the two-timepoints indicated a statistical difference for the values of (VFAS1, FBRS1, HR1, BP1) and (VFAS2, FBRS2, HR2, BP2). Conclusions: Brainwave entrainment effectively reduces pre-operative fear and anxiety in pediatric dental patients. Therefore, they can be a non-pharmacological and non-invasive behavior management aid. Trial Registration: Clinical Trial Registry of India database CTRI/2023/03/051066. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveMethodResultsDiscussionTo explore the efficacy and safety of binaural beats (BB) for stress management in non-clinical contexts.Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched for RCTs that administered BB and reported ≥1 stress-related outcome in subjects with pre-existing stress, or in participants with laboratory-induced stress (PROSPERO registration: CRD42023428623). The risk of bias was assessed using the JBI critical appraisal tool and a purpose-designed tool to explore stress-specific methodological quality. Effects between groups were synthesised thematically, exploring physiological and psychological outcomes, duration of exposure and frequency (Hz).Twelve studies were included for review. Half of the studies used a single-session BB intervention and half used longer-term home-based protocols. Seven involved participants with pre-existing stress and five exposed healthy subjects to stressors. Eight studies reported ≥1 significant effect favouring intervention over control while four found no group effects. However, methodological heterogeneity, unclear randomisation and blinding procedures, and lack of oversight of stress mediators and moderators were found.BBs have promise as a self-care stress-management tool. However, evidence is not strongly in favour of widespread recommendation, there is little known about adverse effects, and there is not yet a clear optimal protocol (frequency and schedule) for stress-buffering effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the current laws in Iraq's criminal legislative system, this research addresses the issue of identifying a legal framework for characterizing digital drugs and thereby establishing criminal culpability. On the one hand, and on the other hand, we have tried to urge the Iraqi federal and Kurdistan regional legislators to synchronize the repercussions of the emerging cybercrime and predicate the future consequences of such crimes, based on the principle of protecting the security, stability, and safety of society by enacting modern laws to confront cybercrime, and not impunity for the perpetrators. Therefore, in order to understand the topics of the research, we divided the research into two sections: in the first topic, we studied what digital drugs are (the definition) by defining the mechanism of action of these drugs, while in the second topic, we studied the legal mechanism for characterizing digital drugs through two approaches: in the first of them, we tried to characterize digital drugs as conventional drugs, while in the second approach, we tried to characterize this drug as a digital fraud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety and depression are two of the most impactful diseases on quality of life and cause significant disability to patients. It burdens the medical system even as a stand-alone pathology or a secondary condition. These conditions can occur secondarily after a patient suffers from other illnesses, such as upper motor neuron lesions. Binaural beats are a new and emerging type of technology that can be used as an adjunct therapy for anxiety and depression as well as in neurologic conditions to some extent. We searched through the MEDLINE, PsychINFO, EMBASE, CENTRAL, ISRCTN, and ICTRP databases to identify studies using binaural beats as therapy for anxiety and depression. Twelve articles were declared eligible to be included in this review. Binaural beats, whether used in the form of pure beats or masked by another sound, have shown better results in alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to control conditions such as no music or the use of noise-canceling headphones alone. The results suggest that using binaural beats could be a promising and easy-to-use method to help alleviate the symptoms of anxiety and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the main issues in dentistry and a barrier to offering dental treatment is anxiety. The usage of music is one of the nonmedical ways to reduce anxiety. Binaural beat technology is used as a music treatment technique. The goal of this study wasto determine whether employing binaural beat technology during and after dental appointments can help patients feel less anxiety and pain. Methods: In this clinical trial, 80 patients who were candidates for mandibular wisdom tooth surgery (in 2 test and control groups) were examined. In the control group, after the injection of anaesthesia and before surgery, they waited for 10 minutes and during this time no intervention was done. In the test group, thought, after the injection of anaesthesia, the patients were asked to listen to binaural beat music with headphones for 10 minutes. The level of anxiety of the patients before and after the intervention was checked with the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and finally the data were entered into SPSS version 21 software. Results: The score of overt anxiety (P = .524) and covert anxiety (P = .118) before the start of the study was not significant between the 2 groups, but overt anxiety (P = .001) and covert anxiety (P = .000) after the intervention in the test group decreased significantly. Conclusions: The research showed that the use of binaural beat music has significantly reduced the level of overt and covert anxiety in patients and can be used as an alternative nonpharmacologic method to reduce anxiety.

Fatigue is a feeling of constant exhaustion, burnout, or lack of energy. A very particular state of fatigue, cognitive fatigue, drastically influences sustained attention and focus. To date, there remains a significant gap in classifying cognitive fatigue while learning under the influence of mechanical foot and binaural beat brain massages aided by functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy. We aim to evaluate the effects of mechanical massage under the influence of binaural beats brain massage on mental fatigue recovery aided by an ensemble Machine Learning model. The experimental paradigm employed to induce cognitive fatigue includes digital lessons such as picture recognition, digit span, Stroop color and word, sustained attention to response, and N-back test. After extensive features extraction, Ridge, Gaussian Naïve Bayes, and Support Vector Machine (SVM) with linear, quadratic, Radial Basis Function (RBF), and sigmoid kernel, K-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Random Forest (RF), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), and Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA) classifiers are employed. An ensemble algorithm, particularly using the hard voting method is employed that combines the forecasts of multiple classifiers to make a final decision, where each classifier casts one vote for a given input, and the class with the majority of votes is selected as the final prediction. This approach leverages the strength of each classifier, resulting in better overall performance than any single model alone. The Random Forest classifier aligns with the ensemble’s final decision 94.6% of the time, which indicates its significant contribution to the ensemble model out of all classifiers. Receiving binaural beats brain massage along with mechanical massage helps to recover mental fatigue. Mechanical massage inculcation with binaural beats brain massage significantly reinforces to relieve cognitive fatigue along with enhancing mental vigilance, short and long-term verbal, and working memory.

Abstract Background Pain is a major clinical problem across all ages with serious social and economic consequences and a great negative impact on quality of life. Brain entrainment using binaural beats is a non-pharmaceutical intervention that is claimed to have analgesic effects in acute and chronic pain. We aimed to systematically review the available randomized clinical trials on the efficacy of binaural auditory beats in reducing adults’ pain perception in acute and chronic pain. A systematic search in electronic databases including Medline (via PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Embase was performed. The search was completed through Google Scholar and a manual search of the reference lists of all included studies. Randomized clinical trials with full text available in English that investigated the effect of binaural auditory beats on pain perception in acute and chronic pain in adults were included. The risk of bias was assessed by the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias (RoB 2) tool. Furthermore, The GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach was used to assess the quality of the evidence. Sixteen studies (three on chronic pain and thirteen on acute pain perception) fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Because of substantial heterogeneity of the studies, a meta-analysis was inappropriate and this review focused on the narrative interpretation of the results. The risk of bias in most studies was high and the quality of evidence was low to very low. Although the effects of binaural beats on pain perception seem to be influenced by the etiology of pain or medical procedures, our review identifies alpha or a combination of tones in the range of delta to alpha as a potential non-pharmacological intervention in reducing acute pain. However, drawing a conclusion regarding the efficacy of binaural beats for chronic pain requires more high-quality studies. Registration The protocol of this review was registered in PROSPERO (No. CRD42023425091).

This study presents the development of a wireless in-ear EEG device designed to monitor brain activity during sleep and deliver auditory stimuli aimed at enhancing deep sleep. The device records EEG signals and plays a combined auditory stimulus consisting of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) and 3 Hz binaural beats at a 60:30 dB ratio, intended to promote delta wave activity and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stage 3 sleep. Fifteen participants completed this study, which included two consecutive nights: a baseline night and a testing night. Participants were divided into an experimental group, which received the combined ASMR and binaural beat stimulus, and a control group, which received only ASMR. The combined stimulus was delivered upon entering NREM stage 2 and replaced by ASMR when NREM stage 3 was reached. Results showed that the experimental group experienced an increase in NREM 3 sleep, a decrease in NREM 2 sleep, and a slight increase in NREM 3 latency compared to the baseline night. Although the findings are promising, further testing with a larger sample size is required to confirm the device’s potential to enhance sleep quality and promote delta activity in the brain.

We recruited subjects who reported feeling stressed and needing a break and were seeking an opportunity to experience relaxation. Inaudible binaural beats (BB) were used to measure the ability of BB to induce relaxation. Measurements included EEG, Menlascan (cardiovascular and ANS) (Menla Technologies, Independence, Missouri), and GDV (Gas Discharge Visualization/Kirlian Photography) (Korotkov et al., 2020). Further, a Big Five Character Assessment was administered, and individual Brief Mood Introspection Scales (BMIS) were collected for each condition. Subjects experienced an improvement in brain function, microcirculation or cardiovascular score, bioenergy, and a calmer brain after adding binaural beats to brown noise or to music plus brown noise, although the Menlascan scores and Big Five character assessment results were less conclusive. BB seems to have profound effects on the physiology of subjects, and since the beats were not audible, these effects could not be attributed to the placebo effect. These results are encouraging in terms of developing musical products incorporating BB to affect human neural rhythms and corollary states of consciousness and warrant further research with more subjects and different frequencies of BB and different music tracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Binaural beats are one of the new methods of brainwave synchronization. However, there is little knowledge about its clinical applications. The positive effect of this method on executive functions, such as attention and working memory, in the γ band has been mainly confirmed in healthy individuals. Still, its effectiveness on disorders such as obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD), with a prominent cognitive profile, has not been established. Therefore, the present study was conducted to examine the effect of binaural beats on working memory and the severity of OCD symptoms in the γ band in the afected women. Methods: Twenty-nine OCD women aged 25-40 years referring to psychological clinics in Tehran City, Iran, were selected by convenience sampling. After completing the symptom checklist 90 (SCL90) and the Yale-Brown severity scale (SS), the participants were given the Wechsler memory scale (WMS) digit repetition subtests. Then, they were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=15) and control (n=14) groups. The audio file of the binaural beats in the γ band was provided to the experimental group. The participants in the control group listened to the normal (no-wave) audio file. Both groups listened to the audio files for two weeks, three times a week, for 30 minutes each time. The Yale-Brown SS and digit repetition in post-test and one-month follow-up periods were obtained from both groups. Results: According to the results, the severity of OCD symptoms was significantly reduced in the post-test and follow-up stages by the γ binaural beats (P<0.05). Also, the working memory function was improved, although it was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study show that binaural beats can be used as a complementary treatment to reduce the severity of OCD symptoms. Also, it seems that the patients' working memory is strengthened with this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binaural beats are a low-frequency form of acoustic stimulation that may be heard between 200 and 900 Hz and can help reduce anxiety as well as alter other psychological situations and states by affecting mood and cognitive function. However, prior research has only looked at the impact of binaural beats on state and trait anxiety using the STA-I scale; the level of anxiety has not yet been evaluated, and for the removal of artifacts the improper selection of wavelet parameters reduced the original signal energy. Hence, in this research, the level of anxiety when hearing binaural beats has been analyzed using a novel optimized wavelet transform in which optimized wavelet parameters are extracted from the EEG signal using the flower pollination algorithm, whereby artifacts are removed effectively from the EEG signal. Thus, EEG signals have five types of brainwaves in the existing models, which have not been analyzed optimally for brainwaves other than delta waves nor has the level of anxiety yet been analyzed using binaural beats. To overcome this, deep convolutional neural network (CNN)-based signal processing has been proposed. In this, deep features are extracted from optimized EEG signal parameters, which are precisely selected and adjusted to their most efficient values using the flower pollination algorithm, ensuring minimal signal energy reduction and artifact removal to maintain the integrity of the original EEG signal during analysis. These features provide the accurate classification of various levels of anxiety, which provides more accurate results for the effects of binaural beats on anxiety from brainwaves. Finally, the proposed model is implemented in the Python platform, and the obtained results demonstrate its efficacy. The proposed optimized wavelet transform using deep CNN-based signal processing outperforms existing techniques such as KNN, SVM, LDA, and Narrow-ANN, with a high accuracy of 0.99%, precision of 0.99%, recall of 0.99%, F1-score of 0.99%, specificity of 0.999%, and error rate of 0.01%. Thus, the optimized wavelet transform with a deep CNN can perform an effective decomposition of EEG data and extract deep features related to anxiety to analyze the effect of binaural beats on anxiety levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binaural beats (BB) are an auditory phenomenon produced from a combination of two sine waves with slightly different frequencies presented to each ear. Previous research has implicated the role of BBs through brainwave entrainment in potentially giving rise to benefits ranging from enhanced memory and attention to reduced anxiety and stress. Here, we investigated the effect of gamma (40-Hz) BBs on attention using the attention network test (ANT), a previously unused task that assesses three subtypes of attention: Alerting, Orienting, and Executive Control. Fifty-eight healthy adults performed the ANT remotely under the exposure of 340-Hz BBs and a 380-Hz control tone. All completed a rating scale for levels of anxiety before and after each exposure. Performance on the ANT task (reaction time and error rates) between BB and control groups was evaluated using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. We found no significant differences in Reaction Time (RT), Error Rate (ER), or the efficacy of the Attention Networks (AN) between the experimental and control conditions (p > 0.05). We found no effect of BB on self-rated measures of anxiety. Our findings do not provide evidence for improvement in attention with gamma BB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are studies that show that abnormalities in processes and dynamics in the brains of schizophrenic patients cause high-frequency neural oscillations. Patients may experience instantly developing hallucination crises because of these oscillations, and there is no health service that patients can receive support from at any time in these sudden crises. In this study, the first results of the avatar-based mobile application that is supported by binaural beats (BB) are shared, which provides positive effects in other diseases and will reduce the high-frequency abnormal oscillations in the brains of schizophrenia patients to the range seen in healthy individuals. Audio files that contained motivational phrases supported by BBs shaped by semi-structured interviews with patients were created in the first step. These files were added to the designed three-dimensional avatars and transferred to the mobile application in the second step. The study results were evaluated using qualitative and quantitative methods. While the qualitative tools consisted of semi-structured interviews conducted with patients and their relatives and clinical observations by the responsible physician, the quantitative tools were four psychiatric scales. These evaluation methods were applied before and after the voice therapy and before and after the avatar therapy. Four schizophrenia patients were included in the study, designed in a cross-sectional design. The effects that improved the quality of life of two patients who adhered to therapy were observed. This study presents the first results of an avatar-supported mobile application that uses BBs and that schizophrenia patients can access at any time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binaural beats are a low-frequency form of acoustic stimulation that may be heard between 200 and 900 Hz and can help reduce anxiety as well as alter other psychological situations and states by affecting mood and cognitive function. However, prior research has only looked at the impact of binaural beats on state and trait anxiety using the STA-I scale; the level of anxiety has not yet been evaluated, and for the removal of artifacts the improper selection of wavelet parameters reduced the original signal energy. Hence, in this research, the level of anxiety when hearing binaural beats has been analyzed using a novel optimized wavelet transform in which optimized wavelet parameters are extracted from the EEG signal using the flower pollination algorithm, whereby artifacts are removed effectively from the EEG signal. Thus, EEG signals have five types of brainwaves in the existing models, which have not been analyzed optimally for brainwaves other than delta waves nor has the level of anxiety yet been analyzed using binaural beats. To overcome this, deep convolutional neural network (CNN)-based signal processing has been proposed. In this, deep features are extracted from optimized EEG signal parameters, which are precisely selected and adjusted to their most efficient values using the flower pollination algorithm, ensuring minimal signal energy reduction and artifact removal to maintain the integrity of the original EEG signal during analysis. These features provide the accurate classification of various levels of anxiety, which provides more accurate results for the effects of binaural beats on anxiety from brainwaves. Finally, the proposed model is implemented in the Python platform, and the obtained results demonstrate its efficacy. The proposed optimized wavelet transform using deep CNN-based signal processing outperforms existing techniques such as KNN, SVM, LDA, and Narrow-ANN, with a high accuracy of 0.99%, precision of 0.99%, recall of 0.99%, F1-score of 0.99%, specificity of 0.999%, and error rate of 0.01%. Thus, the optimized wavelet transform with a deep CNN can perform an effective decomposition of EEG data and extract deep features related to anxiety to analyze the effect of binaural beats on anxiety levels.

Tourists travelling to Turkey may encounter circling (mevlevi) dervishes in Konya, spinning in circles to achieve a kind of altered state of consciousness and enter a trance-like state of ecstasy. The world of popular music has also been inspired by the concepts of Christianity and ecstasy, and some rock bands have emerged from a combination of the two. This altered state of consciousness is brought about by the combined effect of dance and music, which they believe can be an ecstatic experience of dual action, freeing one from the agonies and pains of everyday life. In some religions, the ecstatic and altered state of consciousness is part of ritual and worship as a power unleashed. The question is, is there a place for music-induced ecstasy in Christian worship? In this sub-chapter, we will discuss the ecstatic effect of music, the altered state of consciousness experienced as a result, and the increasingly prevalent binaural beats and music at 432 hertz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Third-trimester primigravida mothers typically experience anxiety. Serotonin, norepinephrine, and GABA are the three primary neurotransmitters responsible for anxiety. Labor pain may be impacted by anxiety. Relaxation music can help with anxiety. Binaural beats are a sort of relaxation music that are thought to be an inexpensive, safe, and side-effect-free approach to ease anxiety and pain in patients, according to various studies. The aim of this study was to ascertain how binaural beats affected anxiety and pain during the early stages of labor. The HRS-A questionnaire was used in a quasi-experimental study with a control group for the pretest and posttest. The participants in this study are 36 primigravida moms who are 36 weeks along. The participants were then split into four groups: control, alpha, beta, and gamma. Two weeks prior to delivery, the intervention was conducted by listening to 20 minutes of the group's preferred genre of music or binaural beats. The labor pain scale was calculated using the Verbal Descriptor Scale. The collected data will be examined with Paired-Sample T-Test, One-Way ANOVA, and Regression Linear tests in SPSS. The result of alpha and beta groups, when the anxiety scale affects the pain scale of the initial stage of labor, there is a considerable drop in the anxiety scale. Binaural beats' alpha and beta waves hence effectively lower the initial stage of labor's pain scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last two decades have seen the emergence of a brand-new kind of music known as digital brain stimulant, also known as instrumental music or music without lyrics, which mostly comprises entrainment beats. While listening to it has the same ability to affect the brain as taking medication, it also has the risk of having a negative impact or encouraging unwanted behavior. This sparked the interest of a large number of studies in the psychological and physiological effects of music's brainwave entrainment beats on listeners. These studies started to categorize and examine how musical beats affected brainwave entrainment by looking at electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Although this categorization represents a step forward for the early research efforts, it is constrained by the difficulty of having each musical track and conducting EEG tests on humans exposed to distortion due to noise in order to determine its influence. The work proposed in this article continues to explore this topic but in a novel, simple, accurate, and reliable categorization procedure based on the music signal elements themselves rather than dependent on EEG. VGGish and YAMNET based transfer deep learning models, are tuned to handle a straightforward, accurate real-time detector for the existence of the music beats inside music files with accuracy of 98.5 and 98.4, respectively. Despite the fact that they yield results that are equivalent, the YAMNET model is more suited for use with mobile devices due to its low power consumption and low latency. The article also proposes modified version of VGGish and YAMNET binary classifying models called BW-VGGish and BW-YAMNET respectively. The modification was to turn the binary classification into multi-classification. These multi-classifiers handle the classification of the influence of music beats (five different brain waves) on human brainwave entrainment with average accuracy of 94.5% and 94.5%, respectively. Since there was a lack of datasets addressing this kind of music, two datasets, the Brainwave Entrainment Beats (BWEB) dataset and the Brainwave Music Manipulation (BWMM) dataset, were generated for classification training and testing. The re-testing on a sample of music files that have their impact on brain waves (with their EEG) in an earlier study is done to strengthen the validity of the proposed work and to overcome the potential limitation of utilizing a music dataset that is not proved with its EEG. The success of the suggested models was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To test the hypothesis that sleep latency (SL) does not depend on the nature (monaural (MB) or binaural (BB)) of the low-frequency beats embedded in a monotonous sound stimulus presented during the process of falling asleep in a large group of subjects. Materials and methods. An Android app was written for the study and installed on 221 subjects' smartphones. Each subject took part in three experiments, with three different types of monotonous sound presented following a counterbalanced scheme; sounds were identical in pitch but differed in terms of the presence and type of beats: BB, MB, and control (without beats) sounds were used. Results. Repeat measures analysis of variance (rANOVA) showed no statistically significant effect of stimulus type on SL (p = 0.21). Pairwise comparison of SL for different stimulation conditions showed a significance level of the null hypothesis, corrected for multiple comparisons, of p = 1.0. Thus, SL was not significantly dependent on the type of monotonous sound stimulus used in these experiments: MB, BB, or control. Conclusions. The software app developed here is useful as a universal platform for assessing the impact of various external factors on the process of falling asleep at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety and depression are two of the most impactful diseases on quality of life and cause significant disability to patients. It burdens the medical system even as a stand-alone pathology or a secondary condition. These conditions can occur secondarily after a patient suffers from other illnesses, such as upper motor neuron lesions. Binaural beats are a new and emerging type of technology that can be used as an adjunct therapy for anxiety and depression as well as in neurologic conditions to some extent. We searched through the MEDLINE, PsychINFO, EMBASE, CENTRAL, ISRCTN, and ICTRP databases to identify studies using binaural beats as therapy for anxiety and depression. Twelve articles were declared eligible to be included in this review. Binaural beats, whether used in the form of pure beats or masked by another sound, have shown better results in alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to control conditions such as no music or the use of noise-canceling headphones alone. The results suggest that using binaural beats could be a promising and easy-to-use method to help alleviate the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Objective:To investigate the effects of binaural beats (BB) embedded with music on pain and anxiety scores in patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy with the suspicion of prostate cancer under local anesthesia.Materials and Methods:This was a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Patients were divided into three groups; binaural beat group (BBG), music group (MG), and control group (CG). Anxiety assessment was made with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) form. The initial anxiety scores of the patients were recorded as STAI initial (STAI-I) before the procedure. Post-procedure anxiety scores of the patients were recorded as STAI-T terminal (STAI-T). The difference between STAI-I and STAI-T was recorded as STAI delta (STAI-D). A visual analog scale (VAS) was used for post-procedural pain scores. Demographic data, STAI-I, STAI-T, STAI-D, and VAS scores were compared.Results:A total of 270 patients who met the study criteria, 90 in each group, were included in the study. When STAI-T and STAI-D were evaluated, there was a significant decrease in BBG and MG compared with CG. When the VAS during the procedure was evaluated, there was a significant difference between the BBG, MG, and CG groups. When the BBG vs MG, BBG vs CG, and BBG and MG groups were compared separately in terms of VAS, p

Objective: We aimed to identify parasympathetic and emotional alterations, as indicated by the heart rate variability (HRV) and Brunel mood scale (BRUMS), after long-term exposure to theta binaural beats (BB) for 10 minutes daily. Methods: Recruited healthy subjects (n = 60) were equally split into the experimental and control groups. HRVs were measured over three visits spaced out by two weeks. At each visit, HRV was measured for two minutes before, ten minutes during, and two minutes after listening. Results: The root-mean-square of differences between successive RR intervals (RMSSD) and the percentage of adjacent RR intervals with a difference greater than 50 ms (pNN50) were significantly increased during 6-Hz BB listening at 4–10 minutes at all three visits, but high frequency (HF) HRV was increased at the second and third visits. After 6-Hz BB listening, there were significant increases in RMSSD and pNN50 at the second and third visits, and in HF HRV at the third visit. BRUMS demonstrated a significant decrease in both positive and negative moods after listening to 6-Hz BB on the first visit. However, after two and four weeks, BRUMS demonstrated a significant decrease in only negative mood. Conclusion: A minimum of four minutes of 6-Hz BB could be beneficial to improve relaxation during listening. Nevertheless, considering the aftereffects, two weeks of daily listening might be required to achieve deep relaxation without vigor reduction. Significance: Optimal duration and practice of BB listening are the keys to achieving better relaxation and parasympathetic tone in healthy listeners.

We recruited subjects with the focus on people who were stressed and needed a break to experience relaxation. The study used inaudible binaural beats (BB) to measure the ability of BB to induce a relaxed state. We found through measuring brain wave activity that in fact BB seem to objectively induce a state of relaxation. We were able to see this across several scores, F3/F4 Alpha Assessment and CZ Theta Beta, calculated from EEG readings, that indicated an increase in positive outlook and a relaxing brain, respectively, and scalp topography maps. Most subjects also showed an improvement in Menlascan measurements of microcirculation or cardiovascular score, although the Menlascan scores and Big Five character assessment results were less conclusive. BB seem to have profound effects on the physiology of subjects and since the beats were not audible, these effects could not be attributed to the placebo effect. These results are encouraging in terms of developing musical products incorporating BB to affect human neural rhythms and corollary states of consciousness and warrant further research with more subjects and different frequencies of BB and different music tracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic stimulation can improve motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) and might therefore represent a potential non-invasive treatment option. Scalp electroencephalography studies in healthy subjects indicate that specifically binaural beat stimulation (BBS) in the gamma frequency range is associated with synchronized cortical oscillations at 40 Hertz (Hz). Several studies suggest that oscillations in the gamma-frequency range (>30Hz) serve a prokinetic function in PD. In this double-blind, randomized study, 25 PD patients were recruited. The study was conducted with (ON) and without dopaminergic medication (OFF). Each drug condition consisted of two phases (no stimulation and acoustic stimulation). The acoustic stimulation phase was divided into two blocks including BBS and conventional acoustic stimulation (CAS) as a control condition. For BBS, a modulated frequency of 35Hz was used (left: 320Hz; right: 355Hz) and for CAS 340Hz on both sides. We assessed effects on motor performance using Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and two validated commercially available portable devices (Kinesia ONE™ and Kinesia 360™) measuring motor symptoms such as dyskinesia, bradykinesia, and tremor. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that BBS improved resting tremor on the side of the more affected limb in the OFF condition, as measured by wearables (F(2,48) = 3.61, p = 0.035). However, BBS did not exert a general positive effect on motor symptoms as assessed via MDS-UPDRS (F(2,48) = 1.00, p = 0.327). For CAS, we did not observe an improvement in specific symptoms but rather an overall beneficial effect on motor performance (MDS-UPDRS total score OFF medication: F(2,48) = 4.17, p = 0.021; wearable scores: F(2,48) = 2.46, p = 0.097). In this study, we found an improvement of resting tremor when applying BBS in the gamma frequency band OFF medication. Moreover, the positive effects of CAS underline the general positive potential for improvement of motor function by acoustically supported therapeutic approaches. However, more studies are needed to fully characterize the clinical relevance of BBS and to further optimize its ameliorating effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past two decades, using Digital Therapeutics (DTx) to counter painful symptoms has emerged as a novel pain relief strategy. Several studies report that DTx significantly diminish pain while compensating for the limitations of pharmacological analgesics (e.g., addiction, side effects). Virtual reality (VR) is a major component of the most effective DTx for pain reduction. Notably, various stimuli (e.g., auditory, visual) appear to be frequently associated with VR in DTx. This review aims to compare the hypoalgesic power of specific stimuli with or without a VR environment. First, this review will briefly describe VR technology and known elements related to its hypoalgesic effect. Second, it will non-exhaustively list various stimuli known to have a hypoalgesic effect on pain independent of the immersive environment. Finally, this review will focus on studies that investigate a possible potentialized effect on pain reduction of these stimuli in a VR environment.

Acoustic stimulation can improve motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and might therefore represent a potential non-invasive treatment option. Scalp electroencephalography studies in healthy subjects indicate that specifically binaural beat stimulation (BBS) in the gamma frequency range is associated with synchronized cortical oscillations at 40 Hertz (Hz). Several studies suggest that oscillations in the gamma-frequency range (>30 Hz) serve a prokinetic function in PD. In this double-blind, randomized study, 25 PD patients were recruited. The study was conducted with (ON) and without dopaminergic medication (OFF). Each drug condition consisted of two phases (no stimulation and acoustic stimulation). The acoustic stimulation phase was divided into two blocks including BBS and conventional acoustic stimulation (CAS) as a control condition. For BBS, a modulated frequency of 35 Hz was used (left: 320 Hz; right: 355 Hz) and for CAS 340 Hz on both sides. We assessed effects on motor performance using Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and two validated commercially available portable devices (Kinesia ONE™ and Kinesia 360™) measuring motor symptoms such as dyskinesia, bradykinesia, and tremor. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that BBS improved resting tremor on the side of the more affected limb in the OFF condition, as measured by wearables (F(2,48) = 3.61, p = 0.035). However, BBS did not exert a general positive effect on motor symptoms as assessed via MDS-UPDRS (F(2,48) = 1.00, p = 0.327). For CAS, we did not observe an improvement in specific symptoms but rather an overall beneficial effect on motor performance (MDS-UPDRS total score OFF medication: F(2,48) = 4.17, p = 0.021; wearable scores: F(2,48) = 2.46, p = 0.097). In this study, we found an improvement of resting tremor when applying BBS in the gamma frequency band OFF medication. Moreover, the positive effects of CAS underline the general positive potential for improvement of motor function by acoustically supported therapeutic approaches. However, more studies are needed to fully characterize the clinical relevance of BBS and to further optimize its ameliorating effects.

We recruited subjects with the focus on people who were stressed and needed a break to experience relaxation. The study used inaudible binaural beats (BB) to measure the ability of BB to induce a relaxed state. We found through measuring brain wave activity that in fact BB seem to objectively induce a state of relaxation. We were able to see this across several scores, F3/F4 Alpha Assessment and CZ Theta Beta, calculated from EEG readings, that indicated an increase in positive outlook and a relaxing brain, respectively, and scalp topography maps. Most subjects also showed an improvement in Menlascan measurements of microcirculation or cardiovascular score, although the Menlascan scores and Big Five character assessment results were less conclusive. BB seem to have profound effects on the physiology of subjects and since the beats were not audible, these effects could not be attributed to the placebo effect. These results are encouraging in terms of developing musical products incorporating BB to affect human neural rhythms and corollary states of consciousness and warrant further research with more subjects and different frequencies of BB and different music tracks.

Similar to short-term memory, working memory cannot hold information for a long period of time. Studies have shown that binaural beats (BB) can stimulate the brain through sound, affecting working memory function. Although the literature is not conclusive regarding the effects of BB stimulation (stim) on memory, some studies have shown that gamma-BB stim (40 Hz) can increase attentional focusing and improve visual working memory. To better understand the relationship between BB stim and memory, we collected electroencephalographic data (EEG) from 30 subjects in 3 phases—a baseline, with gamma-BB stim, and control stim—in a rest state, with eyes closed, and while performing memory tasks. Both EEG data and memory task performance were analyzed. The results showed no significant changes in the memory task performance or the EEG data when comparing experimental and control conditions. We concluded that brain entrainment was not achieved with our parameters of gamma-BB stimulation when analyzing EEG power spectral density (PSD) and memory task performance. Hence, we suggest that other aspects of EEG data, such as connectivity and correlations with task performance, should also be analyzed for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effects of binaural beats (BB) embedded with music on pain and anxiety scores in patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy with the suspicion of prostate cancer under local anesthesia. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Patients were divided into three groups; binaural beat group (BBG), music group (MG), and control group (CG). Anxiety assessment was made with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) form. The initial anxiety scores of the patients were recorded as STAI initial (STAI-I) before the procedure. Post-procedure anxiety scores of the patients were recorded as STAI-T terminal (STAI-T). The difference between STAI-I and STAI-T was recorded as STAI delta (STAI-D). A visual analog scale (VAS) was used for post-procedural pain scores. Demographic data, STAI-I, STAI-T, STAI-D, and VAS scores were compared. Results: A total of 270 patients who met the study criteria, 90 in each group, were included in the study. When STAI-T and STAI-D were evaluated, there was a significant decrease in BBG and MG compared with CG. When the VAS during the procedure was evaluated, there was a significant difference between the BBG, MG, and CG groups. When the BBG vs MG, BBG vs CG, and BBG and MG groups were compared separately in terms of VAS, p<0.001, p<0.001 and p=0.04, respectively. Conclusion: As a result, music embedded BB may be an effective, safe, well-tolerated and inexpensive method in reducing anxiety and pain scores in male patients who will undergo prostate biopsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Several studies have continuously investigated FFRs using binaural beat (BB) stimulations and their related effects. However, only a few studies have investigated the differences in BB stimulation effects according to basic demographic characteristics, such as gender and age. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the alpha wave activity after a 10-Hz BB stimulation and subsequently identify differences according to gender across all brain areas (frontal, central, parietal, temporal, and occipital areas). METHODS: A total of 23 healthy adults (11 male and 12 female), aged 20–29, participated in the study. For the 10-Hz BB stimulation, pure tone auditory stimuli of 250 and 260 Hz were given to the left and right ear, respectively. Through a power spectrum analysis of the phase-excluding BBs (non-BBs) and phase-including 10-Hz BBs (α -BBs), the alpha power at each brain area was estimated. These values were compared using a mixed-design ANOVA. RESULTS: With the exception of the temporal area, all other brain areas showed a significant increase in alpha power for α -BBs compared to those of non-BBs. However, the difference according to gender was not significant. CONCLUSION: The results indicated the lack of gender effects in alpha wave generation through a 10-Hz BB stimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, several studies have demonstrated a link between stuttering and abnormal electroencephalographic (EEG) β-power in cortex. Effects of exposure to binaural stimuli were studied in adults with stuttering (AWS, n = 6) and fluent participants (n = 6) using EEG, ECG, and speech analysis. During standard reading tasks without stimulation, in controls but not in the AWS group, EEG β-power was significantly higher in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere. After stimulation, the power of the β-band in AWS participants in the left hemisphere increased 1.54-fold. The average β-band power within the left frontotemporal area and temporoparietal junction of the cortex after stimulation in AWS participants shows an increase by 1.65-fold and 1.72-fold, respectively. The rate of disfluency dropped significantly immediately after stimulation (median 74.70% of the baseline). Similarly, the speech rate significantly increased immediately after stimulation (median 133.15%). We show for the first time that auditory binaural beat stimulation can improve speech fluency in AWS, and its effect is proportional to boost in EEG β-band power in left frontotemporal and temporoparietal junction of cortex. Changes in β-power were detected immediately after exposure and persisted for 10 min. Additionally, these effects were accompanied by a reduction in stress levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Binaural beats (BB) provisions alpha and gamma have been suggested to modulate working memory (WM), while white noise (WN) acted as a control condition. Methods: The current study overlays WN on alpha and gamma tones to study its modulating role on WM performance. A block-design n-back task paradigm used to determine the effect of load on embedded BB on WM performance using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results: Six young adults (3 males and 3 females) with mean age of 23.5 ± 0.84 within the Kota Bharu vicinity participated in the study. A repeated-measures ANOVA (p<0.05) on response accuracy indicate medium effect size on condition (2 =0.420), and large effect sizes on groups (2 = 0.388) and load (2 = 0.487). The potential practical difference is more evident on lows-(0-back) and high-load (3-back). GWN provision marginally excels, implying its entrainment may benefit WM processing. A repeated-measures ANOVA (p<0.05) on reaction time (RT) implied a large effect size on all variables (condition: 2=0.065, groups: 2=0.227 and load: 2=0.169). It was observed that BB exposure elicits a slow processing speed which worsens RT. The neural correlates suggest activated regions in GWN and AWN are associated with attentional mechanisms and WM processes. Conclusion: Preliminary findings indicate both embedded BB has a potential to improve WM performance with the cost of slower processing speed. GWN provision modulates attentional mechanisms benefiting WM performance and AWN may enhance performance in extreme ends of WM load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]