Provoking predetermined aperiodic patterns in human brainwaves.

Abstract

In the present work, electroencephalographic recordings of healthy human participants were performed to study the entrainment of brainwaves using a variety of stimuli. First, the periodic entrainment of the brainwaves was studied using two different stimuli in the form of periodic auditory and visual signals. The entrainment with the periodic visual stimulation was consistently observed, whereas the auditory entrainment was inconclusive. Hence, a photic (visual) stimulus, where two frequencies were presented to the subject simultaneously, was used to further explore the bifrequency entrainment of human brainwaves. Subsequently, the evolution of brainwaves as a result of an aperiodic stimulation was explored, wherein an entrainment to the predetermined aperiodic pattern was observed. These results suggest that the aperiodic entrainment could be used as a tool for guided modification of brainwaves. This could find possible applications in processes such as epilepsy suppression and biofeedback.