SYNAPSIA

THE INTERNATIONAL BRAIN & INTELLIGENCE JOURNAL

SPRING ISSUE 1994

BRAINWAVE 1:NAUTILUS EQUIPMENT FOR THE BRAIN

In 1989 it was discovered that it is possible to train people to control their own brain waves - very precisely and within only a few days. The Alphalearning Institute was at the forefront of research into this field and, by August 1989, they had developed rudimentary equipment to accomplish this. One of the first brains to be trained with this new system was Tony Buzan's who then, on behalf of the Use Your Head Club, became instrumental in arranging funding for the project. Sponsoring groups have included the American Management Association, Raychem, ICL and Henkel. The result of four year's research is Brainwave I, which has just been completed.

October 1989, Harley Street, London. Research by a group of psychologists meeting at Regent's College led to the discovery that the brain was digital, not analogue. It was primarily electronic frequencies that affected the state of mind and particularly the balance of the brain and body. Within a year techniques had been perfect to enable an individual to duplicate - at will and on command - any desired brain wave frequency. Four major frequencies were utilised.

Beta - 14 Hz for external attention and decision making.

Alpha - 7 Hz for learning and concentration

Theta - 3 Hz for memory and creativity

Delta - 1 Hz for relaxation and pain control.

Over the past five years extensive testing has been conducted on over 500 business executives and professions. The primary objective was to create a brain wave training system to maximise their abilities to read and remember the ever increasing pile of printed data moving across their desks (and computer screens).

That objective was achieved. An overall average increase of 300% in reading speed (from 250 words/minute to 750 words/minute) in only 5 days of training one hour a day. Comprehension and memory were also improved.

Then - Along Came Pyotr!

A 17-year-old man with mild paralysis on the right side due to a fall and concussion at age three attended a student's course on advanced learning and study techniques.

When he was trained with the optical acoustical equipment to achieve a left-right brain balance at 7 Hz he appeared to become nauseous for 10-15 seconds and then became extremely relaxed.

At the end of the 12-minute session he was able to stand equally balanced on each foot (he couldn't stand on the right foot before) and to exercise a firm grip with his right hand.

That was the summer of 1992 when over 250 executives had been tested with the equipment and since none of them had obvious brain damage nothing similar had occurred. Event noted with interest.

Then - Along Came Sofie!

A 16-year-old girl with her left side paralysed and left arm convulsive from age two days due to lung collapse and oxygen loss to the right brain. In a wheelchair for 16 years.

Her father had heard about Pyotr and wished to try the Brainwave I with Sofie. This was in early 1993.

After the first 12-minute session the convulsions in the left arm were well under control. Within a month she was able to go in and out the wheelchair alone. For the first time in 16 years she could take herself to the toilet.

Now over a year later positive side effects have been discovered in both cases - their physical and mental strengths continued to improve: Pyotr - IQ 75 up to 100, Sofie IQ 85 up to 135.

See future issues of Use Your Head for full stories of these two remarkable children and the five more similar cases that followed.

The past is again confirmed in the present. From Ancient Greece, mens sana corpore sano, the health of mind and body are inextricably linked.

Then - Along Came Harry!

The eighth case occurred in February 1994. It was a two-year-old who could barely speak and had no idea what to expect. Therefore, any 'placebo' effect was eliminated.

See Harry's story below in his mother's own words.

"It was all too much to comprehend. I had come hoping for advice as to how best to help Harry and, instead, it seemed we would be leaving with nothing short of a miracle."

When he was aged around six months I started to become slightly concerned about Harry. Try as he might he could never quite reach his right foot to pull his socks off. He could never suck his right toes. Little things - nothing really to worry about.

At ten months he was pulling himself up and I noticed the toes on his right foot were curled and his ankle was collapsing very slight. Luckily we have a very supportive doctor who was sure there was nothing wrong but that there was not harm in him seeing on orthopedic specialist. Harry's feet were X-rayed and, though slightly different, were declared normal. His legs were identical.

At fourteen months Harry began walking but, as the walking progressed, the early stumbling didn't disappear. The right ankle seemed to roll inwards, the toes remained curled. Harry developed a limp.

I asked to be referred to a physiotherapist who immediately noticed that Harry's right arm was not functioning correctly either. The problem seemed to relate to the right side of his body and so she referred us to a pediatrician and foot specialist. Harry's shoes were adapted in order to counteract the tendency of the right ankle to collapse inwards and this seemed to help his balance.

The pediatrician explained that Harry's problem was caused by a small blood clot on the brain during pregnancy. His disability was mild and would never get worse but we were terribly upset and I felt horribly guilty thinking I must have caused it, despite being told otherwise.

Harry began to see the physiotherapist and an occupational therapist on a regular basis and also found his own ways to cope with the problem. Unless people knew, they didn't notice his limp and stiff arm, which tensed up while running. To me it was obvious and I felt tremendous frustration. I sensed that Harry's problem could be fixed and that there was someone who should be able to help if only they could be found.

On February 14th my husband Peter returned elated from the first day of a course on learning conducted at his work by the Alphalearning Institute. As he enthused on and on, I began to think that perhaps this man could help Harry in some way. I told Peter he must speak to the instructors about our son and, three days later; Peter rang home saying they would like to see Harry that evening

As Harry's problem was a left brain/right body problem the instructors thought it was unlikely to have been caused by oxygen starvation, as this would more commonly be associated with damage in the right brain. More likely was a knock on the left side of the head at some stage. I had a number of falls during my pregnancy, one of which was particularly heavy, and there was no doubt in my mind that Harry's brain had received a knock and the instructors had told Peter that it was very likely that this could be treated.

That evening we took Harry along to see them. He was attached to an EEG brain-monitoring screen, which registered an active imbalance between right and left brain while he was drawing. He then sat by the Brainwave I machine with glasses on his head and synchronized sounds on earphones. He was perfectly happy and relaxed and could take them off at any time - which he chose not to do. The entire sequence took just twelve minutes.

Immediately after this we explained our concern about the muscle wastage in Harry's foot due to the peculiar way he holds it. The instructors asked us to remove his shoes and socks but they couldn't see the problem. This was ridiculous; we had lived with this problem for two years and knew what we were talking about.

They then made us examine his feet closely. They were identical!

The ankles were now vertical. We found ourselves looking at a perfect set of toes as Harry curled and uncurled them. He then stood on one leg demonstrating perfect balance and began flexing the fingers on his right hand as if experiencing new sensations. It was unbelievable.

I asked apprehensively how long this change would last; expecting to be told minutes or, at the most, hours. When I was told that it was permanent, my eyes filled with tears. It was all too much to comprehend. I had come hoping for advice as to how best to help Harry and, instead, it seemed we would be leaving with nothing short of a miracle.

Harry was then monitored again on the EEG and this time the left and right brain readings were practically even. We then watched his walking. His head, which would normally tilt to the left when self-conscious, was central. His walking was as near perfect as you could get with a slight leg length discrepancy.

The Alphalearning instructor then explained how we must not encourage the right side. We must hand everything to him with both hands so as not to reinforce a preference. He also advised us not to refer to the now banished problem again: any references might perhaps cause a relapse. Positive reinforcement was to be the key to Harry's continuing recovery.

The next morning Harry walked into the kitchen on perfect feet and was soon busy with his crayons and scissors. The crayons were still picked up with his right hand and passed to the left, but he cut with both hands and I followed the advice and said nothing. The occupational therapist had been encouraging him to cut with the right hand but from now on there would be no encouraging of either side.

The biggest test was the trampoline. Instead of repeatedly falling, he bounced until he chose to fall. He was thrilled at the height he could achieve now that both legs were operating correctly. At first his right arm was held in its usual stiff, semi-bent position, but after a while he began experimenting with it. In the end he

decided his balance was better if he dropped it to his side. He was enjoying himself so much that it was an hour later before he came off, his feet white with cold. By coincidence we had videotaped Harry trampolining the day before his experience with Brainwave I - his progress overnight was dramatic.

By Saturday, I was watching for improved upper body skills. His right arm was definitely more relaxed and he ran confidently, ducking under bars and swinging round poles, enjoying his new found freedom. On Sunday he walked around the village for the first time without tripping. He also managed to walk down the steep hill without thinking to ask for a hand; a first -before now he hadn't been able to walk the length of the driveway without falling. He has since continued to become more confident and adventurous and is now experimenting with seat drops, knee drops, spinning in a controlled way and anything else he has seen his older brother and sister do on the trampoline. He is also enjoying walking on tiptoes for the first time and I've noticed his right foot is now more flexible than the left.

That day, 17 February 1994, will be the most important day of Harry's life. We shall certainly never forget a minute of it.

FOOTNOTE: One year later the following note and photo was sent to the Alphalearning Institute.

Dear Sean,

Here is a recent photo of Harry.

Not bad for a kid who couldn’t jump before he met you. Look at the symmetry and the arms.

Love from us all,

Cornelia

The following EEG’s illustrate the difference in Harry’s brain before and after the BRAINWAVE I session.

The vertical scale on the left shows the minutes and seconds of the test period. The EEG is divided into two sections, one for the left and one for the right side of the brain.

The bottom scale shows the brain wave frequency from 1 to 30 Hertz (cycles per second).

The changes are evident in the symmetry of the left and right brain balance, the equalization of the amplitude of the power of the brainwaves and the decrease in activity of the frequencies above 15 Hertz.

Continuing the Project.

We at the Institute fully encourage more research into this exciting new field.

Neurosurgery with light and sound waves is now a reality. Since the Fall of 1992 the Alphalearning Institute equipment and techniques have been capable of diagnosing (in ten minutes or less) any left/right brain imbalance, wave amplitude extremes and control lapses.

Within five minutes a custom computer program is ready to bring precisely the above three factors into normal ranges. Then 12 minutes with only for soft gold lights flashing on each eye and soft sounds transmitting into each ear allows the brain to experience balance, relaxation and control. The brain obviously likes what it experiences, stores the new data and is capable of reproducing the states at will.

100% of the individuals trained have experienced significant positive changes in brainwave control and balance. Before and after EEGs were taken on all participants.  Information so far collected includes over 50,000 pages of data recorded from the brains of the participants, over 1,300 pages of the transcripts of tape recordings of the voices, discussions and treatments and over 200 hours each of audio and video clips.