Brain alpha waves

They had found that they could more easily catalog Herman s memories and distinguish real events from the rest of the noise in his brain by first having Herman produce mu waves between 8 and 13 Hz. (This took Herman a few days of practice, but he soon learned to generate mu waves whenever he wanted to.) These brain waves arose at a few frequencies within the alpha waves produced by a wakeful but relaxed brain. Malcolm told Herman that mu waves were the resting rhythms generated by neurons in the sensorimotor cortex, a diffuse region of the brain that lay on top of the head, between the ears. 

Recording electrical activity with electrodes surrounding the head made it possible to try to relate the mind to the brain. Slow electrical brain waves, called theta waves, were observed during states of low mental activity. At high degrees of arousal, fester beta waves were recorded. Alpha waves were recorded at medium levels of arousal. The greater the state of arousal, the greater the number of alpha and beta waves. 

MecfianismofAction An alphaj-agonist that may bind to dopamine reuptake carrier sites, increasing alpha activity and decreasing delta, theta, and beta brain wave activity. T fierapeuticEffect Reduces the number of sleep episodes and total daytime sleep. Pharmacokinetics Well absorbed. Protein binding 60%. Widely distributed. Metabolized in the liver. Excreted by the kidneys. Unknown if removed by hemodialysis. Half-life 8-10 hr. 

Figure 2. The effect of LSD-25 on the electroencephalogram of the normal unrestrained cat. Recording modes as indicated by connections and electrode position on cortex of cat brain in upper part of picture. Record 4 is derived from hypothalamus. A (control) animal is in quiet waking state. Note alphalike waves in three cortical leads. B records twenty minutes after LSD-25 (15 jug/kg) had been administered into peritoneal cavity, which leads to disappearance of alphas and to arousal pattern. Calibration in microvolts and seconds as indicated (From Bradley and Elkes, 1953). P. B. Bradley and T. Elkes, "The Effects of Some Drugs on the Electrical Activity of the Brain," Brain, Vol. 80, 1957. Reprinted by permission of the authors and the publisher.

L-theanine is an amino acid found in green tea. Over the years, many men and women have achieved a soothing effect from sipping a cup of green tea, and L-theanine appears to be the active ingredient that reduces stress and facilitates relaxation without drowsiness. This natural substance is absorbed in the small intestine and crosses the blood-brain barrier where it is absorbed into the brain. There it stimulates the production of restful and relaxed alpha brain waves similar to that achieved in meditation. There is... 

Other evidence corroborates these data, and confirms that vomeropherin stimulation of the VNO can affect autonomic functions [249e]. This study also tested various chemicals to show that they depolarized the VNO and only the VNO. It also found that such stimulation of the VNO eould alter such autonomic variables as cardiac frequency, respiratory frequency, and electrodermal activity, and supports the idea that vomeropherins can alter the ratio of alpha to beta brain waves in the cortex. 

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