THE BRAIN WAVES.

The brain is made up of billions of brain cells called neurons, which use electricity to communicate with each other. The combination of millions of neurons sending signals at once produces an enormous amount of electrical activity of synchronized electrical pulses, being the root of all thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Our brain profile and our daily experience of the world are inseparable.
Brain waves are detected using sensitive medical equipment placed over areas of the scalp. They are divided into bandwidths to describe their functions but are best thought of as a continuous spectrum of consciousness; from slow, loud and functional -to fast, subtle, and complex.
Brain waves can be compares as musical notes -the low frequency waves are like a deeply penetrating drum beat, while the higher frequency brain waves are more like subtle high pitched flute. Like a symphony, the higher and lower frequencies link and cohere with each other through harmonics.
Brain waves change according to what we are doing and feeling. When slower brain waves are dominant we can feel tired, slow, sluggish, or dreamy. When the higher frequencies are dominant we feel wired, or hyper-alert.
When the brain waves are out of balance, there will be a corresponding problems in our emotional or neuro-physical health. Research has identified brain wave patterns associated with all sorts of emotional and neurological conditions. Over-arousal in certain brain areas are linked with anxiety disorders, sleep problems, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, impulsive behavior, anger/aggression, agitated depression, chronic nerve pain and spasticity. Under-arousal leads to some types of depression, attention deficit, chronic pain and insomnia. A combination of both is seen in cases of anxiety, depression,and ADHD.
Instabilities in brain rhythms correlate with tics, obsessive-compulsive disorder, aggressive behavior, rage, panic attacks, bipolar disorder, migraines, narcolepsy, epilepsy, sleep apnea, vertigo, anorexia / bulimia, diabetes, hypoglycemia, and explosive behavior.
Brain wave speed is measured in Hertz (cycles per second) and they are divided into bands delineating slow, moderate, and fast waves.
INFRA-LOW (< . 5Hz), also known as Slow Cortical Potentials, are thought to be the basic cortical rhythms that underlie higher brain functions. Very little is known about it but appear to take a major role in brain timing and network function. The slow nature make them difficult to detect and accurately measured.
DELTA (. 5 to 3Hz) are slow, loud brain waves (low frequency and deeply penetrating, like a drum beat). They are generated in deepest meditation and dreamless sleep. They suspend external awareness and are the source of empathy (the power to enter into emotional harmony with a work of art and so derive aesthetic satisfaction, or the power to enter into the feeling of others). Healing and regeneration are stimulated in this state, and that is why deep restorative sleep is so essential to the healing process.
THETA (3 to 8Hz) occurs most often in sleep but are also dominant in deep meditation. It acts as a gateway to learning and memory. Our senses are withdrawn from the external world and focused on signals originating from within. It is that twilight state which we normally only experience fleetingly as we wake or drift off to sleep. In Theta we are in a dream; vivid imagery, intuition, and information beyond the normal conscious awareness. It is where fears, trouble history, and nightmares are stored.
ALPHA (8 to 12Hz) are dominant during quietly flowing thoughts, and in some meditative states. It is "the power of now," being her, in the present. It is the resting state for the brain. It aids overall mental coordination, calmness, alertness, mind/body integration and learning.
BETA (12 to 38Hz) dominate our normal waking state of consciousness when attention is directed toward cognitive tasks and the outside world. It is a "fast"activity, present when we are alert, attentive, engaged in problem solving, judgment, decision making, and engaged in focused mental activity.
Beta is further divided into 3 bands: -Lo-Beta (Beta1,12-15Hz) can be thought of as a "fast idle," or musing. -Beta(Beta2, 15-22Hz) is high engagement or actively figuring something out. -High-Beta (Beta3, 22-38Hz) is highly complex thought, integrating new experiences, high anxiety, or excitement.
Continual high frequency processing is not a very efficient way to run the brain, as it takes a tremendous amount of energy.
GAMMA (38 to 42) are the fastest (high frequency, like a flute) and relate to simultaneous processing information from different brain areas. It passes information rapidly, and as the most subtle of the frequencies, the mind has to be quiet to access it. It is highly active when in states of universal love, altruism (consideration for other people without any thought of self, unselfishness), and the higher virtues. It is also above the frequency of neuronal firing, so how it is generated remains a mystery. It is speculated that Gamma rhythms modulate perception and consciousness, and that a greater presence of Gamma related to expanded consciousness and spiritual emergence.