Guy Blankett has an interesting website, www.mindfulness-tech.co.uk, that shares many of the ideals of the neuroshaping project.
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Thursday, 24 April 2014
The website of Attentive Mind
I have been revamping my website, attentivemind.ca, which describes my psychology practice in Bancroft and Peterborough, Ontario. I am branching out with online services which are available to all residents of Ontario.
Thursday, 3 April 2014
April, 2014 update on available and promised devices
In November, 2012 I published a post on some of the available and promised "wearable" neuroshaping devices. I updated it in April, 2014. Not a lot has changed as far as availability. For the new devices, the general release dates keep being pushed forward.
The MindWave from Neurosky is a one active channel device. It has been available for a while. It retails for about $100 and comes with ten apps and many more are available (see http://www.neurosky.com/Products/MindWave.aspx). I have tried it and it seems to work, and it is great that it can be used with third-party software such as BioExplorer and BioEra. However, I find it very uncomfortable. It might be fine for a child but not for someone with a big head like mine!
There is an earlier version (MindSet), which was the first mass market neuroshaping device
introduced in 2009. It has earphones and looks more comfortable. It uses the same chip set as the MindWave. NeuroSky provides a comparison chart that shows the capabilities of each of their products (see http://support.neurosky.com/kb/technology/what-are-the-differences-between-the-mindset-mindwave-mindwave-mobile-and-mindband).
Another company promises to introduce the Melon, originally called the Axio. It is based on the NeuroSky chip. It is an attractive and comfortable appearing three sensor band, which is adjustable to different head sizes. Again, they exceeded their goal in crowd-
sourcing (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/806146824/melon-a-headband-and-mobile-app-to-measure-your-fo).
The developers of the Melon now have a website (www.thinkmelon.com), and the device is now promised for the summer of 2014. Given that this device uses the NeuroSky chip, I thought it might make its original release date which was the summer of 2014.
Muse from Interaxon is still not available (http://www.interaxon.ca/muse/). It was originally to be released in the spring of 2013, but it is still on preorder status. Prototypes were demonstrated at CES 2014 and received rave reviews. It is reported that it is being developed with Interaxon's own chip set and technologies. Technical specifications have yet to be posted. They exceeded their goals in the Indiegogo campaign and raised more money privately. The promised device is supposed to have four active channels, which are on the forehead and around the ears.
The producers of the emotiv EPOC 14 channel device are developing the INSIGHT, which is a five channel device. Again, they exceeded their kickstarter goal of $100,000 by over $1.5 million (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tanttle/emotiv-insight-optimize-your-brain-fitness-and-per).
The technical specifications of the INSIGHT reveal that it will have five active channels at AF3, AF4, T7, T8, Pz with two references (see http://emotiv.co/product.php). The EPOC required saline preparation, but the INSIGHT uses "a proprietory polymer sensor that offers great electrical conductivity without any preparation whatsoever." This is the truly innovative aspect of this product. Also, these polymer sensors can be applied over hair, while the other products listed above only have sensors on areas free of hair.
The INSIGHT was originally promised for the summer of 2014, but the release date is now December 2014.
The ENOBIO from Neuroelectrics (http://www.neuroelectrics.com/enobio) is a very promising, but expensive high end device. It comes in 8 channel, 20 channel and 32 channel configurations. It uses dry electrodes and bluetooth. This one is definitely on my wish list, and it is actually available now.
Please feel free to comment or, if you wish, direct questions and comments to me directly at drampsych at gmail.com.
The MindWave from Neurosky is a one active channel device. It has been available for a while. It retails for about $100 and comes with ten apps and many more are available (see http://www.neurosky.com/Products/MindWave.aspx). I have tried it and it seems to work, and it is great that it can be used with third-party software such as BioExplorer and BioEra. However, I find it very uncomfortable. It might be fine for a child but not for someone with a big head like mine!
 |
| MindWave |
There is an earlier version (MindSet), which was the first mass market neuroshaping device
introduced in 2009. It has earphones and looks more comfortable. It uses the same chip set as the MindWave. NeuroSky provides a comparison chart that shows the capabilities of each of their products (see http://support.neurosky.com/kb/technology/what-are-the-differences-between-the-mindset-mindwave-mindwave-mobile-and-mindband).
Another company promises to introduce the Melon, originally called the Axio. It is based on the NeuroSky chip. It is an attractive and comfortable appearing three sensor band, which is adjustable to different head sizes. Again, they exceeded their goal in crowd-
sourcing (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/806146824/melon-a-headband-and-mobile-app-to-measure-your-fo).
 |
| Melon |
 |
| Muse |
The producers of the emotiv EPOC 14 channel device are developing the INSIGHT, which is a five channel device. Again, they exceeded their kickstarter goal of $100,000 by over $1.5 million (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tanttle/emotiv-insight-optimize-your-brain-fitness-and-per).
 |
| INSIGHT |
The INSIGHT was originally promised for the summer of 2014, but the release date is now December 2014.
The ENOBIO from Neuroelectrics (http://www.neuroelectrics.com/enobio) is a very promising, but expensive high end device. It comes in 8 channel, 20 channel and 32 channel configurations. It uses dry electrodes and bluetooth. This one is definitely on my wish list, and it is actually available now.
Please feel free to comment or, if you wish, direct questions and comments to me directly at drampsych at gmail.com.
Monday, 24 March 2014
Brainwaves hit the runway
Another application for wearable brainwave equipment, appropriately named NEUROTiQ, is hitting the fashion runways: http://neurogadget.com/2014/03/18/light-style-fashion-item-displays-brain-states-colors/10053.
It uses the EMOTIV platform. According to the blurb on the neurogadget website:
NEUROTiQ turns brain activity into colorful lights that correspond to specific brain states according to the followings:
The company even has an entrainment meditation application (http://sensoree.com/artifacts/thetavision-instant-meditation/).
It uses the EMOTIV platform. According to the blurb on the neurogadget website:
NEUROTiQ turns brain activity into colorful lights that correspond to specific brain states according to the followings:
- Delta brainwaves (deep sleep) show up in red
- Theta state (meditation) activates orange lights
- Beta (consciousness) turns into yellow-green
- Gamma is a multi sensory brain state, so it turns on blue, purple, and red bulbs as well
The company even has an entrainment meditation application (http://sensoree.com/artifacts/thetavision-instant-meditation/).
Sunday, 23 March 2014
Gamma: Vipassana Goenka style
A study by Cahn et al (2010) looks at EEG during Vipassana meditation in the Goenka style. The lead-up discussion points to other studies of Vipassana that have more in common with the Mahasi style without, in my view, sufficiently highlighting the great difference between these two styles.
The style of meditation studied is described as follows:
"The specific Vipassana meditative technique involves attentional scanning of sensations
throughout the body in an iterative and cyclic fashion, scanning body sensations from the top of the head to the toes and back again repeatedly, with the concomitant adoption of an attitude of detached observation and non-reactivity to any sensations and thoughts that may arise."
16 subjects with an average of 20 years of daily meditation of at least 30 minutes daily were recruited for the study. The authors used a 19-channel electrode cap with the following locations: Fp1, Fp2, F3, F4, F7, F8, Fz, C3, C4, T7, T8, Cz, P3, P4, P7, P8, Pz, O1, and O2. The major bands were demarcated as follows: delta (1–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (8–12 Hz), beta (12–25 Hz), and gamma (35–45 Hz). The contrasting conditions studies were eyes-closed meditation versus ‘‘everyday thinking.’’ However, the authors note that the meditators found it difficult not to slip into meditation when they sat quietly with their eyes closed, a common problem in these types of studies.
The following is a summary of what they found:
"The pattern of meditation-induced increase in parieto-occipital gamma activity, concomitant decrease in frontal delta power, and a shift to a more frontal distribution of theta activity suggests that sensory processing and cognitive processing were altered during meditation relative to the control state."
They entertain alternative hypotheses about what occurred with this increase in gamma activity. It is possible that this is a specific effect of the iterative body scanning technique, or it may reflect the enhanced perceptual clarity often reported in open-monitoring techniques.
This study highlights several problems with studies of meditation. First, there are very real differences between different meditation styles, even when they come with a similar label. One cannot assume that the findings of this study would generalize to Mahasi style Vipassana, for instance. Second, the band widths are not standardized across studies. The gamma band (35-45 Hz.) in this study is not comparable to the gamma band in other studies: 25-42 Hz. in Lutz et al, (2004) and 25-35 Hz. in Berkowitz-Ohana et al (2011). Third, the control conditions of "relaxation" or "everyday thinking" are highly problematic given that most seasoned meditators will meditate as soon as they sit quietly and close their eyes.
Berkovich-Ohana, A., Glicksohn, J., & Goldstein, A. (2012). Mindfulness-induced changes in gamma band activity–implications for the default mode network, self-reference and attention. Clinical Neurophysiology, 123(4), 700-710.
The style of meditation studied is described as follows:
"The specific Vipassana meditative technique involves attentional scanning of sensations
throughout the body in an iterative and cyclic fashion, scanning body sensations from the top of the head to the toes and back again repeatedly, with the concomitant adoption of an attitude of detached observation and non-reactivity to any sensations and thoughts that may arise."
16 subjects with an average of 20 years of daily meditation of at least 30 minutes daily were recruited for the study. The authors used a 19-channel electrode cap with the following locations: Fp1, Fp2, F3, F4, F7, F8, Fz, C3, C4, T7, T8, Cz, P3, P4, P7, P8, Pz, O1, and O2. The major bands were demarcated as follows: delta (1–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (8–12 Hz), beta (12–25 Hz), and gamma (35–45 Hz). The contrasting conditions studies were eyes-closed meditation versus ‘‘everyday thinking.’’ However, the authors note that the meditators found it difficult not to slip into meditation when they sat quietly with their eyes closed, a common problem in these types of studies.
 |
| Band widths |
 |
| Statistical differences |
The following is a summary of what they found:
"The pattern of meditation-induced increase in parieto-occipital gamma activity, concomitant decrease in frontal delta power, and a shift to a more frontal distribution of theta activity suggests that sensory processing and cognitive processing were altered during meditation relative to the control state."
They entertain alternative hypotheses about what occurred with this increase in gamma activity. It is possible that this is a specific effect of the iterative body scanning technique, or it may reflect the enhanced perceptual clarity often reported in open-monitoring techniques.
This study highlights several problems with studies of meditation. First, there are very real differences between different meditation styles, even when they come with a similar label. One cannot assume that the findings of this study would generalize to Mahasi style Vipassana, for instance. Second, the band widths are not standardized across studies. The gamma band (35-45 Hz.) in this study is not comparable to the gamma band in other studies: 25-42 Hz. in Lutz et al, (2004) and 25-35 Hz. in Berkowitz-Ohana et al (2011). Third, the control conditions of "relaxation" or "everyday thinking" are highly problematic given that most seasoned meditators will meditate as soon as they sit quietly and close their eyes.
Berkovich-Ohana, A., Glicksohn, J., & Goldstein, A. (2012). Mindfulness-induced changes in gamma band activity–implications for the default mode network, self-reference and attention. Clinical Neurophysiology, 123(4), 700-710.
Cahn, B. R., Delorme, A., & Polich, J. (2010). Occipital gamma activation during Vipassana meditation. Cognitive Processing, 11(1), 39-56.
Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Rawlings, N. B., Ricard, M., & Davidson, R. J. (2004). Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101(46), 16369-16373.
Yet another EEG wearable
For those into lucid dreaming, there is a new product using EEG that promises to help: https://iwinks.org/about/aurora. It can be used with or without a smartphone.
They did crowsourcing through Kickstarter and surpassed their goal of $90,000 by 266%. It is promised for June, 2014.
Friday, 21 March 2014
Beware of dependence on electronic technology
Here is a scary story that should remind us all of the risks of being dependent on electronic technology:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/fierce-solar-magnetic-storm-barely-missed-earth-in-2012?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1d35246d83-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6de721fb33-1d35246d83-282126465
http://www.kurzweilai.net/fierce-solar-magnetic-storm-barely-missed-earth-in-2012?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1d35246d83-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6de721fb33-1d35246d83-282126465
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