Do High Frequency Brainwaves from the Forehead Region Correlate with Higher Consciousness?

In ancient India, the higher chakras were represented by lotus flowers with greater numbers of petals than the lower ones. Do the larger number of flower petals symbolize higher frequencies that may be associated with higher states of consciousness? Previous studies show that high frequency brainwaves (40 Hz; gamma band) from the forehead (prefrontal cortex of the brain) correlated with enhanced states of oneness and compassion in advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditators. Recent research has shown that the brain emits higher frequencies than were ever considered before. Are these related to higher consciousness?

In our study, we compared advanced meditators practicing transcendental meditation with non-meditating controls using neurofeedback with the Peak Achievement Trainer (PAT). PAT is a novel type of neurofeedback that can assess and train various dimensions of mental processing, including a clarified 40-Hz brainwave, in which signal artifact from muscle tension or movement is filtered out.

Real-time auditory and/or visual neurofeedback of this clarified 40-Hz brainwave was given to subjects in a controlled laboratory setting. Subjects were asked to do the following tasks: (1) to explore the 40-Hz experience and to subsequently describe it in their own words; (2) to engage in several different moods as described to them by a sequence of words, and to decide, using neurofeedback, whether these moods correlated with the 40-Hz experience; (3) to engage in a neutral state to measure baseline values of 40 Hz; and (4) to produce maximum values of 40 Hz using neuro-feedback. The results showrf important similarities and differences between meditators and controls and will be presented and discussed. The 40-Hz emission from the forehead region appears to involve highly positive emotional states with reduced stress. Transcendental meditators proved to have much greater facility in achieving 40 Hz in a single neurofeedback session than controls. 

Beverly Rubik, PhD, as given to the Foundation for Mind Being Research (FMBR), Los Altos, CA