Binaural beats are an auditory illusion that is produced in the brain when two or more tones of similar frequencies are delivered dichotically through stereo headphones, causing the perception of a third wave. These beats are an emerging alternative form of therapy that has primarily been shown to improve psychological aspects of the mind, such as creativity and mood. However, more recent research has indicated that these binaural beats may also improve memory at 40 Hz and alleviate chronic pain at 4 Hz, suggesting that the effects of binaural beats may extend beyond the psychological. In order to investigate whether or not binaural beats truly affect brain and somatic function, we will study a cognitive function related to memory, and body
One of the most common American proverbs is the expression to “never judge a book by its cover”. This saying, used for more than just books, is commonly used to express that what is on the appearance of something might not always show that things true nature or content. Even so people will often forget this fact and rely on their own perception. So what does this say about perception? To Victor Hugo author of the novel Les Misérables this would probable show that human perception is flawed and that people trust it more than they should. In Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables he suggests that by following only our perception will not always lead to the truth, with the characters of Thénardier, Jean Valjean, and Inspecter Javert.
Lu, Z.-L., Williamson, S.J., & Kaufman L. (1992, Dec 4). Behavioral lifetime of human auditory
For any individual who either avidly listens to or performs music, it is understood that many melodies have amazing effects on both our emotions and our perception. To address the effects of music on the brain, it seems most logical to initially map the auditory and neural pathways of sound. In the case of humans, the mechanism responsible for receiving and transmitting sound to the brain are the ears. Briefly stated, the outer ear (or pinna) 'catches' and amplifies sound by funneling it into the ear canal. Interestingly, the outer ear serves only to boost high frequency sound components (1). The resonance provided by the outer ear also serves in amplifying a higher range of frequencies corresponding to the top octave of the piano key board. The air pressure wave travels through the ear canal to ultimately reach and vibrate the timpanic membrane (i.e.-- the eardrum). At this particular juncture, the pressure wave energy of sound is translated into mechanical energy via the middle ear. Here, three small bones, the ossicles, vibrate in succession to produce a unique pattern of movements that embodies the frequencies contained in every sound we are capable of hearing. The middle ear is also an important component in what music we actually keep out of our 'head'. The muscles grasping the ossicles can contract to prevent as much as two thirds of the sound from entering the inner ear. (1, 2)
McLachlan, N. M., Phillips, D. S., Rossell, S. L., & Wilson, S. J. (2013). Auditory processing
The theory our learning team is studying is the psychodynamic approach or what is sometimes called psychoanalytic approach. The main contributors to Psychodynamic approaches was the founder Sigmund Freud (1859-1939), Anna Freud (1895-1982) gave significant contribution to the psychodynamics of adolescence and Erik Erickson (1902-1994) called the “new” Freud but with an emphasis on ego (conscious) forces, termed as psychosocial theory (Craig & Dunn, p 11-13). Psychodynamics is the explanation or interpretation (as of behavior or mental states) in terms of mental or emotional forces or processes (www.merriam-webster.com)
Brain Stem Reflexes refer to a process where an emotion is induced by sound or music because the fundamental acoustical characteristics of the sound or music are received by the brain stem which signals a potentially urgent and important event. Sounds that are sudden, dissonant, loud, or have fast temporal patterns induce arousal or feelings of unpleasantness in the listener (Berlyne 1971; Burt et al. 1995; Foss et al. 1989; Halpern et al. 1986). These responses show the impact of auditory sensations (music as sound in the most basic sense). Our perceptual system is continually scanning the immediate surro...
Gestalt psychology was founded by German thinkers Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka. They mainly focused on how people interpret the world around them. The Gestalt perspective formed partially as a response to the structuralism of Wilhelm Wundt, who focused on breaking down mental events and experiences to the smallest elements. Structuralists had failed in explaining the concept of ‘apparent motion’ and ‘illusory contours’.
McDonald, J., Teder-Salejarvi, W, & Hillyard, S. (2000). Involuntary orienting to sound improves visual perception. Nature, 407, 906-907.
My paper is based on an article from the text’s web site (chapter 9) entitled “Lack of sleep ages body’s systems.” The basic claim of the article is that sleep deprivation has various harmful effects on the body. The reported effects include decreased ability to metabolize glucose (similar to what occurs in diabetes) and increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone involved in memory and regulation of blood sugar levels). The article also briefly alludes (in the quote at the bottom of page 1) to unspecified changes in brain and immune functioning with sleep deprivation.
Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N (1993). Music and spatial task performance. Nature, 365(6447), 611. doi:10.1038/365611a0
Bio-Psychologists study the principles of biology as it relates to the comprehension of psychology in the field neuroscience that underlies ones emotions, ideology, and actions (Brittanica). Based upon the conduction of research, the relationship between the brain and ones behavior extends to the physiological process in one’s intellect. Scientists are cognizant that neurotransmitters function as a significant role in mood regulation and other aspects of psychological problems including depression and anxiety. A biological perspective are relevant to psychology in three techniques including: the comparative method, physiology, and the investigation of inheritance (Saul Mc. Leod).
Auditory processing is the process of taking in sound through the ear and having it travel to the language portion of the brain to be interpreted. In simpler terms, “What the brain does with what the ear hears”(Katz and Wilde, 1994). Problems with auditory processing can affect a student’s ability to develop language skills and communicate effectively. “If the sounds of speech are not delivered to the language system accurately and quickly, then surely the language ability would be compromised” (Miller, 2011). There are many skills involved in auditory processing which are required for basic listening and communication processes. These include, sensation, discrimination, localization, auditory attention, auditory figure-ground, auditory discrimination, auditory closure, auditory synthesis, auditory analysis, auditory association, and auditory memory. (Florida Department of Education, 2001) A person can undergo a variety of problems if there is damage in auditory processing . An auditory decoding deficit is when the language dominant hemisphere does not function properly, which affects speech sound encoding. (ACENTA,2003) Some indicators of a person struggling with an auditory decoding deficit would be weakness in semantics, difficulty with reading and spelling, and frequently mishearing information. Another problem associated with auditory processing is binaural integration/separation deficit. This occurs in the corpus callosum and is a result of poor communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. (ACENTA,2003) A person with this will have difficulty performing tasks that require intersensory and/or multi-sensory communication. They may have trouble with reading, spelling, writi...
Often within classroom environments, as well as at home, children learn through visual and auditory perception. Visual and auditory processing are key ways to learn; they are used for recognizing and interpreting information taken from the two senses of sound as well as sight. So clearly it is understood that having this disorder can make it a bit more difficult and troublesome to learn through vision and hearing, but definitely not impossible.
Psychology is the investigation of the mind and how it processes and directs our thoughts, actions and conceptions. However, in 1879 Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany. Nevertheless, the origins of psychology go all the way back thousands of years starting with the early Greeks. This foundation is closely connected to biology and philosophy; and especially the subfields of physiology which is the study of the roles of living things and epistemology, which is the study of comprehension and how we understand what we have learned. The connection to physiology and epistemology is often viewed as psychology, which is the hybrid offspring of those two fields of investigation.
Cooper, Belle. " How Music Affects and Benefits Your Brain."lifehacker.come. N.p., 11 22 2013. Web. 3