On the Mechanisms of the Feedback Control of Human Brain-Wave Activity

• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4613-2898-8_28
• Publication Date: 2011-12-13T16:07:19Z
• Authors: James J. Lynch; David A. Paskewitz
• Keywords: Alpha wave; Phenomenon; Brain waves; Alpha (finance); Heart Rhythm

The recent attention given to the feedback control of human brain-wave activity and the implications of such control prompts a careful analysis of this phenomenon. Particular emphasis is placed on the learned control of the alpha rhythm. A review of possible factors that might influence the density of alpha rhythms led to the differentiation of three general sources of influence: constitutional, physiological, and cognitive-attentional factors. Each of these factors is discussed as a possible mediator of the learned control of the alpha rhythm. The view is advanced that increases in alpha density during feedback training arise from a diminution of those factors that block this rhythm, and some implications of such a view arc discussed. Several of the issues raised appear generalizable to the whole question of the operant control of autonomic activity.