Binaural Beat Article

The History of Binaural Beat

A great deal of research has been undertaken in regard to the binaural beat concept. This research actually has a great deal of potential although most people really are not all that familiar with binaural beat.

Binaural beat or binaural beats can be defined as auditory processing artifacts, or apparent sounds which are percieved by the brain independently of physical stimuli.

What this actually means is that the brain will react to certain perceived tones as if they actually represent one tone or sound that actually occurred naturally or physically.

Despite the fact that research into the binaural beat concept has accelerated in recent years, it actually is a scientific concept that has been around for a long time. The concept of binaural beat actually was discovered in 1839 by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove. While some research into binaural beat actually occurred in the aftermath of Dove’s initial discovery, it generally was nothing more than a scientific curiosity for an extended period of time. Indeed, it was not until the modern time -- not for a whopping 135 years -- that serious attention began to be paid to binaural beat.

Attention really turned to binaural beat in 1973 when an article about the binaural beat was published in Scientific American. The article was entitled “Auditory Beats in the Brain” and was written by Gerald Oster. This paper was considered a landmark in regard to binaural beat research. It was considered a seminal document, based on significant research, because of the way it tied together relevant data that had been done in regard to binaural beat since the time of Dove.

Oster, through his efforts, determined that binaural beat might be a powerful and important tool in regard to cognitive and neurological research. Specifically, Oster described what has become known as the “cocktail party effect.” He described the “cocktail party effect” as the remarkable ability of animals (including humans) to be able to pick out and focus upon specific sounds in a proverbial sea of noise. For example, the binaural beat relates to the ability of a person in a loud and lively cocktail party to pick out the voice of a significant other from the sea of other voices.

The most important result of Oster’s efforts likely is the conclusion that the binaural beat may be a helpful diagnostic tool when dealing with certain medical conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. Through the efforts of Oster in the 1970s, binaural beat has gone from being a curiosity to being a a concept that is receiving front burner consideration from researchers and scientists around the world. In addition, the applications for the binaural beat concept are expanding all of the time.