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Subjective Aspects of Alpha Enhancement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

T. A. Travis ,
C. Y. Kondo  and
J. R. Knott
T. A. Travis
Affiliation:
Dept. of Psychiatry, Southern Illinois University School of Mediane, Box 3926, Springfield, Illinois 62708
C. Y. Kondo
Affiliation:
Dept. of Psychiatry and EEG and Neurophysiology, College of Mediane, University of Iowa, 500 Newton Road, Iowa City, Iowa 52240
J. R. Knott
Affiliation:
Dept. of Psychiatry and EEG and Neurophysiology, College of Mediane, University of Iowa, 500 Newton Road, Iowa City, Iowa 52240
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Summary

Early reports on enhancing occipital alpha through feedback noted that subjects reported the experience as being pleasant and relaxing. This paper reports the subjective experiences of 140 subjects who participated in four studies which examined the alpha enhancement phenomenon. Under both eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions, approximately 50 per cent of the subjects reported that alpha enhancement was ‘pleasant’ and 50 per cent ‘unpleasant/neutral’. With eyes-open training conditions, about half the subjects stated that the experience was ‘relaxing’ and the other half ‘not relaxing’. During eyes-closed training, 63 per cent of the subjects noted that enhancing alpha was ‘relaxing’, while 37 per cent reported that the experience was ‘not relaxing’. However, in the last case the circular relationship between increased alpha and deep relaxation may obtain.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 127 , Issue 2 , August 1975 , pp. 122 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1975 

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