Alpha frequencies and hallucinations

Mind Hacks has a great write-up about the Dream Machine, one of the original mind machines, and its use for inducing visual hallucinations:

http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2009/09/from_stroboscope_to_.html

40 Hz and Consciousness

A new study looks at the significance of gamma waves in consciousness. Gamma has for some time been suspected as being an important band for self-awareness and other aspects of consciousness – 40 hz in particular. This study refines that thought.

Here’s the abstract: http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/19/8/1896

What makes us become aware? A popular hypothesis is that if cortical neurons fire in synchrony at a certain frequency band (gamma), we become aware of what they are representing.

…we also observed increases in gamma band ERS within the amygdala, visual, prefrontal, parietal, and posterior cingulate cortices to emotional relative to neutral stimuli, irrespective of their availability to conscious access. This suggests that increased gamma band ERS is related to, but not sufficient for, consciousness.