IMotions Unpack Human Behavior
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| 3 Alpha band (8 - 12 Hz) First discovered by Hans Berger in 1929, alpha is defined as rhythmic oscillatory activity within the frequency range of 8 – 12 Hz (Niedermeyer & da Silva, 2012). Alpha waves have several functional correlates reflecting sensory, motor and memory functions. You can see increased levels of alpha band power during mental and physical relaxation with eyes closed. By contrast, alpha power is reduced, or suppressed, during mental or bodily activity with eyes open. Alpha suppression constitutes a valid signature of states of mental activity and engagement, for example during focused attention towards any type of stimulus (Pfurtscheller & Aranibar, 1977). You could also say that alpha suppression indicates that your brain is gearing up to pick up information from various senses, coordinating attentional resources and focusing on what really matters in that particular moment. Typical studies on alpha waves: >> Meditation As alpha typically reflects relaxation and sensory inhibition, meditation studies compare alpha levels of experienced and novice meditators (for more details, see Klimecki and colleagues, 2012). >> Biofeedback training Here, alpha band power is monitored to track the relaxation level of a respondent. Increased levels of alpha power are interpreted as deeper relaxation. This is particularly useful in rehabilitation scenarios or for clinical populations. >> Attention Spatial, semantic and social attention are closely related to alpha power. Often, researchers present objects, words or more complex social stimuli on screen and monitor alpha power during the encoding phase. Poor performers and distracted respondents generally show higher amounts of alpha power (for more details, see Rana & Vaina, 2014). 21 Confidential © 2019 Redistribution is not permitted without written permission from iMotions Download 5.03 Mb. Share with your friends:
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