Publication details
The Effect of Binaural Beats on Working Memory Capacity
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Studia psychologica : an international journal of research and theory in psychological sciences |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Psychology |
| Keywords | binaural beats; working memory capacity; Operation Span Task; alpha frequency; brainwave |
| Description | The research explored the effect of binaural beats on working memory capacity (WMC). When the binaural beat beats with the frequency that corresponds to the state of alpha wave range, then it is believed that the overall brain activity changes accordingly. Brainwave activity within the alpha range has been generally correlated with many cognitive functions along with working memory improvement. Therefore, in this study it is assumed that binaural beat corresponding to alpha wave range will enhance subsequently WMC. In the following study, participants were divided into two groups. One group underwent a binaural beat stimulation while listening to the sound of the sea. The other group was listening solely to the sound of the sea without binaural beat stimulation. We measured baseline and post-stimulation working memory capacity using the OSPAN method. As expected, only participants from the binaural beat group showed an improvement in WMC. |