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A neuroscientist claims he can unleash creativity by boosting
low-frequency brainwaves - and he's tested the theory on 100
students at the Royal College of Music. Genevieve Roberts reports
How can musicians improve their
performance skills without even picking up their instruments? It's
not a trick question; in fact, neuroscience may have hit upon the
answer. According to an exhibition at the Science Museum in London,
the brain can be trained to slow itself down and, by doing so, lift
musicians' performances by at least one grade.
And it's not just scientists who are
convinced of this. The award-winning pianist Cassie Yukawa, 25, was
introduced to the technique - known as neurofeedback treatment - at
the Royal College of Music. "I was introduced to Professor John
Gruzelier [a psychologist then at Imperial College], and he said he
was going to change my brain, which sounded very exciting - like
The Matrix," she says.
Seven years on, she is in no doubt that
the theory works. "It has had a wonderful impact on my life,
enhancing my general feeling of wellbeing," she says. "And I have
no doubt that it has had a positive effect on my performances. It
is about a state of mind; I am now far more willing to be flexible
in my playing. It enabled me to think about and explore
performance."
During treatment, sensors are placed on
the scalp and ears to monitor the electrical activity in the brain
- or brainwaves. High-frequency brainwaves occur when you are very
alert and agitated, whereas lower- frequency brainwaves dominate
during relaxation or sleep. The sensors are hooked up to a
computer, producing a graph that looks not unlike a heartbeat
pattern.
The aim is to push the brain into a state
of near-sleep to produce the slow rhythms, known as theta waves,
associated with this state. It's the kind of relaxed state in
which ideas often come to you. It occurs naturally if, say, you are
driving on a motorway and realise that you don't remember the
previous few minutes.
"Lying down with my eyes closed, I was
trying to reach a state almost like sleep," Yukawa says. "I was
deeply relaxed, almost at the doorway to dreamworld, aware only of
sounds that I could hear on headphones."
The sound of a babbling brook was played
constantly during the training, and whenever she began to produce
theta waves in the parietal lobe at the back of the brain, she
would be "rewarded" with the sound of a musical gong. After several
sessions, her theta waves were elevated through this almost
unconscious controlling of brain activity. And (although
longer-term studies are needed) it seems this increase in
production of theta waves never reverses.
Interest in similar creative states is not
new. Thomas Edison would solve problems by falling asleep with ball
bearings clutched in his hands and metal plates positioned below.
As his hands relaxed, he would be awakened by the clatter and would
jot down the ideas that came to him in his drowsiness.
Yukawa now plays in a duo with Rosey Chan.
The pair practise pieces of music at different tempos, but they
never decide how they will play the piece until the night. "We take
a lot of risks in our performance," Yukawa says. "Things can go
wrong, which can be distressing. But now I am more able to let go
and respond, so I don't spend time just trying to get through to
the end of the piece, but can transform those blips into something
positive."
John Gruzelier, an expert in the field of
EEG (electroencephalogram, or the measurement of electrical
activity in the brain) neurofeedback treatment and a psychology
fellow at Goldsmiths University, has tested the treatment on more
than 100 Royal College of Music students. Before and after the
10-session training programme, students gave a musical performance
in front of a video camera. These were sent to expert musicians who
rated the performances, unaware of whether each clip was filmed
before or after the treatment. They also did not know which were
"control" students who'd received no treatment.
The results were consistent: students who
had learnt to increase their theta brainwaves improved at least the
equivalent of one musical grade, while there was no significant
improvement in the control students.
And Gruzelier has found that it's not
just musicians who benefit from the treatment. It had such a
positive effect on dancers that first-year students at Laban
Contemporary Dance in Deptford, south-east London, now have theta
training in their courses. And it was found to improve ability and
confidence in eye surgeons.
"Professionally, improvements in dance are
seen within five weeks," Gruzelier says. "It is similar to a fast
track to meditation, but more directed. Socially anxious students
become more confident and outgoing."
Joseph Leach, a researcher in EEG
neurofeedback treatment, says it is a similar state to meditation,
and this encourages creativity. "We try to bring about the early
stages of sleep without losing consciousness," he says. "This state
makes it easier for people to remember things that happened a long
time ago, and musicians use memory to trigger emotions when
composing and performing."
The treatment, which boosts feelings of
wellbeing, has been used in the United States to treat alcoholism.
Studies have run in the UK to test the effects on crack-cocaine
users.
The best-known application of
neurofeedback treatment is for people with attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorder. But ADHD sufferers have an excess of
low-frequency theta waves in the front of the brain, which shows up
in a difficulty to concentrate and a propensity to daydream. So the
treatment for them is the reverse, with patients trained to inhibit
these waves.
Now Gruzelier, who has set up a society to
stimulate research on neurofeedback treatment, is about to start
work with computer programmers to find out if the training can make
them more creative in finding solutions.
But should people fear this
self-manipulation of the brain? No, says Gruzelier: "It's not an
invasive treatment, just readjusting what is already in the head.
Of course, I have had it done to myself before letting it loose on
participants. I was in New Orleans, and had flown from the West
Coast to the East Coast to hold a seminar. I was in a
sleep-deprived state, and it was a very powerful experience. People
saw the difference; I suddenly appeared totally refreshed."
So, in future, will we all be able to
unleash the full creative powers of our brains? "I cannot see what
could possibly go against this becoming accessible to everyone," he
says.
Joseph Leach, who likens neurofeedback for
the mind to physiotherapy for the body, agrees. "It is a
self-driven process, rather than artificial intervention. At the
moment, the treatment is given in clinics and laboratories, with an
operator controlling the 'rewards' to the brain," he says. "But
the technology exists to use this equipment anywhere. I hope there
will come a time when everybody benefits from this."
NEURObotics: the future of thinking?, at
the Science Museum, London W7, to 10 April 2007 (08708 704 868; www.sciencemuseum.org.uk). Cassie Yukawa and
Rosey Chan play at the Wigmore Hall, London W1 on 20 October
(020-7258 8200; www.wigmore-hall.org.uk), where they will
premiere a piece composed for them by Michael Nyman
The different types of brainwaves:
* Delta (0.5-4Hz)
The lowest-frequency brainwaves, signifying a dreamless sleep,
unconsciousness or a trance. Deep relaxation occurs with delta
brainwaves.
* Theta (4-8Hz)
These are low-frequency brainwaves, associated with creativity,
internal thoughts and memory consolidation. Dreamlike precursor and
sequel to sleep.
* Alpha (8-12Hz)
Medium level brainwaves, characterising a relaxed, waking state
with no drowsiness. Alpha brainwaves in the right-hand side of the
brain should occur 10 to 15 per cent more than in the left-hand
side in order to ensure a sense of wellbeing. Training left alpha
levels down can be a way to treat depression.
* Low beta/sensorimotor rhythm (12-14Hz)
These brainwaves are characterised by a state of being relaxed
but alert, focused and attentive. They occur most often when the
body is inactive, and they reduce the urge to move. It is believed
that sufferers of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) and epilepsy can be helped by increasing these
brainwaves.
* Beta (16-30Hz)
These high-level brainwaves are suggestive of alertness or
agitation. A person is aware of self and surroundings, alert and
active, with increased mental ability and focus.
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Neurotechnology 
