[Evelyn]

I've been reading so much stuff about brainwaves and specifically about Transparent Corp products that the info is starting to blur on me. Can anyone give me the cliffnotes version of what SMR is and what function it has in the human brain?

[admin]

Sure I'd be happy to. Stop me if I get too technical (as is my habit)

SMR stands for Sensori Motor Rythm. It is classified as a sub-cateogry of Beta, though when someone says SMR they are referring to a specific band of brainwaves that is emitted from an area of the brain called the Sensori-Motor Strip which the frontmost section of the parietal lobe.

The sensorimotor strip represents a map of the body, in a way. For instance, if you keep a subject awake during brain surgery and poke various areas of the sensori-motor strip the patient will feel sensations in certain parts of the body.

SMR has to do with body movement, ability to relax and focus (motion inhibits SMR) and SMR tends to be very low in individuals with insomnia, ADHD, depression, anxiety and much more. SMR stimulation is an incredibly effective treatment for a huge variety of disorders, though sometimes for different reasons. Insomniacs, in particular, need SMR because SMR is essential to relaxation (it also involves the brain's ability to inhibit the body's movement during dreams). Similarly, SMR is also very important for concentration and focus. People with ADHD have very low SMR (along with an overabundance of low brainwaves such as low alpha/theta). Increasing SMR for an ADHD patient has 2 benefits.. 1) by increasing one brainwave band the other bands tend to decrease, so 2) this naturally decreases theta waves while increasing SMR, helping the patient to concentrate and focus. Similar still, people with Anxiety have trouble relaxing and also tend to have an overabundance of higher beta waves which will be decreased by increasing low-beta (or SMR).

SMR provides a stable, organized mind. People who are very physically active tend to have high SMR (such as dancers, swimmers, etc).

Generally, SMR is a great thing to increase and nearly everyone needs more of it. But, of course, don't think any brainwave band is a "cure all".. people made that mistake with Alpha in the 70's. Most people also need more levels of mid beta and high alpha as well. And then other people need more high theta. It all depends on your goals. And the treatment of specific disorders is actually quite specific.. that's why we've had to separate the Neuro-Programmer sessions out into different goals

Well that's about as cliff notes as I can do.

Thanks,
Adam

[Evelyn]

Yep - I thought I remembered it being something I needed to reinforce. I find it curious though that very active people have high SMR - yet body motion inhibits it.

Thanks!

Ev