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OCR for page 102
6
Altering Mental States
The relation between mental states and performance has received
considerable attention in scientific and popular writings and therefore
came under the committee's scrutiny. There is little doubt that our internal
states fluctuate during the course of a day and with different activities.
Just how these changes influence performance is less clear. This chapter
reveals some shortcomings in the idea of an optimal state for all
performances: recent work suggests the existence of more complex
~ _, , it, . ., _, . , __
processes involving cortical system computations. Further understanding
of these processes should have implications for the way in which various
techniques for altering states may affect performance.
The idea of brain asymmetry and hemispheric specialization has
received considerable attention in recent years by both researchers and
practitioners. Despite a history of claims to the contrary, the committee
found no evidence that links performance or learning to differences in
function between the brain hemispheres. This conclusion is based on the
subcommittee's review of literature, which was aided considerably by
the availability of an earlier review undertaken by Davidoff and his
collaborators (1985~. Practical applications have been derived from the
assumption of a relation between specialized functions and performance.
This assumption is the basis for techniques that claim to enhance different
kinds of performances by increasing information-processing functions.
The committee evaluates a technique that presents material to the two
hemispheres in order to integrate hemispheric activity.
102
OCR for page 103
ALTERING MENTAL STATES
103
ALTERING MENTAL STATES FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE
There seems to be little doubt that mental state can greatly influence
one's ability to perform both physical and mental tasks. The idea that
people can achieve an internal state that will be optimal for a broad range
of performance has been an appealing one. Typically it has been assumed
that there is an optimal level of arousal for performance of a given
complexity (Duffy, 1962; Yerkes and Dodson, 19081. Usually the concept
of arousal is thought of as an element of stress; there is associated with
any level of stress some particular arousal level. According to this view,
simple tasks require a high state of arousal in order to maintain alertness;
complex tasks require a lower state of arousal in order to reduce reliance
on stereotyped or overlearned responses, which tend to dominate when
arousal is high (Easterbrook, 19591. This argument has been used to
support the idea of an optimal level of arousal that is reduced as task
complexity increases.
The optimal arousal concept fits with behavior theories that were
popular in the 1950s. These theories required a source of energy or drive
to keep the organism active. The discovery of the ascending reticular
activating system in the brain (Moruzzi and Magoun, 1949) as a diffuse
physiological basis for activating the cortex fostered this conception. As
our knowledge of the variety and specificity of neurotransmitter systems
has increased (Robbing and Everitt, 1982) and as psychological theories
have moved from gross behavior to the study of cognition (Kahneman,
1973), a more complex view of internal states has emerged. We have
begun to think of cognition as involving a large number of cortical
computations in highly distributed neural systems (Rumelhart and
McClelland, 19861. Different transmitter systems serve to modulate these
cortical computations in varying ways (Robbing and Everitt, 19821. This
underlying complexity makes it much harder to suppose that any training
technique will provide optimal conditions for all forms of physical and
mental activity. Consider, as an example, the clear changes that seem to
take place in one's level of alertness during the course of the day. We
often feel at a low level of alertness early in the morning and at a much
higher level as the day wears on. Body temperature increases over the
course of the day. When alertness is high later in the day, one's speed
of responding and sensory thresholds are also improved, but the number
of items that can be reported back from memory after a single presentation
is reduced (see Posner, 1975, for a review).
Several methods have been designed to alter a person's internal state,
either through learned forms of self-control or through the control of
others. Collectively these methods are said to produce altered states of
OCR for page 104
104
ENHANCING HUMAN PERf ORMANCE
consciousness; they include meditation' hypnosis, relaxation, and bio-
feedback. At one level these effects should not be surprising. The internal
state of the organism is constantly in flux. It changes with time of day,
health, interest level, mental activity, and alertness. Since many of these
factors are under voluntary control, it is a relatively easy matter to train
people to produce different internal states. These altered internal states
do affect physiological processes, including the electrical activity recorded
from the scalp and autonomic systems (Tart, 19691. Changes in internal
state are also frequently accompanied by subjective reports of feelings
of well-being, relaxation, increased concentration, and so on (Tart, 19691.
There is also some evidence that differences in internal state may lead
to changes in performance. This is particularly true of physical activity.
For example, if a person is warned about the occurrence of a signal for
which a response is needed, there is a marked change in internal state
during the time between the warning and the signal to perform. This
change in alertness will lead to more efficient processing than if the
person had not been prepared for the signal (Kahneman, 19731. It is also
widely believed that the focus of attention during skilled performance is
important. During the early phases of skill training, it is useful to
concentrate on the skill to be learned, particularly on elements to be
imported from already-learned skills (Fists and Posner, 1967~. It is thought
that attention serves to aid the transfer of concepts from related skills to
the new one. Studies of mental practice confirm the utility of attention
to the phases of a skill during learning (see, for example, guided imagery
in Chapter 51. There is also evidence that training people to adopt a
particular mental state can sometimes produce changes in internal state
that, for example, can be measured by EEG and that serve to reduce the
usual strong tendency for performance to decline with periods of sustained
concentration (Beatty et al., 1974~.
These established findings provide little support for the existence of a
general state of consciousness that will improve performance over a wide
range of skills such as those found in battlefield conditions. Unfortunately,
time did not allow the committee to explore the evidence for the wide
variety of specific training or induction methods that might provide a
basis for technologies for manipulating internal state. The evidence that
optimal conditions for rapid responding are different from optimal con-
ditions for the best memory performance raises doubts that there is any
generally optimal state. The acts involved in thinking about or attending
to information themselves seem to change internal state by producing
alterations in blood flow, metabolism, and electrical activity (Hillyard
and Kutas, 1983; Roland, 1985) within the neural systems most closely
related to the focus of thought. These very specific changes during focal
mental activity may serve to counteract any general state induced by
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ALTERING MENTAL STATES
105
training. Nonetheless, it appears to the committee that the Army might
undertake careful literature reviews of links between several technologies
for altering internal state (e.g., hypnotism, meditation) and change in
performance.
There are no theories to date of how modulation of cortical areas by
the state of the organism affects the computations performed by these
same cortical systems. In the absence of theories that relate computation
to state, it is difficult to evaluate claims about how a specific alteration
in state will affect performance. The development of knowledge about
the relation of changes in state to computation may be the best way to
proceed in evaluating claims in this area as well as in fostering future
developments in the field. Accordingly, we recommend research support
of areas relating changes in state to computation.
One area in which computation studies have been undertaken in relation
to neural systems is brain asymmetry and hemispheric specialization.
The committee devoted considerable time to a consideration of these
findings, which are discussed in the next section.
BRAIN ASYMMETRY
In the last 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in research
dealing with the differences in function between the hemispheres of the
brain. A substantial body of literature now points to differences in the
way the two hemispheres process information, as well as to anatomical,
electrophysiological, and metabolic correlates of these functional asym-
metries (for reviews, see Bradshaw and Nettleton, 1983; Springer and
Deutsch, 1985~. Accompanying this research has been much speculation
regarding its implications for enhancing human performance. Among the
ideas that have been considered as possible ways to enhance performance
are (1) increasing the channel capacity of the brain by presenting stimuli
to each hemisphere separately, (2) training individuals to utilize hemi-
spheres differentially, (3) selecting individuals for tasks depending on
their pattern of hemispheric utilization, and (4) synchronizing the activity
of the hemispheres to enable them to work more effectively in concert.
In this section we present briefly what is currently known about
hemispheric asymmetry of function and consider each of the strategies
for application listed above. In each case we evaluate the link between
the state of knowledge in the field of hemispheric asymmetry of function
and the rationale for the particular approach, as well as the evidence
supporting the value of the technique, that is, the empirical evidence for
its usefulness. Both approaches are important in assessing the value of
a technique. While a technique may prove to be useful in various
applications, it may be only weakly tied to a purported underlying
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106
ENHANClNC HUMAN PERFORMANCE
neurological mechanism. Conversely, a technique may follow directly
from research findings and be well-founded in theory, yet it may fail for
various reasons to be useful in practice.
THE NATURE OF HEMISPHERIC DIFFERENCES
Substantial bodies of research with three types of subjects unilaterally
brain-injured, commissurotomized, and neurologically normal have con-
verged unequivocally on the basic finding that the hemispheres of the
brain are functionally asymmetric. Investigators working with unilaterally
brain-injured subjects focus on the defects that follow from damage to
one hemisphere. Those working with commissurotomized subjects split-
brain patients who have had fibers connecting the hemispheres cut for
medical reasons compare performance of the two hemispheres by
presenting material separately to each one. Testing situations designed
to deliver visual, auditory, or tactile material are used for this purpose.
Work with neurologically normal subjects uses many of the same
approaches as the work with split-brain subjects, although the presence
of fibers connecting the hemispheres leads to the prediction that the
differences observed will be considerably smaller in magnitude than those
found in commissurotomized patients. In addition, several techniques
designed to measure ongoing brain activity have been employed by
investigators looking for evidence of asymmetries: electrophysiological
recordings, regional cerebral blood flow measurements, and positron
emission tomography.
The most robust differences that have been demonstrated between the
hemispheres involve the production and perception of speech and language
and visual-spatial processing. which are specializations of the left and
right hemispheres, respectively. The left hemisphere, In almost all r~gnt-
handed persons and a majority of left-handed persons, has almost
exclusive control over expressive language (i.e., speaking and writing)
and appears to be superior to the right hemisphere in most aspects of
. . A. . .-. . . . _ _ ~_ 1 1 -_ _1~ ~
-
speech and language perception as well (Rasmussen and Milner, 1975;
Zaidel, 19781. The right hemisphere, in contrast, is superior to the left in
tasks with a visual-spatial component (DeRenzi, Faglioni, and Scotti,
1971; Warrington and Rabin, 1970~.
Considerable effort has been expended to extend these findings and
develop a catalog of other hemispheric differences and to determine what
underlying principles may characterize them. The result has been a shift
away from an emphasis on the nature of the stimulus as critical in
determining differential hemispheric involvement, to an emphasis on the
kind of task a subject must perform with a given stimulus. One widely
cited but controversial generalization that accounts for a fair number of
OCR for page 107
ALTERING MENTAL STATES
107
findings is the claim that the left hemisphere is specialized for analytic
processing, while the right hemisphere is specialized for holistic processing
(Bever' 19751.
Following quickly in the wake of research on the nature of hemispheric
asymmetry of function has been work dealing with individual differences
in the distribution of function between the hemispheres. Handedness and
gender, the two variables studied first and most extensively, have both
been shown to be related in complex ways to patterns of hemispheric
differences (Hardyck and Petrinovich, 1977; McGlone, 19801.
Although few persons would dispute the existence of hemispheric
differences, it is important to note that there is considerable controversy
in the research on brain asymmetry. A frequently occurring problem is
failure to replicate findings. Many factors appear to affect the outcome
of studies on brain asymmetry, and until we have a good understanding
of their effects, replication of experiments can be problematic. Another
concern is the looseness in the basic terminology. Hemispheric special-
ization is sometimes used to refer to an all-or-none difference between
the hemispheres, while in other cases it is assumed that both hemispheres
possess the ability to perform a given task but do so in ways that differ
qualitatively or quantitatively. The extent to which each hemisphere
becomes involved in a given task and in what way are questions asked
only infrequently. Most investigators are well aware of these difficulties
and the limitations they place on interpretation of research findings. The
problems tend to be overlooked, however, by more popular extensions
of brain asymmetry findings, and the distinction between what can
reasonably be taken as fact and what is speculation is too often blurred.
In the sections that follow, this distinction is emphasized.
IN FORMATION -PROC ESSING CAPACITY
Early work with split-brain patients suggested that each hemisphere
could function relatively independently. A task such as a simple visual
discrimination could be performed by either hemisphere, as long as an
opportunity was provided for the right hemisphere to respond nonverbally
by pointing. A hypothesis developing from this finding was that the total
processing capacity of the brain might be increased by distributing
information between the hemispheres so that each side could operate
independently; that is, presenting each hemisphere with a different task
might double the brain's capacity to deal with information. The greatest
support for this hypothesis was predicted to come from patients with
surgically separated hemispheres; less dramatic effects were also predicted
for neurologically intact subjects.
One experiment required split-brain subjects to pick out target letters
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108
ENHANClNC HUMAN PERFORMANCE
from an array of alternatives. In one condition, two letters or digits were
flashed in one visual field, hence restricting the input to one hemisphere.
In the other condition, stimuli were flashed in each visual field simulta-
neously, resulting in presentations to both hemispheres. The results did
not show an increase in total processing capacity when stimuli were
presented to both hemispheres. Performance was generally higher with
unilateral presentation; bilateral presentation frequently produced neglect
of the stimuli sent to the right hemisphere (Ten" and Sperry, 1973, 19741.
More promising findings emerged from another study, in which split-
brain patients were compared with normal controls on two simultaneous
visual discriminations, one to each hemisphere. While control subjects
took considerably longer to respond to two discriminations compared
with one' the split-brain patients responded as quickly to two as to one;
however, their reaction times were considerably longer than those of the
control subjects, making simple interpretation of these findings difficult
(Gazzaniga and Sperry, 1966~.
More recent work has pointed to the level of difficulty of the simulta-
neous tasks as critical in determining the outcome of such studies. It
appears that the two hemispheres of the brain act as independent channels
only if the tasks are relatively easy and do not require attention from
both hemispheres at once. When processing demands are increased, the
apparent independence of the hemispheres breaks down, and the advan-
tage of separate presentation to each hemisphere is lost (Kreuter,
Kinsbourne, and Trevarthen, 19721. Effects with neurologically normal
subjects would be expected to be even weaker, since the two hemispheres
remain in constant communication at the cortical as well as subcortical
levels. Thus there is no evidence at the present time that would suggest
that presentation of material separately to each hemisphere would be of
practical value in enhancing processing capacity.
HEMISPHERICITY
The term hemisphericity generally refers to the
idea that each person
may naturally have a preferred mode of cognitive processing that in turn
reflects greater activity of the left or right hemisphere of the brain.
Attempts to apply this concept to human performance have involved
assessing an individuals particular pattern of hemispheric utilization to
permit an appropriate match between the individual's processing style
and the tasks that are to be assigned to that person. A related application
involves attempts to train hemisphericity, that is, to train an individual
to utilize the left or right hemisphere to a greater extent, presumably
leading to enhanced performance when an appropriate match between
person and task is made.
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ALTERING MENTAL STATES
109
The first step in any evaluation of the concept of hemisphericity and
its application to performance involves a review of the paradigms used
to measure it. Davidoff et al. (1985) cite four approaches lateral eye
movements, electrophysiology, cognitive tests, and questionnaires.
Lateral eye movements refer to the shift in gaze that occurs when an
individual is engaged in cognitive activity. Depending on the nature of
the activity, individuals have characteristic and stable patterns of eye
movement that have been claimed to reflect hemispheric utilization. A
rightward gaze is presumed to reflect greater activity of the left hemi-
sphere, while a leftward gaze is seen as evidence of right hemisphere
involvement. A thorough review of the eye movement literature by
Erlichman and Weinberger (1978), however, concluded that the link
between eye movements and hemispheric asymmetry is not well estab-
lished. Later work is consistent with this conclusion as well (Beaumont,
Young, and McManus, 1984~.
With regard to electrophysiological recordings to assess hemisphericity,
Davidoffet al. (1985) note that there are serious methodological difficulties
associated with their use to measure hemispheric asymmetry. While
aware that there is considerable debate among neuropsychologists re-
garding the potential of electrophysiological measures of asymmetry, they
conclude that no experimental paradigm has yet been established that
would permit a reliable index of lateral hemisphere function (of the sort
needed to assess hemisphericity) to be derived from EEG or evoked
potential recordings.
Questionnaires have been the most popular measure of hemisphericity.
Typical of the questionnaires currently in use is Your Style of Learning
and Thinking (Torrance and Reynolds, 1980), which contains items asking
about an individual's preference for different kinds of cognitive activity.
Results obtained with this questionnaire correlate with various measures
of creativity, reflecting the developers' belief that `'there is considerable
evidence to suggest that the essence of creativity is a specialized function
of the right hemisphere" (Torrance and Reynolds, 1980:2~. Evaluations
by Beaumont, Young, and McManus (1984) and Fitzgerald and Hattie
(1983) conclude that these questionnaires are poorly constructed psy-
chometrically and weak in their theoretical rationale. Beaumont, Young,
and McManus (1984) state that at the present time there is no evidence
in the neuropsychological literature to support an association between
the right hemisphere and creativity, and hence no basis for the assertion
that the questionnaires currently in use can assess the differential
contribution of the hemispheres to cognitive function. Nevertheless, such
questionnaires continue to be very popular measures of hemisphericity,
appearing in the media as well as in various seminars and courses for bus-
inesses seeking to make the best possible match between employee and
OCR for page 110
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ENHANCING HUMAN PERFORMANCE
position. Their appeal is their simplicity, both in administration and scoring.
Batteries of cognitive tests have also been used to measure hemispher-
icity. As Davidoff et al. (1985) note, a major problem with these tests is
the need for independent validation of their relationship to patterns of
hemispheric activity. It is often the case that a test is included in a battery
because it appears to involve left or right hemisphere skills, although
there is no direct, independent determination that it does indeed do so.
Thus, a test with a large verbal component may be included to assess
involvement of the left hemisphere, although no independent evidence is
presented to show this association.
A notable exception to this absence of independent validation is the
work on the Cognitive Laterality Battery by Gordon (19864. This battery
was adapted from tests of brain-damaged patients that were shown to
reflect left or right hemisphere abilities. Gordon's initial attempts to use
his battery ire an applied setting have met with some success (Gordon,
Silverberg-Shalev, and Czernilas, 19821. In particular, he found that
combat pilot trainees performed better on tests believed to measure right
hemisphere function than did helicopter pilots or navigators. Gordon
himself states, however, that
. . . while it is true the tests were selected on the basis of hemispheric research
. . . the value of the Cognitive Laterality Battery is that it gives information
about the relative performance of these specialized hemispheric skills, and does
not measure the relative efficiency or activation of the hemispheres themselves.
(1986:224)
In summary, it would appear that at the present time we do not have
the kind of independently validated measures of hemisphericity that
would make it a truly useful concept. Such measures may be forthcoming,
but they are not here yet. Without such measures it is impossible to
answer the questions of whether hemisphericity has important implications
for performance.
With regard to the related question of training hemispheric involvement,
we have no direct evidence that differential hemispheric utilization can
be trained. Just as we lack validated measures of hemisphericity, we lack
any way to measure the changes in brain hemisphere involvement that
are presumed to accompany certain training strategies. As Davidoff et
al. (1985) note, cognitive style can probably be affected by training. There
is no evidence, however, to show that such modification has a neurological
substrate that involves differential utilization of the hemispheres. Such a
link may exist; at the present time it has not been demonstrated.
SYNCHRONIZING HEMISPHERIC ACTIVITY
The notion of increased channel capacity resulting from presentation
of material to separate hemispheres is based on the assumption that each
OCR for page 111
ALTERING MENTAL STATES
111
half of the brain functions independently. Similarly, the concept of
hemisphericity emphasizes the differences in function between the hem-
ispheres and the value of differential hemispheric involvement. An entirely
different approach to brain asymmetry and its relation to human perform-
ance stresses the value of having the hemispheres act synchronously.
Hemi-Sync~, short for Hemispheric Synchronization, is a patented
technique developed by Robert Monroe of the Monroe Institute of Applied
Sciences in Faber, Virginia. The process uses the phenomenon of binaural
beats "to help create simultaneously an identical wave form in both brain
hemispheres." (All quotations are from ''Inquiry, Information, Innova-
tion," a Monroe Institute information brochure.) To produce binaural
beats, a tone of one frequency is presented to one ear and a tone of a
slightly different frequency is presented to the other. Given the proper
circumstances, one hears a warbling sound whose frequency is equal to
the difference between the original tones. According to the Monroe
Institute's literature, "this third signal is not an actual sound, but an
electrical signal that can only be created by both brain hemispheres acting
and working together, simultaneously. The unique coherent brain state
that results is known as Hemispheric Synchronization, or Hemi-Sync~."
This identical wave form is believed to assist the user in using "more of
his brain power" and to facilitate such diverse activities as sleep,
concentration, learning, and surgical recovery because "both hemispheres
of the brain can be focused on the same state of awareness at the same
time."
The evaluation of Hemi-Sync~ by the committee involved a search
and review of the literature relevant to its underlying rationale, a review
of the extensive material provided by the Monroe Institute and others
relating to the anolication of Hemi-Sync~, and a site visit to the Monroe
--I ~ r r
Institute. The subcommittee toured the facilities and met with Robert
Monroe, a staff member, and two professional members of the Institute
(a speech pathologist and a clinical psychologist) who use the Hemi-
Synct3 tapes in their work.
There are three main principles underlying Hemi-Sync~. The first is
that presenting two tones of slightly different frequency simultaneously,
one to each ear, results in the perception of a third tone as the result of
some process involving the two hemispheres. The second principle is
that the binaural beat phenomenon results in an alteration of the main
frequency component of the EEG such that "frequency following" takes
place. The third asserts that certain BEG states facilitate particular types
of performance.
With regard to the theoretical rationale underlying Hemi-Sync~, the
scientific literature suggests that the binaural beat effect is most likely
due to binaural interaction at the level of the superior olivary nucleus
(Oster, 1973), which means that binaural beats are not a cortical phenom
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ENHANCING HUMAN PERFORMANCE
enon and are not produced by the two hemispheres working in concert.
With regard to frequency following, a small literature relevant to this
claim was found. Frequency following in the auditory evoked response
has been demonstrated with both tone bursts and continuous tones over
a range of frequencies from 70 hertz to 1,500 hertz (Glaser et al., 1976~.
In addition, frequency following responses to 500-hertz tone bursts
presented to the left ear and 540-hertz tone bursts presented to the right
ear have been obtained by Hink et al. (1980), demonstrating frequency
following to binaural beats under certain conditions. With regard to the
third principle, no evidence that frequency following the stimuli employed
in Hemi-Sync<3 exists was provided by the Monroe Institute or obtained
through a search of the literature.
At the site visit, Robert Monroe indicated that the Institute has not
focused its efforts on generating the kind of research that would satisfy
the criteria for publication in refereed scientific journals. Its emphasis
has been on the development of techniques that users find to be beneficial
by whatever criteria they personally choose to employ. However, in
response to the need of the committee for scientific evidence of the utility
of Hemi-Sync~, we were referred to a variety of articles published by
members of the Monroe Institute in a newsletter and were given the
names of 13 individuals who had reported successful uses in a variety of
applications and who could be contacted for further information.
Hemi-Sync~ has been claimed to be of value in a wide variety of
educational and therapeutic settings O Of greatest interest for purposes of
this report are those applications involving human performance. For the
sake of completeness we wish to note that material was provided to us
documenting its use in pain control in cancer patients and in cases of
alcohol abuse, retardation, autism, and seizure disorders. In these
instances patients typically listened to Hemi-Sync~ sounds accompanied
by music or other stimuli through headphones as part of their therapy.
Reports typically took the form of individual case studies or, in some
cases, self~reports of beneficial effects.
The committee found what came closest to formal research designs in
three studies of educational applications. In the first study, Hemi-Sync~
was employed with students in the basic broadcasting course at the
Defense Information School to determine its effects in enhancing per-
formance and inducing relaxation. The study employed a variety of tapes
using Hemi-Sync~ sounds listened to individually through headphones
during a ten-week course by 22 subjects whose performance was compared
with that of a previous class not using the tapes. Self-reports of stress
level and motivation throughout the study, as well as the students'
assessment of the tapes' usefulness, were obtained. Although no statistical
analyses were reported, the subjective measures produced evidence
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ALTERING MENTAL STATES
113
supporting the value of the tapes. Motivation was reported as higher and
stress as generally lower in the tape group, and the group reported that
they perceived the tapes as useful. Comparing the test class with the
previous class on performance, however, produced mixed results. A1-
though a slightly higher percentage of the test class eventually graduated
(50 versus 45.8 percent), more of them required special tutoring than was
the case in the control class (66.7 versus 53.7 percent). Thus, the value
of the tapes in improving performance was not demonstrated, although
some effect in motivation and stress reduction was observed. It is
important to note, however, that all participants were fully aware of the
purpose of the tapes from the outset, making it possible that expectancy
effects or Hawthorne effects were responsible for the results. In addition,
in the absence of evidence showing the equivalence of the test group and
control group on relevant dimensions, any comparison of the two is open
to multiple interpretations, especially in light of the absences and dropouts
that occurred in the course of data collection with a small sample.
Another study, conducted by a professor of music who is a member
of the Monroe Institute, examined the effect of Hemi-Sync~ on the
performance of students required to identify melodic and harmonic
intervals as part of an ear training course. Forty-five students participated,
with assignment to Hemi-Sync~ and control groups done on a random
basis. The series of six taped lectures, each with a pretest and posttest,
was identical for both groups, except for the presence of Hemi-Sync~
stimuli in the experimental condition. Students were not informed of the
nature of the study, nor were personnel involved in distributing the tapes
aware of the assignment of individuals to conditions. A 5.5 percent
advantage for the experimental group (averaged across sessions) was
found, although the difference was not statistically significant. The
investigator notes that the Hemi-Sync~ sounds themselves may have
interfered with the sounds the students were asked to judge, resulting in
lower performance than might otherwise have been expected.
The third study involved the random assignment of half of a class of
48 community college students enrolled in introductory psychology to a
Hemi-Sync~ condition. All students attended the same lectures and used
the same text, but the Hemi-Sync~ students supplemented these with a
series of tapes consisting of Hemi-Sync~ sounds mixed with sentences,
up to four seconds long, defining terms and key concepts in psychology.
On five of six tests, the experimental group performed significantly higher,
averaging 10.19 percent better performance. The investigator noted the
problem of confounding the effects of Hemi-Sync~ with exposure to
material on key concepts and reports that, to control for this, the lecturer
presented the same statements through headphones to all students in the
classroom. The investigator did not, however, acknowledge the advantage
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4
ENHANCING HUMAN PERFORMANCE
that the Hemi-Sync<3 group would have as a result of its additional
exposure to these concepts on their tapes.
Other references are made in the material that was received by the
committee to the use of Hemi-Sync~ in educational settings involving
the presentation of stimuli through speakers placed on either side of the
classroom. No data were provided from studies using this procedure in
a formal classroom setting. Although the presentation of Hemi-Sync
sounds in free field does not preserve the conditions necessary for binaural
beats, the Monroe Institute reports that adequate separation of speakers
produces comparable results in terms of frequency following.
The review of Hemi-Sync~ in educational settings presented above
illustrates the problem with the evidence that has been presented to
support it. Most findings are either anecdotal in nature or weak, with
multiple potential confoundings such as failure to ensure equivalence of
groups or to obtain pretest data, Hawthorne or expectancy effects, and
other problems in interpretation. An additional difficulty in evaluating
the use of Hemi-Synct3 in educational settings results from its use in
conjunction with other procedures and stimuli such as guided imagery
and music. For example, a typical Hemi-Sync<3 tape involves the binaural
beat stimuli presented at near-threshold levels, embedded in a background
of the sounds of ocean surf or music of various types. Hemi-Sync~ as
such is rarely studied in isolation; thus its effects, if any, become
confounded with the other stimuli and procedures that accompany its
presentation.
CONCLUSIONS
A review of the literature on brain asymmetry reveals a variety of
interesting differences in function between the hemispheres. The current
state of knowledge suggests, however, that attempts to apply what is
known about hemispheric differences to the enhancement of learning and
performance are premature.
Valid and reliable measures of hemispheric activity in individuals will
be necessary before claims linking the performance of an individual to
his or her particular pattern of differential hemispheric involvement can
be evaluated scientifically. Attempts to increase information-processing
capacity by presenting material separately to the two hemispheres do not
appear to be useful. Current support for the value of techniques to
integrate hemisperic activity to enhance performance (such as Hemi-
Sync~) does not meet generally accepted criteria for scientific evidence.
Such techniques should be considered further by the Army only if such
evidence is provided to and evaluated by the Army Research Institute.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
mental states
