Stanford has shown that vibration can greatly reduce PD symptoms I believe by UN-SYNCING.
But, MIT and others (Dr. Lee Bartel) have shown that 40-60 hertz light and sound waves can SYNC the brain improving symptoms of ALZ And PD. Dr. Lee Bartel has trialed PWP.
Am I not understanding the Stanford trial? Isn’t the vibration un-syncing the brain?
And MIT and Dr. Lee Bartel are syncing the brain. This is contradictory is it not?
I want to understand the purpose of binaural beats and PD?
I think the set of potential brain states is larger and more complex than just "synced" and "unsynced".
As for the MIT research on gamma waves, my understanding is that synchronized neural firings at 40 to 60 Hz turns on a healing brain mode. The microglia turn off their damaging attack mode, and turn on their repair mode, enabling the clearing out of gunk and alpha-synuclein clogs and stuff.
Maybe neurons firing at a different frequency (or in a different pattern) turns on a different mode which is less helpful, in which case disrupting that would be beneficial. (Sorry, my understanding of the other research is spotty.)
. "Synchronization is thought to be important for information processing," Jennifer Creaser of the University of Exeter said. "But too much synchronization -- such as what occurs in epileptic seizures or Parkinson's disease -- is associated with disease states and can impair brain function.
Measurements of epileptic seizures have revealed that desynchronization in brain networks often occurs before or during the early stages of a seizure. As the seizure progresses, networks become increasingly more synchronized as additional regions of the brain get involved, leading to high levels of synchronization towards the seizure's end. Understanding the interactions between the increased electrical activity during a seizure and changes in synchronization is an important step towards improving the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy.”
*** 40 hertz , Brain synchronization, sounds to be a bad idea for PWP***
Synchronization is an interesting topic, and you are certainly raising valid questions. However, the article you cited (and the research behind it) do not provide a robust foundation for making strong claims. The paper is primarily a mathematical model, and seems to address epilepsy more than Parkinson's disease. Still, it is possible that you are right.
Here is a paper that addresses pathological neural synchronization in people with Parkinson's disease.
"LFP recordings in patients withdrawn from their antiparkinsonian medication have consistently revealed prominent oscillations between 8 Hz and 30 Hz, which we term the ‘basal ganglia beta frequency band’ (although acknowledging that this frequency range is broader than that termed beta in clinical studies of scalp electroencephalographic activity)."
I would note that 8 Hz to 30 Hz is different from 40 Hz. One is called beta, the other is the low-end of gamma.
Again, I would caution against simplistic reckoning which says "synchronization is bad" or "synchronization is good".
Based on what you sent and all that I have read (not all of which is posted) it is still my opinion that adding a source of additional brain synchronization to an already overly synchronized brain is, as I previously stated, a bad idea.
I too “would caution against simplistic reckoning” I would caution also against pursuing a therapy with so much evidence against it.
Do you have any other links / info regarding 40-60 hertz being good for Parkinson’s? I of course had hoped it would be as we are all looking for safe therapies backed by science.
Mosabbir, A., Q.J. Almeida, and H. Ahonen. 2020. "The effects of long-term 40-Hz physioacoustic vibrations on motor impairments in Parkinson’s disease: a double-blinded randomized control trial." Healthcare. Vol. 8. No. 2. MDPI.
Recent studies have suggested that vibration therapy may have a positive influence in treating motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, quantitative evidence of the benefits of vibration utilized inconsistent methods of vibration delivery, and to date there have been no studies showing a long-term benefit of 40 Hz vibration in the PD population. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of vibration administered via a physioacoustic therapy method (PAT) on motor symptoms of PD over a longer term, completed as a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Overall motor symptom severity measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III showed significant improvements in the treatment group over 12 weeks. Specifically, all aspects of PD, including tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and posture and gait measures improved. To our knowledge, this is the first study to quantitatively assess 40-Hz vibration applied using the PAT method for potential long-term therapeutic effects on motor symptoms of PD.
Experimental setup (40-Hz physioacoustic chair that provides uniform vibration throughout the body: left. Placebo: right).
PAT was delivered to participants in the treatment group using the physioacoustic method introduced by Lehikoinen [24]. Participants sat in a reclining arm chair which produced vibration via sound waves from six strategically placed speakers throughout the chair (Figure 2). The software used in this study was PhysAc.Net (2005). The apparatus is designed such that vibration is uniformly distributed throughout the entire body. This contrasts with vibratory platforms used in previous studies, which only apply vibration directly to the feet. The 40-Hz treatment was designed specifically for this study. Vibration was programmed to resonate at a frequency of 40 Hz using a technique called scanning. Scanning induces vibration by using frequencies that allow the sound to vary about a fixed pitch. The result is a sound pressure that propagates throughout the entire body
Analysis of individuals from the treatment group showed three (14.2%) individuals with worse outcomes and five (33.3%) individuals from the placebo group with worse outcomes.
***PAT treatment (physioaucoustic 40 Hz) 12 weeks. 3 treatments a week for 25 minutes each ***
Post-hoc comparisons confirmed that the treatment group significantly improved (p(b3)<<0.001), whereas the control group did not improve between baseline and post-test (p(b3) = 0.16).
Analysis of individuals from the treatment group showed three (14.2%) individuals with worse outcomes and five (33.3%) individuals from the placebo group with worse outcomes
***14% of those treated , 3 people, got worse?***
Treatment responders are thus defined as those that improved by a minimum of 5 points on the UPDRS motor score, whereas those that did not are defined as non-responders. Out of 21 participants in the treatment group, 16 (76%) were considered responders to PAT. Figure 4A shows the change in UPDRS motor score from baseline to post-test for responders, non-responders, and controls, and has a significant interaction of time and group (F(1,33) = 3.08; p = 0.00015). Post-hoc comparisons showed significant improvements for the responders (p(b5)<<0.001) and not the controls and non-responders. Comparisons of the baseline values of each group showed that the non-responder group was significantly lower than the responder group (Figure 4B, p(b5) = 0.055). This suggests that there may be a relationship between low baseline scores and the magnitude of improvement seen in the UPDRS scores. This finding initiated an analysis of the correlation between baseline motor
***21 people in the treatment group. 76% were responders and they improved by 5 UPDRS points ***
The most viable mechanism for the effect of vibration therapy posits that oscillatory synchronization at 15–30 Hz in the basal ganglia initiates the majority of PD symptoms [21]. Vibration may act to disrupt the pathological oscillatory activity within basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits, for which there exists several viable mechanisms. The effect of mechanical vibration transmitted throughout the entire body may simply act to perturb abnormally synchronized oscillations. Vibration stimuli also elicit somatosensory evoked potentials, generating oscillatory firing patterns at the same frequency as the driving stimuli [17,18]. The evoked potentials may act to override pathological synchrony within the sensorimotor network in PD, analogous to mechanisms of DBS surgery. Finally, vibration-based therapy may also
***PD basal ganglia SYNCED AT 15-30 HERTZ IS RESPONDIBLE FOR MAJORITY OF PD SYMPTOMS The vibration might just “perturb” the typical PD oscillations. So that means the benefit would be from UNSYNCING the overly synchronized PD brain NOT from syncing it. And that was my prior point. The PD symptoms manifest based on an overly synchronized basil ganglia. This is very well established. This 40 hertz vibration therapy had some success but why? They posit that it is bc the PD synced brain is being “perturbed” meaning disrupted, not bc it is increasing the “syncing.”
However, a head-to-head analysis of different frequencies should still be further investigated. Interestingly, the results of the current study that utilized 40 Hz were identical with our previous study (2009) that utilized 30 Hz. In addition, the placebo group that received auditory 40 Hz stimulation did not improve significantly, whereas the treatment group that received kinaesthetic and auditory stimulation did. Although not significant, further studies exploring the effect of auditory stimulation alone should be done. Third, PD symptom sidedness as well as baseline parameters should be investigated further to determine the best indicator for responsiveness to PAT.
***interesting that 30 hertz showed the same results. And, the placebo group that received just auditory 40 hertz did not improve. NOTE: auditory 40 hertz has been stated by reputable sources, Huberman etc, to have positive effects on the brain ***
this study demonstrates the benefits of a long-duration treatment protocol of kinaesthetic vibration via PAT and strongly suggests future studies to explore the use of vibration as an adjunct therapy for PD symptoms.
My Conclusion: As I previously stated, PD symptoms are expressed due to an overly synced basil ganglia. Vibration therapy helps PWP. The fact that 40 hertz was used in this trial sounds to not be of particular significance bc 30 hertz had the same result and auditory 40 hertz had no response. The trial states that the benefit may be from “perturbing” the PD synced brain NOT from further syncing an already overly synced brain. I still believe that vibration to UNSYNC is beneficial to motor symptoms. I wish there was a follow up to see if the benefits endured and determine if vibration therapy is modifying progression.
PD brains are synchronized in the beta range, so desynching the beta band is. Helpful. Shifting From beta to gamma occurs during normal movements (40hz), so promoting this may be beneficial.. The former is desynching the latter is entrainment.
pd brains are in beta , 13-30 hertz , interesting. Thank you. So 40 hertz would be desynching the pd beta synched brain, correct?
“Listening to 40-Hz binaural beat can induce gamma oscillation in several brain areas. Those induced areas are related to auditory response of the brain. Moreover, beta and high beta oscillations are also induced by gamma oscillation in several associated areas, particularly frontal region.”
Beta is induced by gamma? Based on this link, gamma promotes beta?
Obviously, I would like 40 hertz to benefit PWP as it benefits healthy controls but exercising caution, I’m seeking more assurance it would. Presently, I’m not convinced.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by excessively synchronized neural activity in the β frequency range (13–30 Hz; Brown and Williams, 2005; Brown, 2007; Moran et al.
I remember reading about 40 Hz flickering lights for Alzheimer’s. I found an app for my phone. I installed and watched for a few weeks. I started having very vivid life-like dreams, not really a problem when I dreamed of dancing with blue smurfs, but when I dreamed of interacting with real friends and not being 100% sure it wasn’t reality—I decided best to stop.
Any sensory input to brain should have the same effect (vibration, light and sound). I have asked here before; I wonder what frequency DBS plays?
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Very interesting video on controversial issues regarding managing Parkinson’s at different stages (from 2 guys that seem smart).
Whole Body Vibration 
