JPH02168934A - Brain wave guiding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To extremely efficiently guide an object brain wave by extracting only a signal component corresponding to the object brain wave out of the physiological change signals of a user oneself, adjusting the signal component to a proper signal level, and feeding the adjusted signal component back to the user oneself as a body stimulus signal. CONSTITUTION:When the user puts a head band on a head part and turns a power source on, electrodes 1a and 1b pick up brain waves from the head part 2 and send the picked up brain waves to an organism amplifier 3. Brain wave signals are amplified in the organism amplifier and after that sent to a band-pass filter 4, and only a frequency component in the neighborhood of 10Hz equivalent to an object alpha wave is selected, sent to a level automatic adjusting circuit 5, adjusted to a prescribed level in the circuit 5, and sent to a light stimulus device 6. The light stimulus device 6 flicker-controls a light emitting element by a level- adjusted alpha wave component signal, and the user is irradiated with a flicker light beam synchronizing with the alpha wave by the device 6. When the user receives the light stimulus, the alphawave in the brain waves is strongly guided by a drawing effect, the brain waves are sent from the electrodes to the organism amplifier again, and the above-mentioned operations are repeated. As the result, the alpha wave in the brain waves gradually becomes stronger, and an alpha wave content ratio and an alpha wave crest value are remarkably increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a brain wave guiding device for efficiently guiding target brain waves.

[Conventional technology]

It is known that there is a close relationship between human brain waves and their physiological and psychological states. For example, when you are in a relaxed state, a lot of alpha waves (approximately 8 to 13 ce) are generated, and when you are active, a lot of beta waves (approximately 14 to 301 (z)) are generated, and when you feel sleepy, etc. θ wave (approximately 4 to 71 (
z) occurs frequently. Conversely, if a person is induced to generate a large number of predetermined brain waves, the corresponding physiological and psychological state will be more likely to occur.

Conventionally, using the interaction between brain waves and their physiological and psychological states, alpha waves are induced by applying stimulation to the body from the outside, leading the body and mind to a state of relaxation, and reducing stress. A variety of devices have been proposed to reduce stress and unify the mind.

For example, the biofeedback device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 55-63656 picks up brain waves with electrodes attached to the head, extracts alpha waves from these brain waves, and
The sound heard from the earphones is changed according to the intensity of alpha waves, and the difference in sound informs whether or not alpha waves are being emitted, thereby guiding the user into a relaxed state.

In addition, the ReRanks device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-87165 uses random noise generated by a random noise generation circuit to artificially create an α-wave signal having a fluctuation of 1/f characteristic. By flashing the light source to provide optical stimulation, the user is guided into a relaxed state.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the case of the above-mentioned biofeedback device, in order to achieve a relaxed state, the user must listen to the differences in the sounds generated from the earphones and listen to the user's own sounds so that the sounds corresponding to alpha waves are the strongest. It is necessary to guide one's mental state with one's own will. Therefore, when using it, students should repeatedly practice in advance how to concentrate their mind to produce strong alpha waves, and learn how to change their mental state to a certain extent with their own will. It is necessary to keep it. Therefore, there is a problem in that not everyone can immediately obtain the desired effect, and the effect varies greatly depending on the user.

Furthermore, in the case of the relaxation device described above, brain waves are guided using artificial alpha wave signals that are completely unrelated to the user's brain waves, so the induction effect is not constant and varies greatly from person to person. There was a problem.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and extracts only the signal component corresponding to the target brain wave from the physiological change signal of the user of the device, and sets this signal level to a predetermined level suitable for brain wave guidance. By automatically adjusting the level and feeding back to the user as a stimulation signal, target brain waves such as alpha waves, theta waves, or theta waves can be efficiently induced without the need for any preliminary learning. The purpose is to provide an electroencephalogram induction device.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the brain wave guidance device of the present invention has the following features:
means for detecting physiological changes in the body; a bandpass filter that selectively passes only predetermined frequency components corresponding to brain waves to be induced from the detection signal; The device comprises means for adjusting the level, and means for converting the output signal of the level adjusting means into a predetermined body stimulation signal.

As the physiological change in the body to be detected, for example, physiological phenomena such as brain waves, skin potential, skin vibration, and skin resistance can be used. In addition, as a physical stimulation signal,
Stimulus signals such as light, sound, electricity, vibration, etc. can be used.

(Function) Human brain waves exhibit a so-called entrainment phenomenon in which they become synchronized with external stimulation signals. However, even if brain waves are blindly guided using this entrainment phenomenon, efficient guidance cannot be achieved.

In other words, when guiding brain waves using the entrainment phenomenon, if the physical stimulation signal is too weak, the entrainment effect will be weak, and if it is too strong, the entrainment effect will be automatically suppressed due to the physiological and psychological defense reactions of the body. As a result, if brain waves are not guided with an appropriate level of body stimulation signal, a rippling phenomenon will occur in which the amplitude of the induced brain waves periodically increases and decreases, making it difficult to achieve efficient brain wave guidance.

The present invention has focused on this fact, and provides feedback to the user while automatically adjusting the signal level of the body stimulation signal to the level most suitable for brain wave guidance.

The passband frequency of the bandpass filter is set so as to pass only the signal component corresponding to the brain wave to be induced from among the detected own physiological change signals.

Further, when using the device of the present invention, the means for detecting physiological changes in the body may be applied to a predetermined region of the user, for example, the head in the case of electroencephalograms, or the skin potential.

In the case of skin vibration, skin resistance, etc., it is attached to a predetermined position on the body such as the wrist. Similarly, the means for converting the output signal of the level adjustment means into a predetermined body stimulation signal is also placed at a predetermined position, for example, in the case of light stimulation, in front of the user's eyes, and in the case of sound, in the vicinity of the user's ears. In the case of electrical stimulation or vibration stimulation, it is placed at a predetermined position on the body such as the wrist.

When a predetermined physiological change is detected by the means for detecting physiological changes attached to the user's body, the bandpass filter extracts only the signal component corresponding to the brain waves to be induced from the detected signal.

The output signal of this bandpass filter is sent to a level adjustment means, adjusted to a predetermined level, and then sent to a means for converting it into a body stimulation signal. Then, in the means, it is converted into a predetermined stimulation signal for inducing a target brain wave, and the signal is fed back to the user.

The user who receives this body stimulation signal is induced to generate a desired brain wave by the stimulation signal, and the induced brain wave is detected again by means for detecting physiological changes, and the same operation is repeated thereafter.

As is clear from the above operation, in the present invention, when brain wave guidance is started, a kind of oscillation circuit is formed that incorporates the user himself into a closed loop. Only the signal components whose signal levels have been adjusted to a predetermined level circulate within this oscillation circuit.

Therefore, only the target brain waves are strongly induced by the attraction phenomenon of this circulating signal, and the user is quickly drawn into the desired brain wave state. At this time, the body stimulation signal is adjusted to a predetermined level by the level adjustment means, so the body stimulation does not become too weak or too strong, and as a result, the wave phenomenon occurs in the induced brain waves. It will no longer occur. Therefore, the optimum induction effect can always be obtained.

Further, in the present invention, since a predetermined signal component in the own physiological change signal is used as a body stimulation signal, it is compatible with the user himself and has a large inducing effect.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the brain wave guiding device of the present invention, in which brain waves are used as the physiological changes detected from the body, and optical stimulation is used as the body stimulation signal. In the figure, la, l
b is a pair of electrodes for picking up brain waves from the head 2 of the device user; 3 is a biological amplifier that amplifies the brain wave signals picked up by electrodes 1a and lb to a signal level suitable for subsequent processing; 4 is a band 5 is an automatic level adjustment circuit, and 6 is a light stimulation device.

The bandpass filter 4 passes only the signal component corresponding to the target brain wave in the li-wave signal, and for example,
When inducing alpha waves (8 to 137), passband center frequency fo = IOH2, circuit Q = 10, and θ waves (4 to 137) are induced.
7Hz), fo-57, Q=10,
When inducing β waves (14 to 307), f, = 20 &
, Q=4, etc.

The automatic level adjustment circuit 5 consists of, for example, an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit that keeps the signal level constant, or a limiter or clipper that keeps the maximum amplitude below a certain value, and the most suitable circuit is used depending on the purpose. It will be done.

The optical stimulation device 6 is a circuit that generates a faint light that blinks in synchronization with the amplitude change of the signal output from the automatic level adjustment circuit 5, and is composed of a light emitting element such as an LED and its drive circuit.

The electrodes 1a, Ib and the optical stimulation device 6 are incorporated into, for example, a headband, and when worn on the head, the electrodes 1a, Ib and the optical stimulation device 6 are
A, LB are in contact with predetermined positions on the head 2, and the light emitting element in the optical stimulation device 6 is located at a predetermined position in front of the eyes, so that brain wave pickup and optical stimulation can be easily performed. ing.

Next, the operation will be explained using the case of inducing alpha waves as an example. In the case of inducing alpha waves, as described above, the center frequency f0 of the passband of the bandpass filter 4 and the Q of the circuit are set to, for example, f = 101° and Q = 10.

When the user puts the headband on his head and turns on the device, the electrodes 1a and lb pick up brain waves from the head 2 and send them to the biological amplifier 3.

After this brain wave signal is amplified by the resident amplifier 3, it is sent to the bandpass filter 4, where only frequency components around 107 corresponding to the target alpha waves are selected, and the automatic level adjustment circuit 5
sent to.

The automatic level adjustment circuit 5 adjusts the output signal sent from the bandpass filter 4 to a predetermined level and sends it to the optical stimulation device 6. Then, the optical stimulation device 6 controls the blinking of a light emitting element such as an LED using the level-adjusted alpha wave component signal near 101 (z, and irradiates the user with blinking light synchronized with the alpha waves.

When the user receives optical stimulation from the flashing light, alpha waves in the brain waves are strongly induced due to the entrainment phenomenon. Then, the induced brain waves are picked up again by the electrodes 1a and lb and sent to the biological amplifier 3, and the above operation is repeated.

Therefore, when brain wave guidance is started, a closed loop connecting the device of the present invention and the user is formed, and a kind of oscillation circuit whose oscillation frequency is the α-wave component signal selected by the bandpass filter 4 is constructed. As a result, the alpha waves in the brain waves gradually become stronger, and the alpha wave content rate and alpha wave height value increase significantly.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show actually measured waveforms of alpha wave induction. Second
The figure shows a waveform when optical stimulation is performed at an appropriate level in the above embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows a waveform when optical stimulation is too strong without level adjustment.

As is clear from comparing Figures 2 and 3, when the light stimulus is too strong, a rippling phenomenon occurs due to the physiological and psychological defense reactions of the organism mentioned above, and α waves are generated intermittently. However, it can be seen that alpha waves are continuously induced when the optical stimulation is appropriate.

Note that since the device of the present invention forms a kind of oscillation circuit that includes the user himself in a closed loop, the blinking timing of the stimulation light emitted by the optical stimulation device 6 and the maximum and minimum positions of the amplitude change of α waves If the phases are aligned so that they match, even more efficient guidance can be achieved. To align these phases, a bandpass filter 4, an automatic level adjustment circuit 5
Alternatively, the phase may be corrected using the optical stimulation device 6, or a phase correction circuit may be inserted in the middle of the circuit.

The embodiment described above is an example of inducing alpha waves, but by changing the passband frequency of the bandpass filter, it is possible to similarly guide θ waves and beta waves. Furthermore, although brain waves themselves were used as signals for physiological changes in the body, physiological phenomena such as skin potential, skin vibration, and skin resistance, which have a certain correlation with brain waves, can also be used instead of brain waves.

Further, although light was used as the body stimulation signal, sound, electrical stimulation, vibration, etc. can also be used in place of this optical stimulation.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, only the signal component corresponding to the brain waves for the purpose of guidance is extracted from the user's own physiological change signal, and this signal is adjusted to an appropriate signal level. Since the system is configured to feed back to the user himself as a body stimulation signal, the brain waves do not cause wavering phenomenon during brain wave guidance, and the desired brain waves can be guided extremely efficiently.

In addition, the desired brain waves can be acquired without the need for traditional learning.
In addition to being able to induce brain waves easily and quickly, it uses the user's own physiological change signals to guide brain waves, so it is highly compatible with the user himself, and the intensity of the induced brain waves is also higher than before. It becomes something big. Furthermore, because the intensity of the induced brain waves is large, the aftereffect is also large, and even after the device of the present invention is removed, the desired induced brain waves continue to be emitted for a long time, and various other excellent effects are achieved. play.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an actual measured waveform diagram of alpha wave induction when optical stimulation is appropriate, and Fig. 3 is an actual measured waveform of alpha wave induction when optical stimulation is too strong. It is a diagram. la, Ib...electrode, 2...head, 3...biological amplifier, 4...bandpass filter, 5...level automatic adjustment circuit, 6...photostimulation device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Means for detecting physiological changes in the body; a bandpass filter that selectively passes only predetermined frequency components corresponding to brain waves to be induced from the detection signal; and an output signal of the bandpass filter. 1. An electroencephalogram induction device comprising: means for adjusting the amplitude level of the level adjusting means to a predetermined level; and means for converting an output signal of the level adjusting means into a predetermined body stimulation signal.