Auditory Binaural Beats Stimulation on Working Memory Functions of Adult and Aging Groups: A Literature Review

Authors

  • Onouma Thummapol Faculty of Nursing Science, Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand 10245
  • Pannawit Sanitnarathorn Faculty of Music, Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand 10245

Keywords:

auditory stimulation, attention, binaural beats, cognitive function, working memory

Abstract

Advancing age is associated with various changes in cognitive capacities, including a decline in working memory functioning (WMF) and some aspects of attention. There has been a growing interest in the use of auditory binaural beats (BB) stimulation for a wide array of applications, ranging from investigating behavioral changes to treating certain health conditions. BB is an auditory illusion perceived when two slightly different frequencies are played separately into each ear. This phenomenon is believed to influence brainwave activity and has been studied for its potential effects on various health aspects. A significant portion of research and application surrounding BB stimulation predominantly explores its psychological effects, with limited attention given to its cognitive implications for individuals susceptible to cognitive decline or impairments. This article aims to review the current body of literature regarding the study of BB stimulation in Western nations, the effects of BB stimulation, the mechanisms underlying BB stimulation and its applications, factors affecting the effectiveness of BB stimulation, the study of BB stimulation within the context of Thailand, and the implications for nursing research and practice. This article brings to the forefront the potential influences of BBs stimulation on the cognitive-behavioral parameters of WMF and attention. The differences in study designs and applications of BBs stimulation and its parameters (e.g., oscillatory bands, frequency range, and stimulation durations), in addition to individual characteristics, can yield different results. Understanding their differential effects and factors associated with the BBs stimulation will enable optimal translation and integration of these modalities to effectively address individual needs and maximize therapeutic outcomes. This knowledge will serve as a guideline for nursing and other allied healthcare professionals, policymakers, and academics in their efforts to improve cognitive performance and potentially delay cognitive decline in later life.

References

Park DC, Lautenschlager G, Hedden T, Davidson NS, Smith AD, Smith PK. Models of visuospatial and verbal memory across the adult life span. Psychol Aging 2002;17(2):299–320.

Klencklen G, Lavenex PB, Brandner C, Lavenex P. Working memory decline in normal aging: memory load and representational demands affect performance. Learn Motiv 2017; 60:10–22.

Salthouse TA. When does age-related cognitive decline begin? Neurobiol Aging 2009;30(4):507–14. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.09.023.

Wahl HW, Schmitt M, Danner D, Coppin A. Is the emergence of functional ability decline in early old age related to change in speed of cognitive processing and also to change in personality? J Aging Health 2010;22(6):691–712. doi: 10.1177/0898264310372410.

Pliatsikas C, Veríssimo J, Babcock L, Pullman MY, Glei DA, Weinstein M, et al. Working memory in older adults declines with age, but is modulated by sex and education. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2019;72(6):1308–27. doi: 0.1177/1747021818791994.

Vallesi A, Tronelli V, Lomi F, Pezzetta R. Age differences in sustained attention tasks: a meta-analysis. Psychon Bull Rev 2021;28(6):1755–75. doi: 10.3758/s13423-021-01908-x.

Li Y, Yang N, Zhang Y, Xu W, Cai L. The relationship among trait mindfulness, attention, and working memory in junior school students under different stressful situations. Front Psychol 2021;12:558690. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.558690.

Oberauer K. Working memory and attention – a conceptual analysis and review. J Cogn 2019;2(1):36. doi: 10.5334/joc.58.

Aigbogun MS, Stellhorn R, Krasa H, Kostic D. Severity of memory impairment in the elderly: association with health care resource use and functional limitations in the United States. Alzheimers Dement (Amst) 2017;8:51–9. doi: 10.1016/j.dadm.2017.04.001.

Brito DVC, Gulmez KK, Kupke J, Mudlaff F, Zeuch B, Gomes R, et al. Modeling human age-associated increase in Gadd45y expression leads to spatial recognition memory impairments in young adult mice. Neurobiol Aging 2020;94:281-6. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.06.021.

Gulmez Karaca K, Brito DVC, Kupke J, Zeuch B, Oliveira AMM. Engram reactivation during memory retrieval predicts long-term memory performance in aged mice. Neurobiol Aging 2021;101:256-61. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.01.019.

Morley JE. Mild cognitive impairment-a treatable condition. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2014;15(1):1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2013.11.001. PMID: 24359697.

Ferri CP, Prince M, Brayne C, Brodaty H, Fratiglioni L, Ganguli M, et. al. Global prevalence of dementia: a Delphi consensus study. Lancet 2005;366(9503):2112-7. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67889-0.

Hugo J, Ganguli M. Dementia and cognitive impairment: epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Clin Geriatr Med 2014;30(3):421–42. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2014.04.001.

Licklider JCR, Webster JC, Hedlun JM. On the frequency limits of binaural beats. The J Acoust Soc Am 1950;22(4):468–73.

Sharma S, Rewadkar S, Pawar H, Deokar V, Lomte VM. Survey on binaural beats and background music for increased focus and relaxation. In: 2017 International Conference on Emerging Trends & Innovation in ICT (ICEI), Emerging Trends & Innovation in ICT (ICEI); 2017 Feb 3-5; Pune, India; 2017. p. 98-103.

Crespo A, Recuero M, Galvez G, Begoña A. Effect of binaural stimulation on attention and EEG. Arch Acoust 2013;38(4):517–28.

Basu S, Banerjee B. Prospect of brainwave entrainment to promote well-being in individuals: a brief review. Psychological Studies 2020;65(3):296–306.

Chairinkam W, Thaikruea L, Klaphajone J, Lerttrakarnnon P. Effects of newly-developed uperimposed binaural beat on anxiety in university students in Thailand: a randomised controlled trial. Natural and Life Sciences Communications 2019;18(1):122-30.

Garcia-Argibay M, Santed MA, Reales JM. Efficacy of binaural auditory beats in cognition, anxiety, and pain perception: a meta-analysis. Psychol Res 2019;83(2):357-72.

Olmstead R. Use of auditory and visual stimulation to improve cognitive abilities in learning-disabled children. J Neurother 2005;9(2):49-62.

Chuan SH, Yu ZW, Tzai LL, Wen LL, Hao ML, Chia YL, et al. Familiar music listening with binaural beats for older people with depressive symptoms in retirement homes. Neuropsychiatry 2018;7(4):347-53.

Lee M, Song CB, Shin GH, Lee SW. Possible effect of binaural beat combined with autonomous sensory meridian response for inducing sleep. Front Hum Neurosci 2019;13:425. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00425.

Tani A, Vagheggini G, Moretti F, Del Colombo V, Lehle J, Campana S, et al. Binaural beats reduce postoperative morphine consumption in older adults after total knee replacement surgery. Altern ther Health Med 2021;27(2):27-31.

Chee ZJ, Chang CYM, Cheong JY, Malek FHBA, Hussain S, de Vries M, et al. The effects of music and auditory stimulation on autonomic arousal, cognition and attention: a systematic review. Int J Psychophysiol 2024;199:112328. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112328

Kraus J, Porubanová M. The effect of binaural beats on working memory capacity. Stud Psychol 2015;57(2):135–45.

McMurray JC. Binaural beats enhance alpha wave activity, memory, and attention in healthy-aging seniors [dissertation]. Las Vegas: University of Nevada; 2006.

Solcà M, Mottaz A, Guggisberg AG. Binaural beats increase interhemispheric alpha-band coherence between auditory cortices. Hear Res 2016;332:233–7.

Krasnoff E, Chevalier G. Case report: binaural beats music assessment experiment. Front Hum Neurosci 2023;17:1138650. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1138650.

Engelbregt H, Meijburg N, Schulten M, Pogarell O, Deijen JB. The Effects of binaural and monoaural beat stimulation on cognitive functioning in subjects with different levels of emotionality. Adv Cogn Psychol 2019;15(3):199-207.

Garcia-Argibay M, Santed MA, Reales JM. Binaural auditory beats affect long-term memory. Psychol Res 2019;83(6):1124–36. doi: 10.1007/s00426-017-0959-2.

Chaieb L, Wilpert EC, Reber TP, Fell J. Auditory beat stimulation and its effects on cognition and mood states. Front Psychiatry 2015;6:70. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00070.

Basu S, Banerjee B. Potential of binaural beats intervention for improving memory and attention: insights from meta-analysis and systematic review. Psychol Res 2023;87(4):951-63.

Klimesch W. α-band oscillations, attention, and controlled access to stored information. Trends Cogn Sci 2012;16(12):606–17.

Alekseichuk I, Turi Z, Amador de Lara G, Antal A, Paulus W. Spatial working memory in humans depends on theta and high gamma synchronization in the prefrontal cortex. Curr Biol 2016;26(12):1513–21.

Beauchene C, Leonessa A, Abaid N, Moran R, Diana RA. The effect of binaural beats on verbal working memory and cortical connectivity. J Neural Eng 2017;14(2):026014. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/aa5d67.

Lane J, Kasian SJ, Marsh GR, Owens JE. Binaural auditory beats affect vigilance performance and mood. Physiol Behav 1998;63(2):249-52.

Roberts BM, Clarke A, Addante RJ, Ranganath C. Entrainment enhances theta oscillations and improves episodic memory. Cogn Neurosci 2018;9(3-4):181–93.

Ortiz T, Martinez AM, Fernández A, Maestu F, Campo P, Hornero R, et al. Impact of auditory stimulation at a frequency of 5 Hz in verbal memory. Actas Esp Psiquiatr 2008;36(6):307-13.

Hommel B, Sellaro R, Borg S, Colzato LS, Fischer R. High-frequency binaural beats increase cognitive flexibility: evidence from dual-task crosstalk. Front Psychol 2016;7:1287. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01287.

Reedijk SA, Bolders A, Hommel B. The impact of binaural beats on creativity. Front Hum Neurosci 2013;7:786. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00786.

Colzato L, Barone H, Sellaro R, Hommel B. More attentional focusing through binaural beats: evidence from the global-local task. Psychol Res 2017;81(1):271–7.

Ross B, Lopez MD. 40-Hz Binaural beats enhance training to mitigate the attentional blink. Sci Rep 2020;10(1):7002. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-63980-y.

Engelbregt H, Barmentlo M, Keeser D, Pogarell O, Deijen JB. Effects of binaural and monaural beat stimulation on attention and EEG. Exp Brain Res 2021;239(9):2781-91.

Goodin P, Ciorciari J, Baker K, Carrey AM, Harper M, Kaufman J. A high-density EEG investigation into steady state binaural beat stimulation. PLoS One 2012;7(4): e34789. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034789.

Robison MK, Obulasetty M, Blais C, Wingert KM, Brewer GA. The effect of binaural beat stimulation on sustained attention. Psychol Res 2022;86(3):808-22.

Weiland TJ, Jelinek GA, Macarow KE, Samartzis P, Brown DM, Grierson EM, et al. Original sound compositions reduce anxiety in emergency department patients: a randomised controlled trial. Med J Aust 2011;195(11-12):694-8.

Wichian NS, Klaphajone J, Tantong A, Wivatvongvana, P. Effects of Suandok sound therapy application music with or without binaural beats, and white noise on physiological responses and anxiety level in adult and older people. Journal of Nursing and Health Science Research 2023;15(1):199-218. (in Thai)

Opartpunyasarn P, Vichitvejpaisal P, Oer-Areemitr N. The effect of binaural beat audio on anxiety in patients undergoing fiberoptic bronchoscopy: a prospective randomized controlled trial. Medicine (Baltimore). 2022;101(24):e29392. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000029392.

Downloads

Published

2024-04-30

Issue

Section

บทความวิชาการ (Academic Articles)