Preliminary EEG Studies with Neuro Synchrony Institute (March 2017 & November 2018)
Recording EEG brain waves during a Zero Balancing session
Stuart Reynolds Ph.D. and James Strickland
Clinically, electroencephalography or EEG, is an electrophysiological monitoring method of the brain’s spontaneous electrical activity (voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current within the neurons of the brain) as recorded from multiple electrodes placed on the scalp. For this preliminary study, Strickland and Reynolds(2017) focused on both event-related potential and the spectral content of the EEG readings they collected.
In March 2017, one of the main challenges for the researchers was to source comfortable headgear that did not disrupt the flow of a Zero Balancing session by requiring the client’s head to be kept still at all times. EEG measures were then recorded during just two ZB sessions: a swap between two experienced ZB Faculty.
On review of this limited data, ZB Touch appeared to prompt a deep shift in quieter brain wave patterns in the recipient, not dissimilar to those reported during meditation. This led to the ZB Touch Foundation to explore further the effect of ZB Touch on brain waves and whether this unique form of transformational touch facilitates expanded states of consciousness in the brain, as anecdotally, many ZB practitioners have witnessed over many decades.
In the later study in November 2018, NSI found that when the EDA wrist sensor data indicated a reduction in stress in the client, the EEG brain-wave readings showed a similar pattern. “What we detected in one type of measure was frequently detectable in the other measures” (Strickland & Reynolds, 2018).
Looking for evidence of altered states of consciousness the researchers asked the clients when they had themselves felt they were in an expanded state during their session. This was then compared to the EEG and EDA data outputs. It was found at these points “both readings were very different from the readings at other times in the sessions. There seemed to be physiological markings of when the client was in an expanded state of consciousness” (Strickland & Reynolds, 2018).
One further, unexpected, observation occurred when a participant was asked to recount their experience of the ZB session while still hooked up to the EEG instruments. Striking similarities in the brain wave patterns during and after the ZB session were recorded, suggesting the process of recalling a ZB session can elicit the same beneficial brain wave patterns as experienced during the session.
