The software makes no sense. I want to create sessions starting in the alpha range that go down to the delta range and then up to the gamma range. How do I do this with the software provided?
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The software makes no sense. I want to create sessions starting in the alpha range that go down to the delta range and then up to the gamma range. How do I do this with the software provided?
I'm sure Scott will chime in, but in the meantime, this video may help get you started.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAM9x582PCw
Frequency settings are what you want to change. At first just stick with one LED at time to get a feel for the settings. You can turn off the other LEDs by deselecting the Active checkboxes at the bottom of the light channel strip. Like for now turn off Grn LF active and Blu LF active. That leaves you only Red. Leave all other settings at their defaults.
You will need at least 2 segments to do what you want. But focus now on just one segment.
Set the length of the segment for how long you want the ramp down from Alpha to Delta to be. You set this in the Segment Time box at the bottom. That is a pretty steep drop so let's say 10 minutes. You can enter it directly as 10:00 (if you just enter 10 then it will be 10 seconds).
Now enter an Alpha value in the Start text box next to Frequency in the Red channel. Say 13. That is the top of the Alpha range.
In the Finish text box next to Frequency in the Red channel enter 3. This is at the top of the Delta range.
That is all you have to do for the 1st segment. The Frequency of the Red LED will start at 13hz and drop down to 1hz over 10 minutes. This is a rate of 1hz per minute.
Press the Run Segments button on the right and if your Procyon is connected and the serial port is open (green dot) then this segment will preview on the Procyon.
You can set the Sound to follow the Red channel by selecting Red in the dropdown menus under Sound Modulation in the Sound channel strip. Select Red for both Left and Right. Now the sound will follow the Frequency you have set and produce isochronic beats. Adjust the pitch to taste or keep the defaults.
Now create a new segment. In the Edit menu choose Insert Segment. A new segment will be added. Notice that the number fields in the Current Segment Number box and the Run to Segment Number box change to 2. This indicates that the total number of segments is 2 and the 2nd segment is loaded for editing. You can use the slider to go back and forth between segment 1 and 2.
Also notice that the Frequency text boxes have been filled with the Start and Finish values swapped (as a convenience for ramping) So Start Frequency for Red is 3 and Finish is 13. All of the other settings you have made carry over to the new segment.
The total session length is now 20 minutes.
Change the Finish Frequency on Red to 26 which is in the Gamma range. (and double the Alpha which is a good practice...) Segment 2 will rise 1.3hz per minute.
If you selected Run Segments now you would just play the 2nd segment as a preview. If you want to preview the whole session use the slider to navigate to Segment 1 or you can enter 1 in the Current Segment Number box. This will play the whole session.
Basically, that is it for this simple session. You now start Red at 13hz and drop to 3hz over 10 minutes and then climb up to 26hz over 10 minutes.
This is a good start on the concepts which can be applied to other LED channels. The only settings that really matter for most people is Frequency, Amplitude(brightness), and Sound.
Let me know if this is clear and what your other questions are.
Hope this helps,
Scott
Thank you for both responses. They are helpful but not completely what I need.
I do not want the colors to follow the sound. I instead want to manipulate the colors so it appears to just flash in a shade of magenta the whole time.
Also, for the ramping I actually have a different time setting in mind for each step before taking it down and ultimately the entire session start to finish will be a little over an hour. I now think I can do this with your tutorials.
Also, can we use Neuro Programmer 3 to create sessions? It seems a little more user friendly.
I wonder if VSD would be of help here?
http://www.mindplacesupport.com/foru...ore-you-upload
Wow, that looks extremely helpful yet drastically over my head. I shall review it more.
NP3 can create AudioStrobe sessions for the Procyon but not its native format. If you wanted some semblance of Magenta you could change the AudioStrobe color mapping in the Procyon editor under Utilities - Set AudioStrobe Color Balance. You would change the mapped colors to Red and Blue. Then you would make your settings (pan of the AudioStrobe signal) to have a lot of blue and a little red.
Magenta as you probably imagine it is not quite possible viewed behind closed eyes. This is a consequence of the physiology of our eyelids and the red filtering effect they have. Also, somewhat due to the red and blue LEDs being spaced apart. It is kind of an oil and water effect. Experiment and you will see what I mean.
If you want a feel of magenta turn on all 3 light channels (Red Green and Blue) and set them to the same frequency. Then try these Amplitude settings: Red - 25, Green - 50, Blue 255
It is really more so the sound following the colors, but either way you look at it. If you want no modulation on the sound then leave the default of the sound modulation menu (set to None) This will be a steady tone or you can set the Volume all the way off for no sound. Turning of Sound Active would work to disable audio as well.
If you want binaural beats then you have to set the Pitch properly. Say in the first segment 175 on the Left and (175 + 10) for Start then (175 + 3) for Finish on the Right. This will create binaural beats and ramp them with the lights.
Be aware that the maximum segment length is 10 minutes so you will need to add more segments and spread the ramp over them to span the duration. The time limitation is due to the way that the numbers are encoded in the output file.
The editor does not allow me to switch between segments. I click on the slide bar just as the video indicates but it does not change.
Ok, it will not switch between 2 segments but anything over that and I can so I am no longer worried about that.
You are loosing me when you talk about how the sound follows the colors and the modulation. I want the sounds and the colors to work together to alter brainwaves so what am I supposed to do for that?
Also, I would love to do binaural beats but again I'm not following you.
How do I move my created sessions onto the Procyon. I've read the manual but this is not working.
The Procyon can do 2 kinds of sound entrainment. Isochronic beats which are pulsing tones or binaural beats.
To do isochronic beats, you need to select one of the color channels in the Sound Modulation dropdown menus. The default setting for these is None. Change each one to Red for instance and the Frequency settings of the Red channel will be the 'speed' at which the tones pulse. Change to Green and Green controls the speed. You can make a different setting for Left and Right but it is recommended to keep them the same most of the time.
Binaural beats are created when the tone in the Left and Right channel have different Pitch settings separated by a small amount. Usually you will want this separation to be same as the Frequency setting in one of your color channels.
You will also want the Sound Modulation menus set to None, so that the tones do not pulse. The 'pulsing' from binaural beats is a perceptual illusion created by the difference between tones as heard in each ear in headphones.
It is simple arithmetic to figure out what the settings in each channel should be.
Say that the Red channel Start Frequency is 10 and the base Pitch in the Start Left audio channel is 175. That would mean that to produce a binaural beat the Right audio channel would be set to 175+10 = 185.
You add the Frequency to the base Pitch to get the pitch setting for the binaural beat offset.
If the Red channel End Frequency is 3 and the base pitch in the Finish Left channel is 175 then the Finish Right Pitch will be 175+3= 178 .
Tell me if this makes sense now.
Scott
Nevermind my last. I hand to fiddle with the port settings.
Make sure the Procyon is connected to your computer by a USB cable, the COM port is set correctly under Serial Communication and the Procyon is recognized. You will see a green dot (not red) in the upper left corner of the software, a port number (unique to each computer) and the port speed (19200)
If the Procyon is connected correctly then you can push the Run Segments button and the working session will be sent to the Procyon for preview. The lights will flash.
If all this is ok, then you can transfer your completed session to the Procyon.
Use Upload Session to Procyon under the Session Tools menu, then Append if Possible. This transfers one session (the one you are working on) to the Procyon, adding it to the end of factory session list. Normally this will be session number 51. (it will be the next number listed after Current Number of Sessions box in the Store Session in Procyon window)
You do not want to use 'Overwrite Session Table' as this will erase all sessions and then you will be left with only your working session.
If you are having problems it is usually that the COM port is not set correctly for the software to see the Procyon or the session transferred successfully but you don't know where to find it. Again for first session uploads it goes to slot 51, if using the 'Append if Possible' command in the window that pops up when you choose Upload Session to Procyon.
That helped a lot. Thank you.
Glad to help. You are getting there. Once you get over hooking up the Procyon and learning to pick out the important parts of the settings: Frequency, Amplitude and Sound, making some ramps with segments, and transferring to the Procyon, you have most of the tools you need to make basic sessions.
The other settings are advanced ones and are mostly fine with the default settings.
This biggest barrier to most people with the Procyon editor is the unfamiliar terms used for the names of the settings. They are accurate technical terms and it is best in the long run to know what they mean.
However, while learning you can substitute:
Frequency - Speed
Amplitude - Brightness
DC Offset - Contrast
Duty Cycle - Flicker Intensity
Phase - Light Channel Alignment
Note on DC Offset: Contrast is not really accurate it is more so how much the wave is shifted up or down from the baseline. DC Offset is the hardest to visualize. Once you are ready I can explain it.
Also realize that for everything except Frequency,Phase and Amplitude the zero point is 127. The range of 0-255 has to do with the fact that each of these values is 1 byte in size (0xFF). If you changed it to something like 0-100 you would lose precision.
Amplitude is lights off at 0 and full brightness at 255.
Phase is really in degrees so 0 = 0 degrees, 127 = 180 degrees, 255 is almost 360 degrees. The conversion factor is around 0.708 ... so 360 x 0.708 = 255, 180 x 0.708 = 127 (round the numbers)
Ok, so when making binaural beats the sound absolutely can not follow the light frequencies? The sounds would be the same through all segments. Do you understand the problem I am running into?
By setting the Start and Finish Pitch settings to line up with values in a color channel (as in the above calculations) then the binaural beats do follow the frequency. When you set a different start and finish the values ramp over the length of the segment.
If you set Start Left - 175 and Start Right - 185 then Finish Left 175 and Finish Right - 178 then binaural beats will ramp from 10hz to 3hz.
It is just that it doesn't do this automatically. You have to do a little math and enter the values.
You could also set the pitch to change over the segment if you wanted. As long as you keep the 'distance' between pitches on the Left and Right channel separated for binaural beats.
You could set the Start Left to 175 and Finish Left to 100, then Start Right to 185 and Finish Left to 103.
This would ramp the pitch down from 175hz to 100hz over the segment with binaural beats starting at 10hz and ending at 3hz.
I've got the binaural beats down. What is confusing me is exactly what effects the brain waves. It sounds like the light signals is what does it and the sound is just there. Does the sound actually help that much? I understand of the binaural effect works but does this also mean that ramping the sound is arbitrary?
Also, it possible to delete individual sessions without wiping them all off?
I'll split these up for easier reading:
Light and sound enter the brain through different sensory channels. The information going into these channels can either reinforce or conflict. Generally as you can imagine a measure of reinforcement has advantages. Binaural beats by themselves produce low cortical arousal. More about that in quoted article below.
The brain is a master at pattern tracking. Everything affects brainwaves. Patterned input has an effect but not in any overriding way as many would tend to imagine. It is more like the 'wake' behind a canoe when you are paddling down a stream. This is an apt metaphor because we can flow along with the stream and gain momentum from the ongoing current, or we can struggle against the current and expend much unneeded effort. Learning to flow is a great key to deep, transportive sessions.
I'll include this quote from a Monroe Institute research paper (can't currently find it on their site). I think it presents the issues of alteration of ongoing consciousness and the underlying mechanisms quite well.
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Two decades ago it was assumed that the mechanism behind the consciousness-altering effects of binaural beats was somehow related to entrainment of the auditory frequency-following response - a theorized process of nonlinear stochastic resonance of brain waves with the frequency of the auditory stimulus. Since an auditory frequency-following response could be measured at the cortex it seemed logical to assume that the underlying consciousness-altering mechanism must be some form of Newtonian entrainment process at work. Continuing research revealed, however, that there is no effect-mechanism to support the notion that entrainment of the auditory frequency-following response could occur or is responsible for alterations in consciousness. Comparisons to photic entrainment models are not supported because the EEG signal strength of the measured auditory frequency-following response of binaural beats is too low. At this point it is hard to even speculate that the neural activity of the frequency-following response could, in some electromagnetically inductive way, alter ongoing brain-wave activity.
A review of the appropriate literature reveals that brain waves and related states of consciousness are said to be regulated by the brain's reticular formation stimulating the thalamus and cortex. The extended reticular-thalamic activation system (ERTAS) is implicated in a variety of functions associated with consciousness (Newman, 1997). The word reticular means "net-like" and the neural reticular formation itself is a large, net-like diffuse area of the brainstem (Anch et al., 1988). The reticular activating system (RAS) interprets and reacts to information from internal stimuli, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs as well as external sensory stimuli by regulating arousal states, attentional focus, and the level of awareness - the elements of consciousness itself (Empson, 1986; Tice & Steinberg, 1989). How we interpret, respond, and react to information then, is managed by the brain's reticular formation stimulating the thalamus and cortex, and controlling attentiveness and level of arousal (Empson, 1986). "It would seem that the basic mechanisms underlying consciousness are closely bound up with the brainstem reticular system ..." (Henry, 1992).
In order to alter consciousness it is necessary to provide some sort of information input to the RAS. Binaural beats appear to influence consciousness by providing this information. The information referred to here includes the character, quality, and traits of the state of consciousness of the complex, brain- wave-like pattern of the binaural beat (see Figure 2). These unique binaural- beat wave forms (neurologically evidenced by the EEG frequency-following response) are recognized by the RAS as brain-wave pattern information. If internal stimuli, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, and external sensory stimuli are not in conflict with this information (e.g., an internal, even unconscious, fear may be a source of conflict), the RAS will alter the state of consciousness as a natural function of maintaining homeostasis by regulating brain activity to synthesize the integrated binaural-beat stimulus (sensing it as a component of ongoing neural activity).
Without conflict, the RAS initiates replication of the character, quality, and traits of the neurologically evident and persistent binaural beating. As time passes, the RAS monitors both the internal and external environment and the state of consciousness itself (in terms of neural activity) to determine, from moment to moment, its suitability for dealing with existing conditions. As long as no conflicts develop, the RAS naturally continues aligning the listener's state of consciousness with the information in the brain-wave-like pattern of the binaural sound field.
Accessing Anomalous States of Consciousness with a Binaural Beat Technology
ATWATER, F. HOLMES
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You can Google for the full paper.
On changing individual sessions on the Procyon. Transferring multiple sessions requires a corresponding Album file. An Album has the extension PRB and is simply a text listing of the sessions you want to transfer and their order. This file must go in the same folder where the sessions are located. If you need copies of the full factory sessions they are here: http://mindplacesupport.com/content/procyon-content/ There is a PRB named ! FACTORY SESSIONS ALBUM.PRb which is the first file in the archive.
Open it in a text editor like NotePad. From there you can delete the sessions from the list you don't want, change the order of the list or add new entries with the name you have given the session and the extension .PRW. ie MyProcyonSession.PRw
Save the edited Album file with a name of your choosing such as MyProcyonAlbum.PRb Save it in the same folder where the sessions are. If you are adding custom sessions then you must move these to the folder with the Album and the other sessions.
If you change the order of the Factory Sessions be aware of what you have put in each slot as the numbers on the display showing the session number will now differ from the Factory Session description list. You can use the Album file to know what the order the sessions are.
In the Procyon Editor choose Upload Album of Sessions under the Session Tools menu. Browse to and select the Album file you created. Generally you want to Overwrite the contents of the Procyon with the sessions indicated in the Album.
If you feel like you might make a mistake here, you can first backup the contents of the Procyon by using the command Archive Procyon Sessions under the Session Tools menu. It saves a file with the extension PRa. You can return the Procyon to a prior state using the Restore Archive Sessions command and opening the PRa file you saved.
Once you have the Procyon as you like it or want to work from different session lists, you can save multiple albums or archive files. Use these to change and manage the sessions on the Procyon.
Make sense?
So the flashing light frequency is what actually encourages our brainwaves to change (provided we don't fight it) and the binaural beats help facilitate the change by stimulating the cortex and making our conscious more open to suggestion. Did I get that right?
So with that in mind the truly important things to focus on is the light frequencies and the difference in the pitch to induce the binaural beat. All else is cosmetic and for show to keep people slightly entertain while they are getting mind altered?
I can ramp the pitch (with respect to the binaural beat) and ramp the volumes between the ears and not worry about negating the effect I am trying to cause.
I can alter the Amp's and duty cycle's to do all kinds of LSD type things and everything will still be fine as long the the freq's are right.
What is phase? DC offset seems to not be important.
Did I get it all right?
It's hard to make conclusive statements as concerns the human brain, the most complex machine in the known universe. Especially because people have vastly different ways of processing information and associations.
What is known is that in humans around 30% of the cortex is devoted to visual processing whereas for sound it is only about 3%. It is also very apparent after a session using photic stimulation that your perception of color and vision have been greatly altered.
Personally, I adopt some fairly basic strategies in creating sessions. I basically divide them into 3 primary parts. In the first part I want to 'get attention', create novel and interesting patterns, and send out cascades of complex stimulation. Think of this like the opening songs in a concert, they set the stage and getcha rocking.
After 6 to 8 minutes or so, the changes slow down and the 'ballad' numbers start. This is the chill out, working part of the session. The patterns and audio settle down to relatively static purposeful settings. The brain is primed for these after the intense open segments.
There is a lot of thought that goes into how best to encapsulate the intention of the session, given the available tools. However, generally simple stimulation characterizes this stage. An important element however is to ramp away from the target frequency periodically, even doubling or halving it.
Think of these like 'sleep spindles'. In fact generally looking at the overall structure of sleep stages is useful. These are the most ordered brainwave patterns we know of and a lot of data about them has been gathered.
It is a broad topic and individual preferences play a large role. For instance, I greatly prefer strong 'drone' elements in audio but with synchronized movements. Binaural beats qualify as this type of stimulus. In the opening stages though isochronic tones are more suitable. That is using the onboard tools. Adding music or composing specially designed music is a whole other arena.
The final part of a session varies according to the intent. It can be a 'return to baseline' or 'leave'em wanting more' or 'drop off to sleep'. It depends on what you plan to do after the session really.
I feel (and many would agree) that the onboard sessions on the Procyon are very classic examples of balancing stimulation and visuals, with a bit of audio spice thrown in to taste. Studying them (as you can by opening them in the editor) is helpful.
Phase is normally used to create alternating lights from left to right. The Procyon glasses aren't wired for that though. On the Procyon slight phase differences are good to create 'trailing' color effects by slightly offsetting the lights. Phase is alignment. So when the lights are in phase they flash together. When they are 180 degrees (127) out of phase they flash in alternation. So say you have Red at 1hz with 0 phase and Green at 1hz with 127 phase. It would flash Red, then Green, then Red, the Green, etc. Overall at 2hz because the Green beats are 'between' the Red beats.
Now if you put them really close together like Red 0, Green 6, Blue 12, then you would get like 3 quick flashes which creates a more interesting visual than if the lights all flash together. Note that as long as they are really close the 'spike' for the purpose of entrainment is still present.
DC Offset is good for creating 'solid' fields of color like a Ganzfeld (google it). It is also good to not drop out colors entirely, like keep them on but still fading in and out a bit, just not all the way to black. This is the 'contrast' nature. Note that Amplitude and DC Offset are linked. When you increase DC Offset above 127, say to 150, you at least want to reduce the Amplitude by the same amount of the offset, in this case 150-127 = 23, for Amplitude you set 255-23=232. Otherwise the lights will 'clip' that is cut off the top of the wave, like flattening the top of a sine wave. VSD helps to show this and my videos on it explain it I think. (been awhile since I made them)
Below 127, DC Offset does crazy things that are hard to visualize but still useful once you have a handle on it.
It's really a lot to write about in one sitting (much less read) but I want to provide as much help as you want, and it benefits other Procyon users probably, so I don't mind. But I don't want to provide more than you can process or use at one time.
I interpret and purpose information differently than most people. I will post my session once completed if you wouldn't mind taking a look at it.
Is there a way I can upload a session to this thread for you to look at? Also, the software will no longer upload sessions to the unit. The function will just not work.
.zip up your session(s).
Click on "Go Advanced" or Double-Click on "Reply" below your post and a new "Advanced" Editor window will open.
Click on the paper clip icon in the menu bar.
Click on "Browse" and find the .zip file.
Click on "Upload" and wait for the uploading to finish.
Click on "Close this Window" and you'll be back here.
Click "Submit Reply" at the bottom of the Editor.
Here is what I have created and I fixed my upload problem by uninstalling and re-installing the software.
I would appreciate your input on my session. My intent is to put the listener into deep sleep for about 30 or so minutes.
The file you have attached is the PRH file. This is a file that contains header information like session name, description.. etc. You actually need to upload the PRW file. It is the same folder as the one where this one is. You could put both of these in the zip archive if you wanted but all the session data is contained in the PRW.
Sorry I took so long. Did I get it right this time?
ok, I just put them both in fold an zipped it. Sorry for the delay.
You are doing well in laying out the session for time and segments. I can see that you have learned the methods of ramping. Good job.
A few things to note on this session:
You are going down to 0.1hz. That is a 10 second cycle. The lights would be on for this entire period with no flicker. That's a long time and well below anything that would be recognized as a brainwave sync pattern. Cycles this slow are good for rotating colors or changing background colors but not of much benefit the way they are used in this session.
Also, because the pitch settings can only be integers (not decimals as 0.1hz is) then you can't create binaural beats with frequency this slow (and the binaural beats wouldn't work anyway as the cycle duration is too long to have a recognizable beat pattern)
One more thing to realize concerning binaural beats. At the 1Hz setting, they create a 'rotating' effect. We perceive the sound as moving around our head. That in itself can be distracting (although cool if intended). Some people even get dizzy or seasick from this.
Is there some reason you selected this frequency?
You would be on firmer ground closer to 3hz.
You are changing volumes throughout the session. More than doubling the volume range across the segment. In a sleep session this is not advisable. You want to create a 'featureless' field, so as not to disturb the onset and early sleep stages. Changing volume or significant light alterations can draw attention and interrupt sleep. At later stages you could introduce some variations to create 'cues' for lucid dreaming for instance.
I would keep the volume static during the mid segments. The binaural beats gives it some sense of volume modulation.
A last thing to note is for my taste in creating a sleep session, the pitch is too high. I find low pitch settings more relaxing and less obtrusive. More towards 80hz to 100hz.
Anyway these are suggestions from experience. Take what you like. The important thing is to experiment and try out the session for a few nights and see how it works for you.
Best,
Scott
Thank you for looking at it. The reason why I choose what I did is because the body does the majority of it's healing while in sleep mode so the intention is put some one in a deep sleep. It may be best to just turn off the lights at the 3hz mark.
I moved the volume around like that because I want it to seem more interesting to people.
I have a hyperbaric chamber and charge people for an hr of use. The chamber helps people heal so that's why I need them to pass out. It maximizes the healing process.
I know what you mean. The goal of making an 'interesting' session and the goal of putting people to sleep are contradictory. I go round and round with myself many times in making sessions. We as designers like to push our own boundaries and challenge ourselves to come up with new and neat stuff. But this should not supersede the intent of the session. It is a line that is easy to cross.
The hyperbaric chamber sounds really interesting. We like to see unique uses for our products. If you would be willing to document with photos and such that would great. I could even assist you on the session creation. Also, contact me by private message if you want a sleep mask made which would be more comfortable and we can work out the fees and time table.
Scott
That make's sense about the volume and the pitch. Try this one.
Alright, it's doing that thing again where it doesn't want to move a session to the device. Will I have to uninstall and re-install every time I want to do this?
I can't see any reason that the Procyon software would stop working after installed. Are you sure that you are opening the COM port? Serial Communication - Open COM Port. It is not automatic. Otherwise I haven't heard of this before but maybe Andy has.
New question. Is it possible to set the sound to 528hz. Thank you.
Sure, change the pitch. The upper limit of Procyon sound frequency is 600hz.