On Tanpura Drone and Brain Electrical Correlates

We describe a new conceptual framework of using tanpura drone for auditory stimulation in EEG. The question of reference for baseline EEG in the resting condition where the subject has no task to perform is addressed. In a laboratory setting we observed spontaneous brain electrical activity during Tanpura drone stimulation and periods of silence. The sound stimulus was given by an electronic substitute Tanpura (EST) that allows to closely control its parameters. The timbral characteristics of the drone samples are given. The brain-electrical response of the subject is analyzed with global descriptors, a way to monitor the course of activation in the time domain in a three-dimensional state space, revealing patterns of global dynamical states of the brain. Preliminary results are presented that serve as a stepping stone for a larger longitudinal study.

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