Method for influencing physiological processes through physiologically interactive stimuli

A method of interactively entraining a physiological process having a determinable frequency in a patient toward a target frequency comprising the steps of:

• making a first determination of the frequency of the physiological process;
• presenting sound stimuli to the patient during a predetermined first time interval, the sound stimuli having a frequency within a predetermined entrainment range of the frequency of the physiological process;
• making a second determination of the frequency of the physiological process, thereby determining the direction of and extent to which the physiological process frequency has varied from the time of the first determination;
• changing the frequency of the sound stimuli to approximately the same extent and in the same direction as the change in frequency of the physiological process;
• presenting the sound stimuli to the patient during a predetermined second time interval.

A method of varying the heart rate of a person, the heart rate having a frequency, from a first heart rate frequency to a second heart rate frequency comprising the steps of:

• (1) exposing the person to music having a tempo within an entrainment range of the first heart rate frequency;
• (2) ascertaining the change, if any, in the person's heart rate frequency;
• (3) determining whether the music tempo is still within an entrainment range of the heart rate frequency and if so, changing the tempo to fall once again within an entrainment range of the heart rate frequency;
• (4) exposing the person to the music with the changed tempo;
• (5) repeating steps (1) through (4) until the heart rate frequency reaches the second heart rate frequency.

A method of changing a component brain wave frequency of a person from a first frequency to a target frequency comprising the steps of:

• (1) determining the first frequency of the component frequency at a first point in time;
• (2) subjecting the person to a first sound tone having a frequency near the first frequency;
• (3) determining the frequency of the component frequency at a second point in time;
• (4) subjecting the person to a second sound tone in place of the first sound tone, the second sound tone having a frequency near the frequency of the component frequency as determined at the second point in time;
• (5) repeating steps (1) through (4) until the component frequency approximates the target frequency;
• wherein the sound tones are continuous fundamental tones, together with harmonic overtones comprising whole number multiples of the fundamental tones, thereby generating a repetition frequency, and wherein the frequencies of the sound tones are the repetition frequencies.