Other Titles
PechaKucha Presentation
Abstract
Background: Patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) exhibit a lack of responsiveness and inability to communicate, presenting significant clinical care challenges (Spaccavento et al., 2024). Scholars have explored auditory stimulation to activate brain regions and promote recovery (Ling et al., 2023). Binaural beat (BB) stimulation, a specific auditory stimulus, has gained attention for its potential to modulate brainwave patterns and improve cognitive states (Chockboondee et al., 2024). However, while promising, the evidence for BB-induced brainwave entrainment is inconsistent, and its application in DoC patients remains limited (Ingendoh et al., 2023; Zhu et al., 2019).
Purpose: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of different BB frequencies (α, β, γ) on cognitive-behavioral and psychophysiological responses in patients with DoC.
Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 23 DoC patients were assigned to one of four groups: α-BB, β-BB, γ-BB, or a no-intervention control. The intervention consisted of 20-minute daily auditory stimulation sessions, five days a week, for six weeks. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, week 3, and week 6, using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R), heart rate variability (HRV), and electroencephalogram (EEG). A linear mixed model was used for analysis.
Results: After six weeks, the intervention groups showed a significant improvement in cognitive-behavioral responses, particularly in arousal and total CRS-R scores (p<.05). For autonomic responses, HRV indicators of parasympathetic activity (rMSSD, HF) showed significant group-by-time interaction effects (p<.05). Notably, the α-BB group exhibited a significant increase in α-wave power at channels C3 and C4 (p<.05), suggesting successful brainwave entrainment. Cerebral blood flow showed an upward trend but did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusion: This study provides evidence that a six-week binaural beat intervention can enhance cognitive-behavioral and autonomic function in patients with DoC. The findings, particularly the EEG results in the α-BB group, suggest that BB stimulation can modulate brain activity and promote recovery. These results support the use of BB as a non-invasive therapeutic tool for this challenging patient population. Further research is needed to optimize stimulation protocols.
Notes
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References:
Chockboondee, M., Jatupornpoonsub, T., Lertsukprasert, K., & Wongsawat, Y. (2024). Effects of daily listening to 6 Hz binaural beats over one month: an event-related potentials study. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 18059. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-68628-9
Ingendoh, R. M., Posny, E. S., & Heine, A. (2023). Binaural beats to entrain the brain? A systematic review of the effects of binaural beat stimulation on brain oscillatory activity, and the implications for psychological research and intervention. PLoS One, 18(5), e0286023. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286023
Ling, Y., Xu, C., Wen, X., Li, J., Gao, J., & Luo, B. (2023). Cortical responses to auditory stimulation predict the prognosis of patients with disorders of consciousness. Clinical Neurophysiology, 153, 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2023.06.002
Spaccavento, S., Carraturo, G., Brattico, E., Matarrelli, B., Rivolta, D., Montenegro, F., Picciola, E., Haumann, N. T., Jespersen, K. V., Vuust, P., & Losavio, E. (2024). Musical and electrical stimulation as intervention in disorder of consciousness (DOC) patients: A randomised cross-over trial. PLoS One, 19(5), e0304642. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304642
Zhu, J., Yan, Y., Zhou, W., Lin, Y., Shen, Z., Mou, X., Ren, Y., Hu, X., & Di, H. (2019). Clinical Research: Auditory Stimulation in the Disorders of Consciousness. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, 324.
Sigma Membership
Lambda Beta at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Complementary Health Practices, Long-Term Care, Cognition Disorders Treatment, Cognition Disorders, Binaural Audio
Recommended Citation
Chen, Yu-Ju; Li, Ching-I; and Lin, Chen-Xi, "Binaural Beats Enhance Cognitive and Autonomic Function in Disorders of Consciousness" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 268.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/268
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-07
Binaural Beats Enhance Cognitive and Autonomic Function in Disorders of Consciousness
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) exhibit a lack of responsiveness and inability to communicate, presenting significant clinical care challenges (Spaccavento et al., 2024). Scholars have explored auditory stimulation to activate brain regions and promote recovery (Ling et al., 2023). Binaural beat (BB) stimulation, a specific auditory stimulus, has gained attention for its potential to modulate brainwave patterns and improve cognitive states (Chockboondee et al., 2024). However, while promising, the evidence for BB-induced brainwave entrainment is inconsistent, and its application in DoC patients remains limited (Ingendoh et al., 2023; Zhu et al., 2019).
Purpose: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of different BB frequencies (α, β, γ) on cognitive-behavioral and psychophysiological responses in patients with DoC.
Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 23 DoC patients were assigned to one of four groups: α-BB, β-BB, γ-BB, or a no-intervention control. The intervention consisted of 20-minute daily auditory stimulation sessions, five days a week, for six weeks. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, week 3, and week 6, using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R), heart rate variability (HRV), and electroencephalogram (EEG). A linear mixed model was used for analysis.
Results: After six weeks, the intervention groups showed a significant improvement in cognitive-behavioral responses, particularly in arousal and total CRS-R scores (p<.05). For autonomic responses, HRV indicators of parasympathetic activity (rMSSD, HF) showed significant group-by-time interaction effects (p<.05). Notably, the α-BB group exhibited a significant increase in α-wave power at channels C3 and C4 (p<.05), suggesting successful brainwave entrainment. Cerebral blood flow showed an upward trend but did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusion: This study provides evidence that a six-week binaural beat intervention can enhance cognitive-behavioral and autonomic function in patients with DoC. The findings, particularly the EEG results in the α-BB group, suggest that BB stimulation can modulate brain activity and promote recovery. These results support the use of BB as a non-invasive therapeutic tool for this challenging patient population. Further research is needed to optimize stimulation protocols.
Description
This study shows that a six-week binaural beat (BB) intervention can enhance cognitive and autonomic function in patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC). The intervention significantly improved cognitive-behavioral responses and increased parasympathetic activity. Notably, the α-BB group showed increased α-wave brain activity, suggesting successful brainwave entrainment. These findings support BB stimulation as a promising non-invasive therapy for DoC patients.