Long Term Use of Personalised Binaural Beats in the Alpha Range: A Pilot Study

Brainwave entrainment (BWE) through Binaural Beats (BBs) has been proposed as a non-invasive method to modulate cortical activity by enhancing oscillatory power at specific frequencies. Despite growing interest, empirical evidence regarding the efficacy of BBs remains inconsistent. This study aimed to assess long-term effects of BBs stimulation using a personalized protocol. Eleven healthy university students (7 males, 4 females; mean age 24.8 ± 1.6 years) participated in three EEG acquisition sessions over two weeks, each including Baseline, Stimulation, and Post-Stimulation phases. Personalized audio tracks were created based on each participant's Individual Alpha Frequency (IAF) and applied daily during a 10-day training period. EEG signals were analysed in time and frequency domains using linear and complexity-based metrics. Multivariate processing combining Principal Component Analysis and K-means clustering revealed high classification accuracy distinguishing Baseline from Stimulation (>81%) and Baseline from Post-Stimulation (>89%) phases, with consistent results across sessions and in pooled data. Statistical significance was confirmed via non-parametric permutation testing. Alpha rhythm analysis showed significant frontal effects (F3, F4), including increased spindle incidence, reduced duration, decreased alpha power, and lowered α exponent via Detrended Fluctuation Analysis. Although the dataset was relatively small, these findings suggest that BBs may modulate brain activity, with sustained effects observable post-stimulation, particularly in frontal regions.