Tactile Feedback with BrainMaster

There are various ways to produce sounds that will work with tactile feedback using the Interactor Cushion or other devices such as the "Alpha Dog" vibrotactile dog or the "Polar Bear" vibrotactile bear

If you have an Atlantis, there is a "Vibro" output on the back connector. This can be used to feed the raw EEG directly to the vibrotactile device. The user will then "feel" their EEG directly. This works best for eyes-closed alpha work, since the alpha wave is large and pronounced, and can be easily felt, in this condition. Fast EEG does not provide as discernable a wave to be felt.

It is also possible to control the cushion by the PC software in two ways. One is direct software control using the protocol with sound output, and the other is to use the BrainMaster Interactor software.

The cushion or toy can, for example, be connected directly to the sound output of the PC. Then, the feedback sounds from the main software will go through the vibrotactile device. This can be used with a "Y" cord so that normal sounds can also be heard. You can use MIDI sounds or "Complex" sounds to produce a suitable sound.

In "MIDI" or "Complex" mode, you can use thresholding as well as amplitude modulation to get proper amplitude modulation of the MIDI tones. I have also found that if you use the "user" band, and set its percent time over threshold to 100%, then you get the full range of vibration, since the threshold stays very low, and the device is basically always vibrating, and the full range output is very noticeable.

So you could vibrate the animal with a MIDI note whenever lobeta (or any "go") is above threshold, plus

have the "morse" sound when all criteria are met.

This approach could also be used for alpha/theta training. You could see how the animal works with an alpha/theta protocol like "deep" that uses the MIDI tones. If we use Complex mode for this, the animal would just vibrate away, reflecting both alpha and theta energy. Then, we could offer a "bong" that happens whenever both alpha and theta are above threshold. (interesting if you want to prolong the state of hypnogogic twilight of alpha and theta together...)

Also, we have hidden a new back door, for future work. The tone emitted for the "user" band in either MIDI

Tones mode, or in Complex mode, can be changed in pitch under user control. Pressing the key "q" will

shift this note immediately to the bottom of the "keyboard", being note 0. Pressing "v" (for vibrator)

will raise the tone one note at a time, e.g. C, Csharp, D, Dsharp, E, etc. etc., walking up the scale. In

this way, you can type in as many "v"'s as you want, to get from note 1 to note 88. So you have this to

try out. Using e.g. "sawtooth" MIDI sound, you can dial in some very gritty tones, using notes around

20 or 30, I have found. So you have this to play with! ("V" will lower the user note one key at a time).

The BrainMaster Interactor software is another way to control a vibrotactile device. It provides direct, independent protocol-based control so that you can produce "thumps" at precisely specified times, at a specified frequency of vibration.

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