You 2.0

Seems like a mix of sensory deprivation, some effects on mood and the placebo effect.

I think they should do some tests on people who are unaware of its alleged effects. I wouldn't be surprised if the placebo effect couldn't account for 100% of the effect of the music, because music has been known to have effects on mood and even your body (chills/goosebumps):
http://www.exploratorium.edu/music/questions/goosebumps.html
http://www.livescience.com/health/mm_061120_music_chills.html

About 35 years ago, Andrew Weil, before he became a pop culture health guy, wrote an excellent book called "The Natural Mind." In it, he made a cogent argument that everyone needs to get high, one way or another. If we could step out of our American Puritan mindset and consider that possibility, we might ask why any parent would be concerned about their kid getting high with binaural beats.

They're free, legal, don't require paying money to organized crime, don't require hanging our with gangs, don't interfere with getting homework done, don't cause lung problems or stomach problems or overdose deaths, or any of the usual parental complaints about real drugs.

Kids are getting high by listening to boring sounds? So what? Three-year-olds get high by spinning in circles. Big deal.

Very informative post. I've learned so much today! I love this guy!

If your child really wants to "get high" on music, then some (not all) of the music that is available from the Hearts of Space website (http://www.hos.com), which is not free of charge but not outrageously expensive, might serve. Some pieces can, if you really listen to them instead of trying to do three other things at the same time, induce a mind-state of tranquility and bliss. The instrumental music there is not, however, the kind that most of us would want to "party" with. If you want everyone to get up and dance, then play some reggae!

Just a few thoughts on this: From browsing the forums there seem to be people who are very passionate about the effects they feel from these audio drugs. A few of my friends actually did this like two or three years ago and said it worked--one even said that she had to stop because it was getting really intense.

However, the fact that there are stringent instructions that come with the dosage (e.g. the user must remain still, be in the dark, fully concentrating) makes me inclined to believe that it's just placebo. I intend to try this soon.

What do you think about the health effects that this could have? I'd imagine that if it triggers an unnatural spike in dopamine levels, this can't be good for your body in the long run.

I'm over 40 and it's been almost 30 years since I've gone anywhere near the real thing but after reading your blog, because I have used binaural beats successfully for insomnia and for relief of a headache (using ipod apps), I looked up i-doser on the internet.

I found an i-doser pot simulation mp3 that wasn't like nails on chalkboard (too many of the binaural programs are difficult to tolerate for long enough to get any effect at all other than annoyance...the sounds are awful!) I wasn't in the dark or totally focused on it, but I can tell you 1) it didn't feel like the real thing, to the extent I can remember trying it way back when and 2) it did do SOMETHING as I felt a sense of wellbeing and relaxation. I wouldn't call it "high". I would call it more like the state of meditating or repetitive prayers like the rosary. Having tried a few "pure", non drug simulating, brain wave meditation CDs in the past, I suspect that this particular mp3 is entraining the mind into "gamma" waves, which would evoke mood elevation and compassion. While I would prefer that kids find some sort of spiritual path to have rather than having quasi-spiritual experiences in a vacuum, those aren't bad qualities to evoke.

I agree with the idea that if teens are totally focused on trying to find out what illicit drugs are like, particularly as some of the simulations are more "hardcore" substances, then a problem might be developing. On the other hand, if you can get a teenager to not multitask, sit in the dark for 15 minutes and essentially meditate on a daily basis by thinking that they're doing digital pot, that might be a good rest for their brains!

Katy

MichaelExe says: "The problem is that anything that feels good can be addictive and addictions, in general, are bad"

Fynthase says: "...if it triggers an unnatural spike in dopamine levels, this can't be good for your body in the long run..."

Really? Feeling good is bad because it can be addictive, feeling good can't be good for your body in the long run? Should we outlaw exercise, David Letterman, the Tilt-A-Whirl at the carnival, puppies?

Seems to me that statements like this are simply the 21st century version of the 17th and 18th centurys' "The human body is bad because it can feel pleasure, and pleasure leads to sin, and sin leads to hell."

Would "innocent" pleasures become dangerous if, as Ron Doyle suggests, "someone told them that spinning in circles feels just like a hearty dose of smack." Really? If someone said "I laughed so hard watching the Laurel and Hardy movie that I felt like I was high on a hearty dose of smack" would suddenly Laurel and Hardy movies become a dangerous thing that I should counsel my children about?

As a parent of several teenagers, I'm quite happy to have my kids experiment with safe and legal highs like binaural beats. In fact, I've already joined them in trying it out.

If they told me that they found it pleasureable--and they haven't and I haven't--I would take the opportunity to counsel them about their normal human vulnerability to the placebo effect, and the fact that there is scant, if any, legitimate science validating that there is any effect at all from the binaural beat phenomenon.

When I was young, there were dozens of histrionic news stories about people getting "permanent damage" of one kind or another, or doing various stupid things, because they were high on the drug of the day. This binaural beats thing is just the latest fad cooked up by media people to sell articles and ad space.

"Binaural beats" have been documented since the 1830s and have been well-known for many centuries to anyone who has ever tuned any musical instrument. For example, ask a piano tuner how they do their work--the answer: binaural beats. How many times have you seen piano tuners stumbling around too high to function, having depleted their dopamine?

My suggestion: Try binaural beats, yourself, as quickly as possible. I guarantee you, it will take you no more than 10 minutes to satisfy yourself that there is nothing to it.

I'd rather listen to 1 million people farting simoutaneously than listen to this music. Sounds like crap, no melody whatsoever!

While it's a very interesting concept, I doubt I-Doser will become any sort of controversy in the next few weeks. That particular brand has been around for over two years.. a few YouTube videos even had some of the content but were inevitably removed due to copyright claims. You can still see reaction videos if you search "idoser". Here's one after the cocaine track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j9zGiYAw4I

can't believe you dissed Atom Heart Mother, a pox on thee!

This is just a way to use mind control on the mass population via internet. I’ve been researching energy waves and ELF(extremely low frequencies) for a while now and found that the human body can be affected by ELF and the US gov’t conducted tests with these ELF for mind control from 1960-present. There is a large amount of evidence that ELF magnetic waves can affect brain waves. These binaural waves start off with ELF. And for a "website" to offer sound waves that can "POWERFULLY ALTER YOUR MOOD" (idoser website), is a very dangerous concept. I’ve watched the videos of the kids trying it and the "gates of Hades" "dose" makes people freak out and think that they are seeing "hell", "satan" and dismembered bodies. When i see this all i can think is MIND CONTROL. Watch the videos for yourself (pref the "gates of Hades") These kids look like their having seizures. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT ELF WAVES CAN DO. GOOGLE "haarp", "tesla" and "project bluebeam" after you read that, think about what these binaural waves can do to your brain and think about how long the GOVT has known about this. These mind altering waves can also be transmitted thru the air to the masses. IM NOT KIDDING, RESEARCH FOR YOURSELF

FREE I-dose relief software was featured on radikal.com.tr!
It quickly and easily de-activates the affects of i-dose: http://getir.net/2zb

In order to learn more about "binaural beats" and precautions associated with "brainwave entrainment," I recommend this psychologist's website:

http://www.ThePsychologist.com/virtuallightandsound.htm

http://www.tinyurl.com/e-high

The phenomenon of so-called digital drugs — or i-dosing — has been spreading like wildfire around the internet in recent weeks. Apparently a set of headphones and a trippy digitally crafted song is all you need to achieve a state of imaginary ecstasy. Two-tone technology is created by playing a different tone in each ear to create the auditory illusion of a beat. The sounds serve to alter one's brain waves and, by extension, a person's mental state. try a free sample @ http://www.tinyurl.com/e-high

I have tried this i-doser, and I do NOT read what they are supposed to do (each does makes you feel diffrent things) , so I know Its not just my mind playing tricks.

I am a teen, I have never done real drugs, but the effects from i-dosing are...moderate, the most extreames I have gotten were; 1) my whole body just swelled for a few seconds and it felt pretty good. 2) (on a diffrent one) I was scared out of my mind :P

Its not some of the strogest things in the world, but its alright

This technology has been around for a while and it has been studied in depth by the Monroe Institute.

The Monroe Institute® provides experiential education Programs facilitating the personal exploration of human consciousness. Over the last 30+ years, thousands have attended the Institute's residential & outreach programs. Millions have benefited from our educational materials. We serve as the core of a Research Affiliation investigating the evolution of human consciousness and making related information available to the public.
For RELIABLE information about binaural beats visit http://www.monroeinstitute.org/

BTW, Your body belongs to YOU and you may do with it as you please. It is none of ANYONE else's business what you eat, drink, smoke or listen to provided it causes no loss or harm to another.

I think you're being really silly, and creating something that is no threat at all, to anyone, any more than someone swooning at a lullaby ... or experiments done by authorities in various fields which are more profound than what you speak of. Such as:

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/08/24/Astronauts-brains-tricked-for...

Astronauts' brains 'tricked' for training [08/24/10] "U.S. scientists say they can trick the brains of astronauts to simulate the dizzying effects experienced when returning to Earth after a long period in space. A research group at the National Space Biomedical Research Institute has developed a Galvanic vestibular stimulation system that safely induces the sensory and mobility disturbances commonly experienced by astronauts returning to Earth's gravity, an institute release said Tuesday. These disturbances could affect an astronaut's vision and neurological function, impacting the ability to land a spacecraft. Once on the ground, astronauts often have trouble keeping their balance and walking, researchers said.
The system developed by Steven Moore, an associate professor of neurology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, uses electrodes placed behind the ear to deliver small amounts of electricity to the vestibular nerve, which then sends the signals to the brain, resulting in sensory and motor disturbances. This makes it an excellent operational training tool, scientists say. [...]"