How Brain Waves Work (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta & Gamma)

Ajouté : 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]Today, we are kicking off a brand new science map series, brain waves.

[00:00:07]Remember how in the last series, I mentioned that our brain's neurons are constantly sending signals throughout the brain?

[00:00:16]Well, our brain waves are those rhythms that they're creating.

[00:00:21]So, for this series, we're going to use the orchestra analogy.

[00:00:26]Because all of our brain waves are active at the same time.

[00:00:31]Just like sections in an orchestra. But in certain situations, the conductor's going to tell certain sections to play louder while other sections soften into the background.

[00:00:45]And that's how it works here. So, now let me introduce you to the map.

[00:00:51]We have our brain waves stacked by frequency, from lowest to highest.

[00:00:57]The middle column are the symbols for the parts of the brain associated with each brain wave.

[00:01:04]And the outer column are body chemicals that are associated with that state. So, delta is our lowest frequency, and it's all about deep sleep. It's associated with the thalamus and the brain stem, and also GABA and melatonin.

[00:01:23]Theta is tied to emotion, memory, imagery, and the dream state. It's associated with the hippocampus and the amygdala, and also dopamine and norepinephrine.

[00:01:38]Now, alpha is your bridge state.

[00:01:40]Not asleep, but not hyper-alert, either.

[00:01:44]It's more like the calm, regulated wakefulness.

[00:01:48]It's associated with the thalamus, parasympathetic nervous system, GABA, and serotonin. Beta is your active thinking state. Think, focus, problem-solving, task mode.

[00:02:05]It's associated with the timekeeper, the ACC, dopamine, cortisol, and norepinephrine.

[00:02:14]And then there's gamma.

[00:02:16]It's all about insight, integration, eureka moments.

[00:02:22]Being the highest frequency, it becomes more connected and complex. It's associated with the OFC, hippocampus, insula, ACC, and thalamus.

[00:02:37]And also the Bermuda triangle between dopamine, glutamate, and GABA. Over the next few days, we're going to break down each brain wave individually, including what trauma does to them. So, tomorrow we start with delta.