• The authors played binaural or monaural (normal) beats to 16 participants, and recorded their brain activity with EEG.
• They found both beats can entrain the brain to their particular frequency, but participants described no significant effect on their mood changes.
• However, binaural beats can generate "cross-frequency connectivity," where the brain coordinates its activity across different types of brain waves.
• It's then possible that binaural beats can be beneficial to some types of cognition, including memory recall.
• An analysis of 35 studies demonstrated a modest effect on attention, memory, anxiety, and pain perception. However, these were not tested in the current study.

Binaural beats are an auditory illusion that has stress-busing properties. Proponents claim that listening to binaural beats can boost focus, promote relaxation, and reduce stress and anxiety.

However, some studies concluded that the impact of binaural beats on cognitive p...