The alpha electrical frequency in the brain is called alpha because it was the first electrical brainwave pattern identified over 100 years ago. Despite being the longest-known frequency and the subject of intensive research, there is still much we do not know about it.

We do know, however, that it is generated in a part of the brain called the thalamus. We know that in well-performing brains, the alpha frequency activates when one’s eyes are closed. We know that alpha gets generated when one slides into meditation, and that it is the frequency that links internal and external awareness. We know, too, that when the peak of alpha frequency starts to slide down below its ideal state of 10 Hz, memory starts to wane, and by the time the frequency has slid down below 8 Hz, dementia may be present.

There is still a great deal that we do not yet know or understand about the alpha frequency. In the 1970s, training up the alpha frequency became the focus of meditators, to the extent that neurofeedback for awhile waned in credibility as being something only hippies explored. That led to waning interest in scientific study or application of brain training. As neurofeedback rebounded and expanded in the 1990s, alpha again became a credible topic for exploration.

Now, a team of researchers at the University of Oregon have published a study in the journal Neuron showing that the alpha-like frequency in mice corresponds with communication between two parts of the brain called the thalamus and cortex. A summary of this research in Neuroscience News suggests that researchers have previously considered this to be meaningless background noise, but those in the field of neurofeedback have long suspected that so-called electrical noise in the brain has purpose; we just don’t understand it all yet. Oregon researchers are now recognizing that what once was considered noise is likely meaningful. They found that when they disrupted the alpha-like signal coming from the thalamus of the mice they studied, the cortex (the outer layer of the brain associated with conscious awareness) could not create an attentive, information-sending state.

Because even in the field of neurofeedback, practitioners focus more on various states of the beta frequency instead of alpha when it comes to attention and focus, this research may open doors to exploring how the alpha state also affects attention and focus. This has implications for improving attention in those who struggle, such as individuals with a diagnosis of ADHD.

You can find the Neuroscience News study here and a summary of the study here.