​What Did You See? Perception and the Visual Experience

Past studies on visual perception under flickering light have found closed-eye visuals to be geometric in nature and specifically related to the frequency of the flicker rate. However for those who have tried the Lucia N°03 light experience on multiple occasions, visuals are not limited to geometry. While certain patterns do arise regularly, there are also accounts of bright and variant colors, complex visuals, dream-like scenes, memories, or even other worlds and visitations by beings like deceased loved ones or spirit guides.  

Dr. Schwartzman and his team, for the sake of simplicity and timing, only shared the Lucia N°03 light experience to volunteers at 3 Hz and 10 Hz for 10 minutes each. Even with these shorter sessions, at 3 Hz,  12 out of 19 participants described witnessing complex visual hallucinations (CVH) such as faces or realistic scenes. These reports exceeded the expectations of the researchers, and on a physiological level correlated to higher spontaneous EEG diversity scores and a reduction in the alpha brain-wave power.  If you recall, this demonstrates both greater coherency in the brain and more awakened states. The 10 minute 10 Hz experience was also reported to be very visual with reports by volunteers were centered on colors and geometric patterns.

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The diagram above, which can be found on page 23 of the study, shows the differences in self-rated measures such as intensity, past, peace, merge, etc. Interestingly, there are many similarities between the self-reported measures of the psilocybin experience and the experiences with the stroboscopic light of the Lucia N°03.


Over The Rainbow: Support, Critiques and a Call for More Research

While the EEG has been around for decades, finding new neurological markers for expanded states of consciousness is exciting. Understanding the diverse neural activation that occurs during an altered state of consciousness is a way for science to ground some of the theories about how these states alter our reality.

Even more exciting is the idea that these states can be accessed through legal methods such as the experience of stroboscopic light from the Lucia N°03.

However, as with all pioneering studies, there were several limitations. First of all, the length of the two different sessions with the Lucia N°03 were only 10 minutes each. From my own years of anecdotal research offering Lucia N°03 light sessions, I have noticed it can take 20-60 minutes of continuous light for a first-time light traveler to sink deeply into the experience. It would be interesting to replicate this study with two or three times the length of sessions, while also comparing singular frequencies with one of the pre-programmed Lucia N°03 sessions that use a variety of frequencies throughout the session.

As with other studies on altered states of consciousness, these experiences were offered in a clinical or semi-clinical setting in order to maintain a rigor of experimental control.  However, it would be interesting to see how different settings would alter the self-reported experience and takeaways from the light travelers. Timothy Leary famously proclaimed that up to 99% of the LSD experience was dependent on the “set and setting,.” Therefore variations in ambiance, preparation and space-holding of the researcher might drastically change the experience of the light traveler.

Despite these critiques, it is both refreshing and exciting to see scientific studies investigating the different ways to access these states and measure them.  My deepest gratitude and respect go to Dr. Schwartzman and his team at the University of Sussex.

Sources:
Check out the full study for yourself here.
Schwartzman, David J. et. al. “Increased spontaneous EEG signal diversity during stroboscopically-induced altered states of consciousness.”  Jan. 4, 2019; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/511766.


FAQ about the Lucia N°03:

- Where can I experience the Lucia N°03 for myself?

If you are interested in experiencing a Lucia N°03 light session, you can book a session with a local light guide in your area. They can be found here.

- Where can I learn more about the Lucia N°03?

Check out our website – www.lucialightexperience.com/ or contact Allison with any questions or comments – allisonlucialight@gmail.com

- How often can/should you experience the Lucia N°03? Is this something that could be addictive?

Beyond experiencing an expanded state of consciousness and the correlated potential benefits of: meditative and spiritual experiences, a fresh/broadened perspective on life, etc., the Lucia N°03 is also deeply relaxing for the nervous system. Full sessions are generally 30 minutes – 1 hour and a series of 6+ sessions is recommended to assist in lowering the baseline level of stress and accessing a flow state of consciousness, deepening presence, inner peace and patience.  The initial series of sessions can be experienced from 1-3x a week.

While the Lucia N°03 is a powerful even the first time, further sessions assist in dropping deeper into the experience and receiving more benefits. Recently we have released a “Home Portal” which is a smaller and more portable version of the Lucia N°03 that is designed specifically for personal use. 

The Lucia N°03 is not addictive, however new light aficionados often enjoy immersing in the light experience up to once a day for their first few months of using the lamp.  As restrictive patterns shift, the urge to work with the lamp naturally tapers off to once or twice a week, or even every other week. I have personally been working with the Lucia N°03 for 5 years and my personal preferences have gone through different phases over the years. I have spent up to a few months away from it as well as immersing every day for months at a time. My experience with the Lucia N°03 has moved me out of a state of perpetual trauma and depression to a stable, positive, thriving state where even when life offers challenges, I am able to find peace in my response to them. 

Questions? Email allisonlucialight@gmail.com ​

Recent research by Dr. Li-Huei Tsai and her colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has demonstrated the power of flickering light in combating Alzheimer’s disease in mice.
 
Alzheimer’s disease affects over 5 million people in the US alone.  It is a type of dementia that effects learning, intellectual ability, memory and behavior.  Dr. Alois Alzheimer discovered clumps of amyloid plaques and tangled tau brain fibers in a woman’s brain in 1906. Another notable feature of Alzheimer’s disease patients is lack of healthy gamma wave oscillations. So far, attempts to use drugs to prevent or clear amyloid plaque formation have been unsuccessful.
 
Brainwave Activity
 
Inside the human brain are billions of different neurons. The junctions between different neurons are called synapses. Electrical signals fire through the brain synapses, bringing millions of neurons into synchrony in cycles, or waves. These are known as brainwaves. The speed and amplitude of these brainwaves are linked to certain states of consciousness, which are classified into five distinct categories. These brainwave frequencies range from delta waves (.5-3hz) to gamma waves (25-100+hz). Your synapses actually fire in all of these different frequency waves simultaneously, however one frequency at a time is usually dominant. Each person’s brainwave signatures (combinations of waves including amplitude of each brainwave) are unique.
 
Gamma Brainwaves and Dr. Tsai’s  Study
 
Gamma brainwaves, which are impaired in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, are the highest frequency of brainwaves. They are associated with higher learning, deep meditation, altruism and communication between different parts of the brain.
 
Instead of trying to directly clear the amalyoid plaques or untangle the tau fibers, Dr. Tsai and her team focused on the gamma wave. They found that they could encourage the mice’s brain to produce gamma waves by using flashing lights at 40hz. Microglia (the brain’s cleanup crew) were activated by this stimulation and returned to the their normal job of assisting with the immune response by consuming the harmful amyloid beta plaque.
 
Therefore, after flashing a 40hz frequency for 1 hour at mice with Alzheimer’s disease, Dr. Tsai and her team found a 50% reduction of beta amayloid plaques. The original effects only worked for 12-24 hours. After this period the microglia became sluggish again and the amayloid plaques began to build back up. Thus, they tried again. This time they gave the mice 1 hour of 40hz stimulation for 7 days in a row.  They saw great improvement.  They also saw a marked decrease in the tangled tau fibers in the brain, which is another main feature of Alzheimer’s disease.
 
The Bottom Line

As Alzheimer’s is considered an irreversible and progressive brain disorder, this study represents very exciting research. Whether this will work on humans as effectively as mice remains to be seen. As Dr. Tsai herself commented as the main result of the study, “Our findings uncover a previously unappreciated function of gamma rhythms in recruiting both neuronal and glial responses to attenuate Alzheimer’s-disease-associated pathology.”
 
Also exciting though is Dr. Tsai’s approach, which activates the brain back to normal functioning without drugs, so that it can heal itself.
 
Access the full journal article here: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v540/n7632/full/nature20587.html
 
Listen to an entertaining podcast about it here:
http://www.radiolab.org/story/bringing-gamma-back/