Beta blockers certainly change brainwave activity. To get a better understanding of this we must first identify the different types of brainwaves that exist in humans.
There are four types of brainwaves which make us who we are. Alpha, beta, theta and delta.
Each of these brainwaves has a different function and all of them are vital in making us the people we are.
Alpha brainwaves have a frequency range of 8 to 12 Hz.
They are the highest frequency brainwaves and they make us feel awake, alert and relaxed.
Beta brainwaves have a frequency range of 12 to 39 Hz.
Beta Blockers can cause a person's heart rate and blood pressure to become elevated, which is why their use is restricted in some athletic competitions (i.e. the Olympics). However, even though they do alter brain wave activity when taken by healthy individuals for health issues such as high blood pressure or migraines, it has been found that beta blockers also change the way one thinks- both behaviorally and cognitively.
In a study, it was found that the use of beta blockers in tennis players significantly improved their performance (5). In some instances, they even were able to beat world-class players such as Martina Navratilova. It should be noted here that these are not the same athletes who took normal dosages of beta blockers for health reasons.
However, taking high doses of beta blockers for extended periods of time (i.e. 6 months to 1 year) can lead to a psychological dependence on the drug, requiring patients to take higher and higher dosages in order to get the same effect.
Beta blockers, although they do alter brainwave activity in the human body, are not known to cause any actual changes to the neural structure of one's brain (4). However, there have been some reports that beta blockers may lead to a reduction in dopamine production.
Although dopamine is not directly responsible for one's learning and memory, it helps regulate the neural processes of these functions (6). In addition, there have been cases where patients undergoing beta blocker treatment have reported problems with their motor skills. One example is that they may experience issues such as balance or coordination when walking.
In conclusion, beta blockers do alter brainwave activity. They are also known to cause a reduction in dopamine production and may lead to some issues with motor skills.
Brainwave activity is to some extent something that can be seen as a way of measuring the amount of information processing that is going on in the brain. There are lots of different types, and they have been studied extensively over the years.
Some research has shown that there is a kind of brainwave activity which goes up in frequency as people become more stressed, and then this spike may cause the release of adrenaline into the system. Beta blockers interfere with this process, so it's possible they could alter brainwave activity.
It seems to me that beta blockers are of most use when there is a serious medical condition which makes the subject more prone to being stressed. For example, they might be useful for someone with an irregular heartbeat.
However, they could also be overused in situations where people just feel stressed. There is a danger here that the beta blockers might not actually be curing any underlying problem, and instead are just masking the symptoms.
I think the conclusion must be that beta blockers probably do alter brainwave activity, and that this might have an effect on thought processes. They are a medical treatment which can help some people in certain situations.
I prefer not to use them, and instead think about the reasons why I am feeling stressed.
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