In the late 1960s sleep researcher M. Barry Sterman learned something interesting while tracking the EEGs of cats. He found a previously unknown pattern of brain waves with frequencies between 12 and 15 hertz (Hz), or cycles per second, in a part of the brain called the sensorimotor cortex. Sterman, now professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, dubbed this pattern the sensorimotor rhythm, or SMR. SMR was always present, he learned, in relaxed and awake felines. When he rewarded the animals at those moments with snacks, they began to produce stronger SMRs. Through this conditioning experiment, Sterman demonstrated that it is possible to change one's own brain waves deliberately.
The researcher might well not have followed up on this discovery. But at roughly the same time, he received a request from the U.S. Air Force, which wanted him to test the potential cognitive effects of exposure to monomethylhydrazine, a substance used in some rocket fuels and known to cause seizures. Sterman injected the chemical into cats. About an hour afterward, most of them suffered a seizure. In a few of the subjects, however, the seizure's onset occurred considerably later than usual; three others escaped the convulsions entirely. Seeking an answer for the resistance, Sterman examined his experimental protocol. He observed that the resilient cats had one thing in common: they had previously been involved in his conditioning tests. Could their ability to control their SMR waves have been a factor?
Sterman pursued the question in further experiments. In the early 1970s he found indications that people with epilepsy also could reduce their risk of seizures if they learned to heighten their SMR levels. Yet the idea remained controversial for lack of thorough study.
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