April 2026
A new study claims to have reproduced an ancient human strategy to alter consciousness: drumming at theta frequency. The findings could lead to applications in cognitive neuroscience and therapy, say researchers.
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Researchers at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and University of Cambridge found participants in a study achieved altered states of consciousness (ASC) when their brainwaves synchronized with drumming at four beats per second. Participants whose neural networks were most synchronized had stronger ASC experiences.
“These findings shed new light on the neural dynamics of consciousness and suggest that rhythmic stimulation could serve as a non-pharmacological method for modulating conscious states, with potential applications in cognitive neuroscience and therapeutic contexts,” the researchers reported in the March 26 edition of Scientific Reports.
The study advances a relatively new field in consciousness studies. While western scientists for decades have been studying focused meditation as a means to ASC, increasing studies now are investigating a more ancient and in some ways contrasting form of consciousness-raising: repetitive forms of sensory and motor stimulation. Drumming and dancing, for instance.
Hunter-gatherers were having “massive rave-like dance events” as early as the Mesolithic Era, and possibly earlier. They often went into trance states using rhythm from various percussion sources.
In recent years neuroscientists have begun to understand how such activities can produce this phenomenon. Billions of neurons in the brain communicate not only through individual synaptic transmission but through vibration and rhythm among networks of neurons. These oscillations, sometimes called “co-rippling,” allow the mind to process large amounts of information.
Going further, the mind sometimes seems to resonate with its environment. Edward Large, a pioneering researcher at the University of Connecticut, says “resonance is everywhere” in nature. For instance, we sync with rhythm and music because the mind is fundamentally frequency, Large says. “Oscillations (rhythms) in the brain’s neural activity actually synchronize with the pitches and rhythms of music,” according to an article in UConn Today about Large’s work. Internal brain states and external events are mutually regulated, according to his theory. Heartbeat coherence has been studied extensively by HeartMath Institute and others.
The Hebrew University study explored whether producing a certain type of rhythm might sync with, or induce, a certain type of mind state: ASC. Drumming in the theta range (4-7 Hz) has long been associated with altered mental states, the study reported, but the literature has been unclear whether such states can be induced through frequency.
In the study, 40 participants in Jerusalem were played various precise drum rhythms while a new type of rigorous EEG recording mapped their response. They also were asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire about their subjective experience during the drumming. A similar questionnaire is used in meditation and psychedelic studies.
A significant positive correlation was found between theta frequency drumming and stronger altered experience, but no correlation was found with other rhythms. Certain participants seemed to be more susceptible.
Written by Tom Zolper
Edited by Liza Horan
