alpha rhythm
- noun
- /ˈælfə ˈrɪðəm/
- Specialized
:
ritmo alfa
- It's just a sleep-inducing alpha rhythm generator.
Examples
-
During relaxed alertness, the brain exhibits a consistent pattern of alpha rhythm activity, typically ranging from 8 to 12 hertz.
-
The only established influence on this latter center that has been identified is body temperature (although see Treisman's 1984 discussion on the role of EEG alpha rhythm).
Academic text (1992) -
Brain wave research shows that the basic alpha rhythm can be sped up by a flickering light (called photic driving), but not very much, and not even to twice its normal rhythm.
Blog text (7) -
Meditation can enhance your ability to achieve a relaxed state characterized by an increase in alpha rhythm activity in the brain.
-
Researchers have found that listening to calming music may help to synchronize the alpha rhythm of the brainwaves among listeners.
Synonyms
3
6.4
A brain rhythm you have when you are awake and relaxed, often when you close your eyes or meditate
How Fast
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase clearly indicates 'a kind/kind of rhythm' because 'alpha' names the type and 'rhythm' means a regular pattern, so a B1 learner would infer it's a specific rhythmic pattern. However, the precise technical sense — a particular brainwave frequency band (8–12 Hz) seen in relaxed wakefulness — is domain-specific and not derivable from the constituents alone, making the term only partially predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The term alpha rhythm comes from early brain researchers who used the Greek letter alpha to name one kind of wave and the word rhythm to show it is a steady, repeating beat. That's why alpha rhythm now means the calm, regular brain waves you see when someone is 'awake but relaxed'.