references
the reading behind the defaults.
Each entry notes what it justifies in the app. These are the reasons behind the defaults for flicker, density, motion and framing, not clinical claims.
Flicker & entrainment
Walter, W.G. (1956). Colour illusions and aberrations during stimulation by flickering light. Nature, 177, 710.DOI ↗
Foundational photic driving work: periodic visual flicker entrains EEG oscillations at the stimulus frequency.
Herrmann, C.S. (2001). Human EEG responses to 1–100 Hz flicker: resonance phenomena in visual cortex and their potential correlation to cognitive phenomena. Experimental Brain Research, 137(3–4), 346–353.DOI ↗
SSVEP amplitude peaks near 10 Hz (alpha) with a secondary peak near 6 Hz (theta); basis for the entrainment mode frequencies.
Norcia, A.M., Appelbaum, L.G., Ales, J.M., Cottereau, B.R. & Rossion, B. (2015). The steady-state visual evoked potential in vision research: a review. Journal of Vision, 15(6), 4.DOI ↗
Review of temporal flicker to cortical response; confirms 10 Hz as the peak SSVEP driver.
Visual perception
Troxler, I.P.V. (1804). Über das Verschwinden gegebener Gegenstände innerhalb unseres Gesichtskreises. Ophthalmologische Bibliothek.
The fixation dot exploits Troxler fading: sustained peripheral stimulation disappears from awareness while the attended centre stays stable.
Voss, R.F. & Clarke, J. (1975). '1/f noise' in music and speech. Nature, 258, 317–318.DOI ↗
Auto-drift multiplies incommensurate sinusoids to approximate the 1/f spectral structure of natural fluctuation.
Mather, G., Verstraten, F. & Anstis, S. (Eds.) (1998). The Motion After-Effect: A Modern Perspective. MIT Press.
Direction-selective adaptation underlies the waterfall illusion. Brief direction reversals reset the adaptation plateau, sustaining the after-effect over long sessions.
Cutting, J.E. & Vishton, P.M. (1995). Perceiving layout and knowing distances: the integration, relative potency, and contextual use of different information about depth. In W. Epstein & S. Rogers (Eds.), Handbook of Perception and Cognition, Vol. 5: Perception of Space and Motion. Academic Press.
Peripheral optic flow dominates vection (self-motion perception); the radial vignette removes edge distractors and strengthens the tunnel illusion.
De Valois, R.L. & De Valois, K.K. (1988). Spatial Vision. Oxford University Press.
Peak human contrast sensitivity at 3–4 cycles per degree; basis for the aspect-ratio-driven density auto-detection.
Wilkins, A.J., Nimmo-Smith, I., Tait, A., McManus, C., Della Sala, S., Tilley, A., Arnold, K., Barrie, M. & Scott, S. (1984). A neurological basis for visual discomfort. Brain, 107(3), 989–1017.DOI ↗
High spatial-frequency square-wave gratings trigger pattern glare and migraine; supports a comfortable density range and smooth gradients over hard edges.
Livingstone, M. & Hubel, D. (1988). Segregation of form, color, movement, and depth: anatomy, physiology, and perception. Science, 240(4853), 740–749.DOI ↗
Achromatic high-contrast patterns preferentially drive the magnocellular (motion/peripheral) pathway; chromatic patterns add parvocellular engagement with different temporal tuning.
Hypnosis & suggestion
Kirsch, I. & Lynn, S.J. (1995). The altered state of hypnosis: changes in the theoretical landscape. American Psychologist, 50(10), 846–858.DOI ↗
Response expectancy: the expectation of hypnotic effects is itself the primary mechanism producing them. Basis for pre-induction framing.
Woody, E.Z. & Bowers, K.S. (1994). A frontal assault on dissociated control. In S.J. Lynn & J.W. Rhue (Eds.), Dissociation: Clinical and theoretical perspectives. Guilford Press.
Hypnosis weakens prefrontal executive control, letting suggestions activate subsystems more directly. Why permissive suggestions ("you might find…") work: the critical faculty is quieted, not overcome.
Rainville, P., Duncan, G.H., Price, D.D., Carrier, B. & Bushnell, M.C. (1997). Pain affect encoded in human anterior cingulate but not somatosensory cortex. Science, 277(5328), 968–971.DOI ↗
PET evidence that hypnotic suggestion modulates anterior cingulate activity directly, the conflict-monitoring region.
Benson, H. (1975). The Relaxation Response. William Morrow.
Repeated pairing of a focal attention object with rhythmic verbal cues produces a conditioned parasympathetic response. Basis for fractionation deepening.