This is combined by the brain and it forms a new frequency called the binaural beat.' It would be a bit of a stretch to call it music, he adds. Delhi-based neurologist Manoj Khanal explains: “They are ambient sounds or pure tones transmitted through headphones, a slightly different frequency in each ear. These tracks-available on YouTube and leading producer I-Doser Labs’ website -claim to produce the same effects as drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, and scores of others that alter states of mind.īut do they really work? What are they, and can they be harmful?ĭigital drugs are essentially audio files that generate binaural beats-an auditory illusion in the brain. Into the fray come “digital drugs'.Īudio tracks marketed as “digital' or “audio drugs' have been on the internet for a while. Many such substances-like the Colombian “devil’s breath' used for robbery or the deadlier-than-heroin “Krokodil' home-cooked in Russia using headache pills-are perplexing and unheard of, and they only keep getting more bizarre.

The subject of psychoactive drugs sparks scientific curiosity about the human brain and the marvel that is the conscious mind. My classmates are baffled: You “tripped' on a digital drug? I am spooked out for the rest of the night, comparing the temperature of my feet obsessively.īy morning, curiosity has washed away the horror. Panic-stricken, I remove my headphones and put my phone away. I open my eyes after what feels like an eternity-it has been 15 minutes. But then I read “WHY IS EVERYTHING PINK' in a comment and decide to keep going. A few minutes in, I am sceptical that it can do anything beyond that. Like any other 20-year-old, I am curious: I plug in my headphones and hit play.Īt first it seems like I am listening to vibrations that I can feel inside my head. By midnight, I have gone too far into the dark side of YouTube. I am binge-watching silly videos (these are the pre-Netflix years in India).

Binaural audio high