Access Bars & Neuroscience: Free Interactive 32-Point Map

This is a free, interactive app that brings Access Bars and neuroscience together. Touch any of the 32 points on the head and see, in real time, which part of the brain lies right beneath it: the prefrontal cortex, the language centres, the maps of touch and movement, and the centres of balance and calm. What the method teaches and what science knows, side by side at last.

And there is more: a full guided Access Bars session with a timer, why light touch helps the nervous system shift into rest, a journey into sleep and dreams, and a quiz to see how much you have learned. It all runs right in your browser, on phone or computer, with nothing to download and no sign-up. Made for Access Bars practitioners, students of the method and anyone curious about what happens in the head.

The Access Bars Brain Map

Access Bars meets neuroscience. 32 points on the head, and beneath each one a part of the brain with a job of its own. Discover what the method teaches, what science knows, and where the two meet.

1. Aging (Aging ("the Toaster"))

Where it sits: Two parallel bars over the top of the skull, about 1.5–2 cm either side of the midline, in line with the inner corners of the eyes and running back over the middle of the ear.
What it holds: Beliefs about aging, decline and death, and "it's too late for me".
What people report releasing: Vitality and freedom from the programming of getting old.
The connection: Aging sits over the very top of the movement and touch maps, the strip of brain that keeps the body mobile. Use it or lose it applies here more than anywhere.
Scalp nerve: At the crown, branches of the supraorbital nerve (trigeminal) meet branches of the greater occipital nerve.

2. Body (right) (Body)

Where it sits: On top of the head, in line with the centre of the right eye, about 2 cm out from the Aging bar.
What it holds: Judgements about the body: weight, looks, pain.
What people report releasing: Acceptance of the body and listening to it.
The connection: The Body bar sits over the strip that plans and sends movement and where the body map wraps over the top of the brain.
Scalp nerve: Supraorbital nerve branches (trigeminal) reaching back to the crown.

3. Sexuality (left) (Sexuality)

Where it sits: The same spot on the left side, in line with the centre of the left eye. Run together with Body.
What it holds: Shame and judgement around sex, intimacy and gender.
What people report releasing: Ease and naturalness in closeness.
The connection: Beneath the crown, on the midline, the brain's touch map places the feet and the genitals side by side. The Sexuality bar sits over that crest.
Scalp nerve: Supraorbital nerve branches (trigeminal) reaching back to the crown.

4. Reactivation & Re-Creation (Reactivation & Re-Creation)

Where it sits: On the curve of the skull in line with the outer corners of the eyes, about 2 cm out from Body and Sexuality.
What it holds: The pull of old patterns to switch back on.
What people report releasing: Stability for the new state after a session.
The connection: It sits over the area that prepares movements before they happen. The bar's name, re-creating, rhymes with the brain's own rehearsal stage.
Scalp nerve: Supraorbital nerve branches (trigeminal).

5. Bridging Bar (Bridging Bar)

Where it sits: A crosswise bar at the front of the crown linking Sexuality, Aging and Body. Run by slowly drawing the thumbs across.
What it holds: Separation between body, sexuality and age.
What people report releasing: A link between the three.
The connection: Beneath it, the planning and motor areas connect the body map across both hemispheres.
Scalp nerve: Supraorbital nerve branches (trigeminal).

6. Crown of Mystar (Crown of Mystar)

Where it sits: A ring around the crown near the front hairline. Run off the head: thumbs and fingers form a circle, start close and move away until the distance feels right.
What it holds: Closure to the unknown.
What people report releasing: Openness to possibilities you can't yet name.
The connection: It hovers over the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that imagines what does not exist yet.
Scalp nerve: Supraorbital and supratrochlear nerves (trigeminal).

7. Sadness (right) (Sadness)

Where it sits: An egg-shaped area on the forehead just above the right eyebrow.
What it holds: Grief and heaviness that never got processed.
What people report releasing: Stored sadness lifting; lightness.
The connection: Sadness and Joy sit over the front of the prefrontal cortex, the region that dials emotions up and down. The emotion bars sit over the brain's emotion regulator.
Scalp nerve: Supraorbital nerve (trigeminal, first branch).

8. Joy (left) (Joy)

Where it sits: The same area above the left eyebrow. Run together with Sadness.
What it holds: The rules about which emotions are allowed, "I'm not allowed to be happy".
What people report releasing: Simple joy without a reason.
The connection: The orbitofrontal cortex beneath it is where the brain weighs reward and pleasure.
Scalp nerve: Supraorbital nerve (trigeminal, first branch).

9. Tunnels of Time & Space (Tunnels of Time & Space)

Where it sits: Four points near the front hairline above Sadness and Joy, about two fingers above each eyebrow. Run off the head: two fingers slowly pulled straight up for 30–60 seconds.
What it holds: A narrowing of the time and space available to you.
What people report releasing: Openness to all time and space.
The connection: The frontal pole beneath it is the brain's time machine: it lets you project yourself into the future and imagine other times and places.
Scalp nerve: Supratrochlear and supraorbital nerves (trigeminal).

10. Form & Structure (Form & Structure)

Where it sits: A small hollow at the top of the temple, by the outer corner of the eye.
What it holds: Rigid patterns built on the past: "this is how it has to be".
What people report releasing: Flexibility; the ability to take structures apart.
The connection: It sits over the lateral prefrontal cortex, home of cognitive flexibility. When this region is under-active, people get stuck in loops. A bar about rigid structure sits over the brain's flexibility centre.
Scalp nerve: Zygomaticotemporal nerve (trigeminal, second branch).

11. Healing (Healing)

Where it sits: The centre of the temple.
What it holds: Decisions about what can and can't be healed, in yourself, others and the world.
What people report releasing: Openness to healing and to receiving it.
The connection: Deep beneath the temple lies the insula, the brain's map of the inner body. It reads heartbeat, breath, pain and gut, and turns them into how you feel. Healing sits over the brain's body-listening centre.
Scalp nerve: Zygomaticotemporal and auriculotemporal nerves (trigeminal).

12. Hopes & Dreams (Hopes & Dreams)

Where it sits: Just below Healing, angled slightly toward the ear.
What it holds: Expectations that wishes will or won't come true; disappointment.
What people report releasing: Reconnecting with what you really want.
The connection: Deep inside the front of the temporal lobe sit the amygdala and the hippocampus: emotion and memory. In REM sleep this system is very active, which is part of why dreams feel so emotional.
Scalp nerve: Auriculotemporal nerve (trigeminal, third branch).

13. Time & Space (Time & Space)

Where it sits: On the hairline about four fingers up from the ear, in line with Communication.
What it holds: Assumptions that tie time to space: "there's no time".
What people report releasing: A sense that there is time and room.
The connection: It sits where the planning areas of the frontal lobe meet, the circuits that sequence actions in time.
Scalp nerve: Auriculotemporal nerve (trigeminal, third branch).

14. Communication (Communication)

Where it sits: On the hairline about two and a half fingers forward of where the ear meets the head, at 15–30 degrees.
What it holds: The gap between verbal and non-verbal expression; fear of speaking up.
What people report releasing: Clear expression and listening.
The connection: The strongest echo on the map. On the left side, Communication sits almost exactly over Broca's area, where speech is produced, next to the motor map of the mouth and tongue.
Scalp nerve: Auriculotemporal nerve (trigeminal, third branch).

15. Awareness (Awareness)

Where it sits: Two fingers above the ear toward the Money bar, half a finger back.
What it holds: Judgements about your own awareness and intuition.
What people report releasing: Sharper perception and presence.
The connection: Awareness sits over the lower touch strip, where sensation from the face, lips and tongue arrives, the most sensitive skin you have. Awareness starts as sensation.
Scalp nerve: Auriculotemporal nerve in front, lesser occipital nerve behind.

16. Money (Money)

Where it sits: Three fingers above the top of the ear.
What it holds: Beliefs and decisions about money, wealth and receiving.
What people report releasing: Openness to abundance.
The connection: Money sits over the hand area of the touch strip, the brain's map of holding and receiving. Just behind it is the angular gyrus, which handles numbers and calculation.
Scalp nerve: Auriculotemporal nerve in front, lesser occipital nerve behind.

17. Control (Control)

Where it sits: One finger behind Money and half a finger lower.
What it holds: Controlling people and outcomes, and resisting being controlled.
What people report releasing: Letting go of the grip.
The connection: Beneath it, the supramarginal gyrus helps you feel that an action is yours: the brain's sense of agency and of who is in control.
Scalp nerve: Lesser occipital nerve.

18. Creativity (Creativity)

Where it sits: Three fingers behind Money and half a finger lower.
What it holds: What creating supposedly requires: effort, time, energy.
What people report releasing: Creating without judgement.
The connection: It sits over the inferior parietal lobule, which neuroscientists link to inner imagery and art. Damage here can even stop people dreaming in pictures. A creativity bar over the brain's imagination crossroads.
Scalp nerve: Lesser occipital nerve.

19. Creating Connections (Creating Connections)

Where it sits: 45 degrees down and back from Creativity.
What it holds: The effort we assume connection takes.
What people report releasing: Connections that form with ease.
The connection: Beneath it is the temporo-parietal junction, which keeps the boundary between self and other and lets you see through another person's eyes. A connection bar over the brain's empathy junction.
Scalp nerve: Lesser occipital nerve.

20. Creating Life Forms (Creating Life Forms)

Where it sits: Further along the same 45-degree line, slightly lower.
What it holds: Blocks around creating living things: projects, new life.
What people report releasing: Creative, generative power.
The connection: Below it, on the underside of the temporal lobe, is the area that recognises faces and living things.
Scalp nerve: Lesser occipital and great auricular nerves.

21. Kindness (Kindness)

Where it sits: Four fingers back from the middle of the ear; the front point of a small triangle, under the index finger.
What it holds: Kindness confused with obligation.
What people report releasing: Compassion for yourself and others.
The connection: Kindness sits over the superior temporal sulcus, which reads faces, gaze and intentions. It is the brain's first step in sensing what another person needs.
Scalp nerve: Lesser occipital and great auricular nerves.

22. Gratitude (Gratitude)

Where it sits: The back point of the triangle, under the ring finger.
What it holds: Gratitude confused with love.
What people report releasing: Appreciation for what is.
The connection: Gratitude sits over the middle temporal area, which links words and memories into meaning. Gratitude is a kind of meaning-making: noticing what something means to you.
Scalp nerve: Lesser occipital and great auricular nerves.

23. Peace & Calm (Peace & Calm)

Where it sits: The lower point of the triangle, below and between Kindness and Gratitude. The triangle's base faces the ear.
What it holds: The belief that calm is not available to me.
What people report releasing: Quiet in the nervous system.
The connection: Peace & Calm sits over the hearing cortex. The right side reads the emotional tone of a voice, and a slow, warm voice is one of the fastest ways to calm a nervous system.
Scalp nerve: Lesser occipital and great auricular nerves.

24. Implant Band (Implant Band)

Where it sits: Three fingers in the hollow directly behind the ear ridge, above the bony bump (mastoid), where it meets the ends of the Power Band. Held 15–30 minutes or longer.
What it holds: Points of view implanted by others (parents, teachers, media), and times we pushed ours onto others.
What people report releasing: A return to free choice.
The connection: Deep behind it, inside the temporal bone, sits the inner ear, the balance organ that tells you where you stand. A bar about other people's points of view sits over the organ of your own footing.
Scalp nerve: Great auricular and lesser occipital nerves (from the neck, C2–C3).

25. Power Band (Power Band)

Where it sits: A band across the base of the skull, the size of the client's hand.
What it holds: Beliefs about power, authority and choice.
What people report releasing: Quiet personal power. It is also the anchor for the opening energy pull and the closing position.
The connection: It sits over the cerebellum and, deeper, the brainstem: balance, breathing and heart rate, the autopilot that keeps you alive. Every session is anchored over the body's survival centre.
Scalp nerve: Greater occipital nerve (C2) and third occipital nerve.

26. Circle of Manifestation (Circle of Manifestation)

Where it sits: A ring about 15 cm across (the size of a kippah) on the back of the head, whose rim touches Body/Sexuality, Aging, Creativity and the Power Band.
What it holds: How things show up in your life.
What people report releasing: Easier manifestation.
The connection: The ring frames the brain's picture-making areas: body image and your place in space at the top, and vision at the back. What manifests, you first see.
Scalp nerve: Greater occipital nerve.

Guided session

Follow a full Access Bars session position by position. The head lights up the bars you hold, and the timer keeps the pace. Durations are guides: hold until the energy feels even, then move on.

Energy pull (3 min): One hand on the Power Band. Two fingers of the other hand on the mid-forehead just above the brows. Then the hollow below the ball of each foot, then palm to palm. Move on when the energy feels even.
Implant Band (15 min): The first three fingers of each hand in the hollow behind each ear.
Money, Control, Creativity (5 min): Same hand on each side: index on Money, middle on Control, ring finger on Creativity.
Creating Connections & Life Forms (5 min): The fingers continue from Creativity down the 45-degree line.
Body & Sexuality (5 min): Both thumbs on the crown: right on Body, left on Sexuality. Many practitioners keep them there while the fingers work the Money group.
Aging & Bridging (5 min): Nail beds on both Aging bars. The thumbs slowly draw across the Bridging Bar.
Healing, Sadness & Joy (5 min): Middle finger on each temple, index above each eyebrow (Sadness right, Joy left), thumbs back on Body and Sexuality.
Form & Structure, Hopes & Dreams, Awareness, Control (5 min): Index in the hollow at the top of the temple, middle below Healing, ring above the ear toward Money, little finger on Control. Thumbs on the Bridging Bar.
Communication & Time and Space (5 min): Middle finger on the hairline in front of the ear, index on the hairline above it.
Kindness, Gratitude, Peace & Calm (5 min): Index on Kindness, ring on Gratitude, middle on Peace & Calm: the triangle behind each ear.
Restructuring of Bodies (closing) (4 min): Index fingers on Time & Space, little fingers touching the top of the Power Band, middle fingers in a straight line across the sides of the head. One guide also places the thumbs on Reactivation & Re-Creation.
Circle of Manifestation (4 min): Thumbs, index and middle fingers on parts of the ring on the back of the head.
Tunnels of Time & Space (1 min): Off the head: two fingers above each eyebrow, slowly drawn straight up.
Crown of Mystar (2 min): Off the head: a ring of thumbs and fingers around the crown, starting close and moving away.

Why gentle touch calms the body

Your nervous system runs in two main modes. Light, slow, steady touch is one of the clearest signals of safety the body knows, and safety moves it from one mode to the other.

The sympathetic system prepares you to fight or run. The parasympathetic system lets the body repair, digest and rest. Most stress lives in the first mode.

The skin has nerve fibres that respond best to slow, gentle contact. They report to the insula, the brain's inner-body map, and their signal is read as safety and comfort.

Lying still for an hour with light, predictable touch on the head gives the brain no reason to stay on guard. It can stand down. Whatever someone believes about the Bars, this is the plain physiology of why a session feels so deeply calming.

8 rules of a changing brain

The adult brain keeps rewiring itself all life long. These are the conditions that make it happen.

Use it or lose it

Brain maps grow with use and shrink with disuse. In classic monkey studies, when the nerve from part of the hand was cut, the brain areas for the neighbouring skin took over the unused space within weeks. Try this: Pick one skill you've let go of and give it ten minutes a day.

Neurons that fire together wire together

Cells that are active at the same moment strengthen their links. That's why the body map in the brain keeps the fingers side by side: we use them together. Try this: Pair a new habit with something you already do every day.

Attention opens the door

Real rewiring in adults needs focused attention. Attention releases acetylcholine, which tells the brain: this matters, keep it. Try this: Practise with full focus for short blocks instead of half-focus for hours.

Novelty is fuel

New places, people and skills release dopamine and acetylcholine together. Children's brains change so fast partly because everything is new to them. Try this: Take a new route, learn something you've never tried, travel.

Intensity matters

Frequent, focused, challenging practice changes the brain more than occasional casual practice. Stroke rehabilitation uses intensive daily practice to restore movement. Try this: Practise little and often, with full attention: ten focused minutes a day beat a rare long session.

Sleep locks it in

Sleep moves the day's learning into long-term storage. In a classic study, people who practised a finger sequence were about 20% faster after a night's sleep, with no extra practice. Try this: Learn in the evening, sleep on it, review in the morning.

Move your body

Aerobic exercise raises BDNF, a protein that helps neurons grow new connections. Animals given a running wheel grow more synapses. Try this: A brisk walk before learning something new.

Connection rewires

Bonding releases oxytocin, which quiets the fear centre and helps the brain lay down new circuits. People change more easily when they feel safe with others. Try this: Learn with someone, not only alone.

Sleep & dreams

Every night you pass through four or five sleep cycles of about 90 minutes. Each stage does a different job. Tap a stage to explore it.

Stage 1 – drifting

The border between waking and sleep. Heart rate and temperature drop and images start to drift. A 2021 study found that people who briefly entered this stage were nearly three times as likely to spot a hidden shortcut in a maths task. Edison is said to have napped holding a steel ball for this reason.

Stage 2 – light sleep

About half the night. Short bursts of activity called sleep spindles help store what you learned during the day.

Stage 3 – deep sleep

Slow, large brain waves. The body repairs tissue, the immune system works and memories are consolidated. Fluid flows through the brain and helps clear waste (shown in mice). Deep sleep is concentrated in the first half of the night. Sleepwalking and night terrors come from here, not from REM.

REM sleep

The brain becomes as active as when awake, and the eyes dart, while the body's muscles are switched off to keep you still. This is where the most vivid dreams happen. REM periods get longer toward morning: the last ones can last up to an hour.

Inside the dreaming brain

Why dreams feel real

In REM sleep, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which checks logic and reflects on itself, quiets down. That's why you accept flying, a friend who is suddenly a bird, or a bedroom that is also a palace, without asking questions.

Why dreams are so emotional

The brain's emotional and reward circuits are highly active in REM and acetylcholine floods the system, while serotonin and noradrenaline almost go silent. The brakes are off and the feelings are turned up.

Why you forget them

The chemistry that saves memories is low during REM, so most dreams fade within minutes of waking. To remember more, stay still when you wake and write the dream down before you do anything else.

Dreams as rehearsal

Many researchers see dreams as a simulator: a safe place to rehearse threats, conversations and emotional situations. Since you don't know it's a dream, the rehearsal feels completely real.

Creativity on the edge of sleep

People woken from REM are better at linking distant ideas than when awake. The drifting border of stage 1 is especially fertile for insight.

Lucid dreaming

About half of people have had at least one dream in which they knew they were dreaming. In lucid dreams, part of the prefrontal cortex switches back on, so you can reflect and sometimes steer the dream.

Out-of-body feelings

The brain areas that bind you to your body, around the temporo-parietal junction, may loosen in sleep. In a well-known case published in 2002, when this region was stimulated during epilepsy surgery, the patient felt she was floating near the ceiling. Science describes the brain's side of these experiences. Questions about consciousness and spirit remain open.

Sleep paralysis, explained without fear

Sleep paralysis happens when the mind wakes up while the body is still in REM. About 1 in 12 people have had at least one episode.

The REM 'off switch' on the muscles is still on, so you can't move. REM breathing is automatic, so trying to breathe deliberately can feel like pressure on the chest. Dream imagery can spill into the room, which is where the sense of a presence comes from.

What helps: don't fight it. Remind yourself this is a known, harmless sleep state. Soften your muscles, slow your breath and let it pass; it usually lasts seconds to a few minutes. If episodes are frequent or distressing, talk to a doctor.

Frequently asked questions

What is Access Bars?

Access Bars is a light-touch energy practice in which a practitioner gently holds 32 points on the head, each linked by the method to an area of life such as money, control, body or joy. It was developed by Gary Douglas in 1990 as part of Access Consciousness, and a full session takes 60–90 minutes while you lie fully clothed.

What happens during an Access Bars session?

You lie on your back, fully clothed, and the practitioner sits behind your head. They rest their fingertips very lightly on pairs of points for several minutes each, in a set order, starting with an energy pull and the Implant Band and moving into the closing sequence with Restructuring of Bodies. Most people feel deeply relaxed, and many fall asleep.

Where are the 32 Access Bars points?

They sit around the whole head: on the crown (Aging, Body, Sexuality), on the forehead and temples (Sadness, Joy, Healing, Form & Structure, Communication), above and behind the ears (Money, Control, Creativity, Kindness, Gratitude, Peace & Calm, Implant Band) and across the back of the skull (Power Band, Circle of Manifestation). The interactive map above shows each one and the brain area beneath it. The method speaks of 32 bars; this map shows them as 26 numbered positions, because several are mirrored on both sides of the head or held as one band.

Is there scientific evidence for Access Bars?

Research is at an early stage. Two small pilot studies by one researcher (7 and 4 participants, no control group) reported large short-term drops in anxiety and depression scores, and there are no controlled trials yet. What is well established is that slow, gentle touch and lying still activate the body's rest-and-digest mode, which explains much of the calm people feel.

Why does gentle touch on the head feel so relaxing?

The skin has nerve fibres that respond best to slow, light contact and report to the insula, the brain's map of the inner body, which reads the signal as safety. Safety shifts the nervous system from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest: the heart slows, breathing deepens and muscles soften.

What is sleep paralysis, and is it dangerous?

Sleep paralysis happens when the mind wakes while the body is still in REM sleep, so you can't move for a few seconds to minutes and may sense pressure or a presence. It is harmless and affects about 1 in 12 people at least once. Staying calm, softening the muscles and slowing the breath helps it pass; frequent or distressing episodes are worth discussing with a doctor.

What is lucid dreaming?

A lucid dream is a dream in which you know you are dreaming, sometimes enough to steer it. About half of people have had at least one. During lucid dreams, part of the prefrontal cortex, which is normally quiet in REM sleep, partly switches back on.

Can the adult brain really change?

Yes. The adult brain keeps rewiring itself throughout life, a process called neuroplasticity. Change is strongest with focused attention, novelty, concentrated practice, good sleep, aerobic exercise and safe social connection.

Is Access Bars safe, and who should check first?

The touch is very light and no harmful effects are documented, though some people feel tired, emotional or have a mild headache for a day or two. People with a recent head injury, epilepsy, or an acute psychiatric condition should check with their doctor first. Access Bars is complementary and does not replace medical or psychological care.

How can I book a session?

Start with a free 15-minute intro call over Zoom. On the call we decide together whether Access Bars, QHHT or another approach fits what you're looking for.

Written by Nitzan Solomon · Doctor of Holistic Health (DHH – a holistic credential, not a medical degree) · Beyond Quantum Healing (BQH) · Multidimensional & Arcturian Healing · Certified Sound Healer – Expert Level · Updated 2026-11-01

Access Bars® is a complementary energy practice. It does not diagnose, treat or prevent any medical condition and does not replace medical or psychological care. Bar locations follow publicly available practitioner charts; exact placement is taught in a certified Access Bars class. Access Bars® and Access Consciousness® are trademarks of Access Consciousness LLC. Brain-region matches are anatomical approximations, and the 'echoes' are offered as points of interest, not as evidence of how the Bars work.

Access Bars & the Brain