Metaphors for the effects of weak, sequentially complex magnetic fields

Metaphors to explain the effects of weak, complex magnetic fields upon the neuromatrices of organisms are suggested. The ratio of the amplitude of the time-varying components to steady-state components for complex magnetic field for effective biological responses may display Weber values that are similar to those for the electrical activity of the brain, the detection of changes in sound pressure by the ear and for more classical sensory thresholds. The nonlinear, suprathreshold characteristic of weak magnetic field effects would be similar to the effective narrow windows of concentrations of ligands values for receptor subtypes with different affinities. Signals composed of trains of between 100 and 1000 successive, fast (1 to 3 msec.) transients, which would contain the most biological information, would require low amplitudes to which the substrates could respond and with which the neuromatrix could resonate.

Depression following brain trauma is enhanced in patients with mild discrepancies between intelligence and impairment on neuropsychological scores

Analysis of the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) scores from 135 (20 years to 60 years old) patients who had sustained closed head injuries supported the hypothesis of a nonlinear relationship between the severity of depression and the magnitude of the discrepancy between intelligence and neuropsychological proficiency. Although the MMPI Depression T scores for all groups of patients were elevated (M = 78, SD = 13), patients with the least and greatest discrepancies between intelligence and neuropsychological proficiency scored lower on Depression than patients with discrepancies within the z-score ranges -2.0 and -1.1. The results of symmetrical covariance for either depression or complex partial epileptic-like experiences before comparisons between groups suggested depression and the epileptic-like experiences share the same source of variance.

Differential entrainment of electroencephalographic activity by weak complex electromagnetic fields

The hypothesis was tested that compensatory susceptibility to electroencephalographic driving and entrainment by weak (1 microT) time-varying, externally applied complex magnetic fields would occur in normal subjects following successive stimulation by different patterns. 43% of the volunteers showed evidence of driving during the application of the complex magnetic fields and indications of resonance (entrainment) during the first 10 sec. following the cessation of the fields. The volunteers who exhibited driving and entrainment could be discriminated from those who did not by their more frequent reported experiences of fear and odd tastes during the stimulation. They were also more likely to have a preexposure history of a sense of presence and to experience intense meaningfulness when reading or writing prose or poetry.

Geophysical variables and behavior: LXXXII. A strong association between sudden infant death syndrome and increments of global geomagnetic activity--possible support for the melatonin hypothesis

A significant subpopulation of young infants who die suddenly (SIDS) often exhibit anomalies consistent with disruptions within the pineal-limbic system. We have hypothesized that sudden decreases in nocturnal melatonin by a specific range of geomagnetic activity would precipitate sudden infant death. A correlation of .90 was found between the numbers of cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome per month during the years 1960 and 1961 in Ontario and an increase (primarily) in numbers of days per month with average geomagnetic activity between 11 and 20 nT and 31 through 40 nT but a decrease in the numbers of days with values between 21 and 30 nT. This nonlinear sensitivity, presumably associated with specific ripple frequencies within the geomagnetic field, may explain the failure by other researchers to detect linear associations between the numbers of these types of deaths and gross, scalar indicators of geomagnetic activity.

Experimental simulation of the effects of increased geomagnetic activity upon nocturnal seizures in epileptic rats

This experiment was designed to simulate experimentally the specific parameters of geomagnetic activity that evoke epileptic seizures. The numbers of overt limbic seizures (rearing, paroxysmal forelimb clonus and falling) in a population of epileptic rats were recorded nightly for 65 successive days between 0200 and 0400 h during red light conditions. On some nights an experimental 7 Hz magnetic field whose magnitudes shifted in successive steps from zero to approximately 50 nT every 3 min was presented. The partial regression coefficients from the analysis indicated that either the presence of the 'synthetic' geomagnetic activity or increased magnitudes of the daily, natural geomagnetic activity (regional range approximately 10-70 nT) during the observational period significantly (P < 0.05) increased the proportion of nightly seizures. The effect sizes (6-8%) for both magnetic sources were comparable and additive. Concerted efforts to experimentally simulate the temporal profiles of geomagnetic activity may help reveal the neuromechanisms by which biobehavioral changes during geomagnetic perturbations occur within susceptible populations.

Increases in geomagnetic activity are associated with increases in thyroxine levels in a single patient: implications for melatonin levels

Blood levels of free T4 (thyroxine), cortisol and prolactin over 19 successive days from a single limbic epileptic patient were correlated with daily geomagnetic activity (aa values) for the northern hemisphere. Only thyroxine levels were correlated (r = 0.66) significantly with the daily geomagnetic activity; the strongest association (rho = 0.76) occurred between thyroxine levels and the geomagnetic activity (Kp values) during the previous night (2:00 A.M. to 5:00 A.M. local time). These results support the hypothesis that suppression of (nocturnal) melatonin levels by increased geomagnetic activity attenuates the tonic inhibition by this pineal compound upon thyroidal metabolism.

Feelings of past lives as expected perturbations within the neurocognitive processes that generate the sense of self: contributions from limbic lability and vectorial hemisphericity

Normal, young men and women who believed they may have lived a previous life (n = 21) or who did not endorse (n = 52) this belief of "reincarnation" were exposed to partial sensory deprivation and received transcerebral stimulation by burst-firing magnetic fields over either the left or right hemisphere. Individuals who reported belief in reincarnation could be discriminated from nonbelievers by their more frequent report of experiences of tingling sensations, spinning, detachment of consciousness from the body, and intrusions of thoughts that were not attributed to the sense of self. The results support the hypothesis that there may be neurocognitive processes which identify experiences as originating from the sense of self (episodic or autobiographical memory) or "not self." When anomalous experiences are beyond the boundary of the experiences contained with the generalization gradient of concurrent autobiographical memory, they are more likely to be attributed to culturally available default explanations such as living a previous life.

Effect of enhanced geomagnetic activity on hypothermia and mortality in rats

The hypothesis was investigated that variability in the severity of limbic seizure-induced hypothermia in rats was affected by ambient geomagnetic activity. Data were obtained in support of this hypothesis. The depth of the hypothermia was significantly (P < 0.001) reduced if the ambient geomagnetic activity exceeded 35 nT to 40 nT. Mortality during the subsequent 5 days was increased when the geomagnetic activity was > 20 nT. The magnitude of the effect was comparable to the difference between exposure to light or to darkness during the 20 h after the induction of limbic seizures.

Enhanced hypnotic suggestibility following application of burst-firing magnetic fields over the right temporoparietal lobes: a replication

The suggestibility of normal, young men and women as assessed by Spiegel's Hypnosis Induction Profile (HIP) before and after weak (1 micro Tesla), burst-firing magnetic fields were applied for 20 min over the left or over the right temporoparietal lobe or both hemispheres; a fourth group received sham treatment. Only the group that received the stimulation over the right hemisphere exhibited a marked increase in suggestibility (eta = 0.58) following the treatment. These results replicate components of several different previous experiments and suggest that attribution of symptomatic changes following exposures to weak, extremely low frequency magnetic fields, to placebo effects may not be correct. Instead, fields whose signatures contain biorelevant information may directly affect the neurocognitive processes that are associated with hypnotizability.

Weak, but complex pulsed magnetic fields may reduce depression following traumatic brain injury

Many patients who display psychological depression following a traumatic brain injury do not respond completely to antidepressant drugs. We hypothesized that this type of depression is strongly correlated with subclinical, complex partial seizure-activity within the hippocampal-amygdaloid region that continues for months to years after apparent neurological and behavioral "recovery." Four depressed patients who had sustained traumatic brain injuries and who exhibited mild to moderate brain impairment according to standardized tests received 30 min. of weak (1 microT) burst-firing magnetic fields across the temporal lobes once per week for 5 weeks. There was a significant improvement of depression and reduction of phobias while physical symptoms and other complaints were not changed.

Long-term consequences of subtle stimuli during the first twenty-four hours of seizure-induced brain injury

Chronically epileptic (induced by a single systemic injection of lithium and pilocarpine about 30 days before the experiment began) male rats were trained within a radial maze while they were administered either GABA-pentin (Neurontin), or prednisolone or given no treatment. There was no significant improvement in learning or memory between the groups. Numbers of trials per day were positively correlated with the time required to display the overt stereotyped forelimb clonus after the single pilocarpine injection. The numbers of correct trials completed during the first few days of acquisition were significantly greater for the rats that had receive weak (1 microT) complex, pulsed magnetic fields over the right hemisphere during the first 24 hr. after seizure induction than for those who received the same field over the left hemisphere or that had been exposed to reference conditions. Implications of the enhanced sensitivity of limbic neurons to subtle electromagnetic interaction during electrical lability are discussed.

Enhancement of limbic seizures by nocturnal application of experimental magnetic fields that simulate the magnitude and morphology of increases in geomagnetic activity

Over a 200 day period, chronic (limbic) epileptic rats were exposed intermittently, for either one or three nights (00 to 08 hr), once very approximately 10 days to experimental magnetic fields whose morphology (incremental changes in intensity over time) simulated geomagnetic activity. One of two intensities and two ripple frequencies (7 Hz, 45 Hz) was employed. The display of over seizures following synchronized food presentation significantly increased by a factor 3.1 relative to controls when the fields had been activated for one or two but not three successive nights. The combined effects of the experimental field and ambient geomagnetic activity (> 40 nT) explained approximately 12 to 15% of the variance in the daily incidence of seizures. Implications for the transient disinhibition of electrical lability within the limbic system following suppression of nocturnal melatonin are discussed.

Demands during maze. learning in limbic epileptic rats: selective damage in the thalamus?

A qualitatively evident enhancement of chromolytic neurons within the lateral posterior thalamus of rats in which limbic seizures had been induced by lithium and pilocarpine and who were later trained for spatial memory was assessed quantitatively. The significant increase in the numbers of chromolytic neurons and the decrease in the numbers of normal neurons for these rats compared to the reference brains suggested these morphological changes were recent. The hypothesis that excessive stimulation of the lateral posterior nucleus by daily training in a radial maze may have facilitated the necrosis was supported by the inverse relationship between a linear combination of the numbers of normal neurons and oligodendroglia and the rate of learning during the earlier but not the later sessions. An implication for iatrogenic effects from rehabilitation of humans following brain injury was suggested.

Geophysical variables and behavior: LXXX. Periodicities and energetic characteristics of a strobe-light luminosity during a geomagnetic storm

A videotape of a "strobe-light" luminosity that occurred in northern Ontario for several minutes during the evening of 6 October, 1994, at the time of a geomagnetic storm, was analyzed frame by frame. Brightness of the flashes decreased over the time of the observation. The interflicker intervals displayed phase-shifted periodicities that would be compatible with a rotating electromagnetic dipole and with the observations of the witnesses. The time of the occurrence and the dynamics of the luminosity were consistent with the predictions of the tectonic strain hypothesis.

Visuospatial/vocabulary differences in boys and girls and a potential age-dependent drift in vocabulary proficiency

A total of 188 monolingual (English) boys and girls whose ages ranged from 6 years through 14 years were administered the Vocabulary and Block Design subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Although the boys (n = 85) displayed significantly greater relative strengths for the visuospatial task than the girls (n = 103), the effect was due primarily to the boys' less proficient Vocabulary scores. The detection of a significant linear decrease (r = -.32) in standardized scores for Vocabulary but not for Block Design over this age span was not expected. The drift over 9 grades was equivalent to more than one standard deviation. Possible sources of interference such as exposure to the same second language that occupied 6% to 12% of the instructional time are suggested.

Attempts to simulate the association between geomagnetic activity and spontaneous seizures in rats using experimentally generated magnetic fields

In three separate experiments, chronic epileptic male rats (ns = 24, 24, and 4) were exposed to experimental magnetic fields whose intensities were either constant or varied. The ripple frequency was always 7 Hz. Only exposure to a field with a constant intensity (700 nT) appeared to inhibit occurrence of the seizures. Although exposure to a field configuration whose strength increased and decreased by fixed increments during the hour before feeding did not affect the incidence of seizures, exposure to these fields for 5 min, only once per hour (increments of 15 to 20 nT for 30 sec. to a maximum of 70 nT) during the previous night between midnight and 0800 hr. increased the proportion of seizures following the presentation of food. An explanation is given for the persistent antithetical effects of experimental magnetic fields and geomagnetic activity upon seizure phenomena.

Repeated verbal interruptions during exposure to complex transcerebral magnetic fields elicit irritability: implications for opiate effects

Men (n = 17) and women (n = 18) listened to a brief narrative and then were exposed for 30 min. to a control condition or to a weak (1 microTesla) complex magnetic field applied over the left hemisphere, the right hemisphere, or bilaterally. The subjects were interrupted intermittently to report their thoughts during this period. Because the wave structure of the field had been shown to elevate nociceptive thresholds and to simulate the effects of morphine in rats, we predicted that the group who received the bilateral stimulation should report greater irritability because of their disrupted pleasant experiences. The results supported this hypothesis.

SUBJECTIVE PSEUDOCYESIS IN NORMAL WOMEN WHO EXHIBIT ENHANCED IMAGININGS AND ELEVATED INDICATORS OF ELECTRICAL LABILITY WITHIN THE TEMPORAL LOBES: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE “MISSING EMBRYO SYNDROME”

About one-fifth of 371 university women (mean age 26 years) reported that they had experienced symptoms of subjective pseudocyesis (false pregnancy). These women displayed markedly elevated indicators of complex partial seizure-like signs (particularly olfactory experiences, automatic behaviors and depersonalization), dissociative experiences, memory disruptions, hypomania, and right hemispheric arousal compared to women who did not report subjective pseudocyesis; for this phenomenon the ratio of women who were Roman Catholic vs Protestant was 8.2:1. This cluster of symptoms and experiences are very similar to those reported by women who believe their embryos have been removed after “impregnation” by non-human entities. Possible mechanisms are discussed.

PERSONALITY PROFILES OF WOMEN WHO REPORT AND WHO DO NOT REPORT PHYSICAL ASSAULT OR SEXUAL HARASSMENT: COMPARISONS WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Standardized personality profiles of young, university women who reported they had been either: 1) never assaulted or harassed, 2) sexually harassed or assaulted, or 3) physically assaulted, were compared with each other and with a group of age- and educationally-matched women, who had sustained verified traumatic brain injuries; 49% of the university volunteers reported the experience of either physical or sexual assault. The groups who had reported a history of physical assault or who had sustained brain trauma, displayed significantly higher scores for scales that infer egocentricity and deviations from rule systems, relative to the group who reported no history of assault. The possibility that even mild brain trauma (from physical assault or from injury during a motor vehicle incident) can adversely affect the sense of self is discussed.

Clinical neurological indicators are only moderately correlated with quantitative neuropsychological test scores in patients who display mild-moderate brain impairment following closed-head injuries

Quantitative comparisons were completed between mean scores for standardized neuropsychological tests (requiring 6 hr.), numbers of neurological signs (tests requiring 15 min.), anomalies within the electroencephalogram, subjective symptoms during a structured interview (requiring 20 min.), and an indicator of an organic brain syndrome for 81 patients who had sustained significant mechanical impacts to their skulls. The composite of neuropsychological scores was correlated 0.70 with a composite of neurological indicators and EEG anomalies. There were no significant correlations between neuropsychological or neurological scores and the numbers of subjective complaints, abnormal personality indicators, duration of coma or the interval of posttraumatic dysmnesia. However, the scores for the severity of the organic brain syndrome, partial complex epileptic symptoms, and subjective complaints were inversely correlated (rho = -0.35) with the duration of coma, the period of posttraumatic amnesia, and the numbers of qualitative electroencephalographic anomalies.

Neuropsychological principia brevita: an application to traumatic (acquired) brain injury

The concepts and discoveries of modern neuroscience now challenge many of the presumptions that influence diagnostic decisions within neurology, psychiatry, and clinical neuropsychology. Many of these presumptions are derived from archaic bivariate models such as the mind-body argument, organic-functional dichotomy, and single lesion-single behaviour causality. Thirteen basic principles which may be useful for inferring more reliable and accurate relationships between microstructural function an clinical manifestations are developed.

Association between intermale social aggression and cellular density within the central amygdaloid nucleus in rats with lithium/pilocarpine-induced seizures

Aggressive behaviors (numbers of bites/hour) within groups (ns = 8) of normal rats and rats in which seizures had been induced by a single systemic injection of lithium/pilocarpine were observed for 11 successive, 1-hr, periods. Mean numbers of neurons and glial cells were counted for 10 different nuclei of the amygdala for 16 different brains (8 control; 8 seizure). Although there was no significant difference found between rats with chronically induced seizures and controls for the numbers of neurons per area within the central medial amygdaloid nucleus, the neuronal density was correlated significantly (.92) with mean numbers of bites per hour for the chronically epileptic group only. The hypothesis that seizure-induced damage within proximal amygdaloid nuclei disinhibits the central nucleus and encourages aggression was supported.

Prednisolone blocks extreme intermale social aggression in seizure-induced, brain-damaged rats: implications for the amygdaloid central nucleus, corticotrophin-releasing factor, and electrical seizures

In two separate blocks of experiments, the extreme within-group aggression which is typically associated with limbic seizure-induced brain injury in male rats was attenuated or abolished within two days by the administration of prednisolone in the water supply. The effect was specific to the aggression and was not simulated by dexamethasone. The results support the hypothesis that interference with inhibitory inputs to the central nucleus of the amygdala and the enhanced stimulation by corticotrophin-releasing factor facilitates physical aggression within groups of male rats. Potential relevance to curbing aggression ("conflict") between groups of male humans is discussed.

Physiological and cognitive correlates of child abuse

OBJECTIVE

To compare the physiological responses of abused children to different stimuli with responses of children in a reference group and to correlate the physiological responses with intellectual and personality functioning.

METHOD

Abused children were compared with a reference group on two batteries of tests that were administered on separate days. In one session, children were shown slides with emotional or cognitive content while heart rate, pulse height, skin conductance, electromyography, and skin temperature were measured. In the other session, intellectual and personality functioning was measured using the WISC-R, Quick Neurological Screening Test, and the Junior Eysenck personality inventory.

RESULTS

Abused children had smaller changes in pulse height in the first two stimulus conditions presented ("No Signal" and "Math"), but their electrodermal responses were lower throughout all stimulus conditions. Abused children also had higher introversion and lower Verbal and Full Scale IQ scores. Verbal and Full Scale IQ scores were inversely related to the severity of abuse that had been experienced. When these variables were used in a discriminant function analysis, children were assigned to the correct group 86% of the time.

CONCLUSION

These findings support a model that describes the effects of abuse as delaying cognitive development and inhibiting physiological responsiveness to the environment.