The essence of being: what makes us tick?

[MajinVegeta]

What makes us tick?

 

I have seen a documentary where electromagnetic waves (i think) were emitted (and kept to a minimum) "into" a someone's brain. Specifiacally, in the temporal lobe. This person experienced illusions and feelings that can easily be found in dream experiences. So does our brain create electromagnetic waves that influence our behaviour?

[Aardvark]

No

[aman]

People live under power lines in high EM fields and get headaches and wind up sick. That is real. Some people wear tin foil hats. I think they were crazy before the EM got them.

I don't know if there is any research on actual meanings to the subtle EM fields generated by the brain.

Just aman

[Aardvark]

The idea that EM from power lines can effect human health is completely different from the idea that the brain creates EM that then influences the persons behaviour.

 

Since the brain controls the persons behaviour in the first place this idea makes no sense whatsoever.

[aman]

Do you know of any studies between EM fields and behavior. There are studies of brain waves and brain activity and areas of the brain associated with control or inhibition of behavior.

I am just try to understand your suggesting of an EM/behavior connection.

Just aman

[NSX]

Well, my teacher said that humans may have a wave nature, so maybe the frequency of such EM radiation is resonating a specific part of us.

[MajinVegeta]

How about biophotons? And the EM waves already influencing earth?

[Radical Edward]

it's all physics... many of the processes are electromagnetic ones, and can be influenced by EM forces. This is why the electric chair works so well.

[Glider]

Originally posted by MajinVegeta

What makes us tick?

 

I have seen a documentary where electromagnetic waves (i think) were emitted (and kept to a minimum) "into" a someone's brain. Specifiacally, in the temporal lobe. This person experienced illusions and feelings that can easily be found in dream experiences. So does our brain create electromagnetic waves that influence our behaviour?

 

The equipment is called an Electromagnetic Stimulator (EMS). These come in several forms, but are essentially electrical coils formed into a configuration that allows the projection of more or less focussed EM pulses onto areas of the cortex. We have a couple of ring EMSs, but they come in many forms according to need. The EM pulses stimulate the area of the brain to which they are applied. This avoids the need to open people's heads to apply direct stimulation through electrodes (more focussed, but also more messy).

 

A chap called Wilder Penfield performed a number of direct electrode stimulation studies. The subjects were undergoing necessary surgery at the time. Direct electrical stimulation is used under these circumstances to isolate specific areas (everybody's brain is slightly different). A minute charge is applied, and the patient is asked what they feel (patients undergoing brain surgery are conscious, as this is the only way to get feedback to ensure you're messing with the right bit). Anyway, Penfield found that stimulation of areas of the temporal lobe elicited memories in the patients. These were fragments of conversation, tunes, childhood events and so-on, but experience vividly and lucidly (we know now that the temporal lobes are accociated with memory function).

 

We know that indirect stimulation using EMS can produce the same effects. However, EMS is less topographically specific, and so stimulates less specific and larger regions of the cortex. Also, as the cortex consists of only 6 layers of neurons, there is some sub-cortical stimulation too. EMS of the temporal lobes will produce a confused jumble of memories and experiences similar to those experienced in dreams.

 

In answer to your question, activity in the brain does produce changed in the electrical field. These are what Electroencephalographs (EEGs) record, and is why the recording electrodes only need to be attached to your scalp, and not directly to your brain. However, these fields are the result of electrical processes in the brain which influence our behaviour, and do not inflence our behaviour in themselves. The reasons EMS works is not because it influences the EM fields of the brain, but because it affects the electrical functioning of the brain.

 

The conclusion we can draw from this is that an EM field of sufficient magnitude can influence the electrical functioning of the brain. The main argument concerning overhead power lines (usually given by the power company) is that they do not generate an EM field of sufficient magnitude to have any effect, much less do any harm. However, there is research to show that whilst this may generally be the case, in certain areas peculiarities of the local geography (e.g. the presence of high concentrations of iron in the ground, the presence and orientation of local water tables or rivers, the orientation and proximity of a house to the power lines and these other factors and so-on) can provide a 'lensing' effect, resulting in localised areas of EM radiation of significantly higher intensities than those recorded simply by standing under the power lines.

 

These 'focussed' areas of EM have been shown to have some quite severe effects on some people. People's own particular body chemistry also has an influence, e.g. of two people living in a house which was in a focussed area of EM, only one was affected. This was attributed to differences in their body chemistry.

 

The aguments concerning power lines now is do these 'focussed' areas of EM present a real danger (beyond headaches, disorientation and nausia)? And, is long-term exposure to low level EM as potentially harfmul as short-term exposure to higher levels?