Using digital magnetometry to quantify anomalous magnetic fields associated with spontaneous strange experiences: the magnetic anomaly detection system

Journal of Parapsychology, The, Spring, 2005 by Jason J. Braithwaite

Multiple magnetic and electromagnetic fields are constantly bathing our brains throughout the course of modern daily life. We have never lived in an environment as magnetically dense as we do today. Recent research suggests that both low-frequency natural geomagnetic fields (GMFs) and man-made power-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can induce a number of biological, neurophysiological and behavioral changes in humans (Bell, Marino, & Chesson 1992, 1994; Cook & Persinger, 2001; Fuller, Dobson, Wieser, & Moser, 1995; O'Connor, 1993; Papi, Ghione, Rosa, Del Seppia, & Luschi, 1995; Persinger, 1988, 1993; Persinger & Koren, 2001; Persinger, Ludwig, & Ossenkopp, 1973; Randall & Randall, 1991).

For example, variations in such fields have been associated with the onset of abnormal behavior in vulnerable psychiatric populations (Bell et al., 1992; Konig, Fraser, & Powell, 1981), increasing epileptic activity in the brain (Fuller et al., 1995; see Persinger & Koren, 2001), discrete changes in skin conductance (Stevens, 2001), performance at reaction time tasks (Friedman, Becker, & Bachman, 1967), and instances of hallucinations in normal waking adults (Bell et al., 1992, 1994; Cook & Persinger, 2001; Fuller et al., 1995; Gearhart & Persinger, 1986; Persinger, 1988, 1993; Persinger & Koren, 2001; Persinger, Ludwig, & Ossenkopp, 1973; Persinger, Tiller, & Koren, 2000; Randall & Randall, 1991; Richards, Persinger, & Koren, 1993). Collectively these findings highlight the importance of the modern magnetic environment and its potential implications for cognition, behavior and health. The potential influence from such magnetic signatures also establishes the need for a detailed assessment of the magnetic environment with appropriate technology and methodologies. This paper outlines a fully computerized high-speed digital magnetometry system capable of quantifying crucial complex magnetic environments over space and time.

Hallucination, Magnetic Fields and the Brain

Recently scientists have taken the nature of hallucination very seriously indeed. Cognitive neuropsychologists study brain-damaged patients for two main reasons. Firstly, such studies provide an insight into the nature of any altered performance from those patients in relation to their particular form of damage. Secondly, these studies allow researchers to understand fundamental principals of neural organization and its implications for cognitive function generally in the non-brain-damaged population. In a similar manner, neuroscienfists are now looking at both spontaneous and artificially induced instances of hallucination in an attempt to see what such experiences tell us about brain organization and the mechanisms involved.

For example, recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain-imaging studies have revealed that specific regions of the visual cortex are involved in visual-based hallucinations reported by some clinical populations (ffytche, 2000; ffytche & Howard, 1999; ffytche, Howard, Brammer, David, Woodruff, & Williams, 1998). Similarly, other studies have shown that stimulation of the auditory cortex can induce hallucinations of speech and sounds in schizophrenics and controls (see Penfield, 1955; Penfield & Perot, 1963; Siegal, 1977). Collectively, these studies show a definite neural substrate to the hallucinatory experiences being reported. Similar brain areas involved in processing visual and auditory stimuli from the outside world are also recruited in producing instances of hallucination without any external stimuli. Hallucination is not just a fiction of the fanciful mind; it is an internal reality for the observer with a very real neural substrate.

As well as evaluating spontaneous hallucination in patient populations, researchers can now artificially induce hallucination by applying relatively weak low-frequency magnetic fields to the outer cortex of the normal human brain (Persinger, 1995, 1999; Persinger et al., 1973; Persinger & Richards, 1994; Persinger, Richards, & Koren, 1997; Persinger et al., 2000; see Persinger & Koren, 2001 for a review). This experimental stimulation is revealing not only what brain areas may underlie certain hallucinations but also how such EMFs can interact with neurophysiology itself. Persinger and colleagues have suggested that these complex magnetic fields can cause epileptic-like partial microseizures in the temporal-lobe regions of neuronally hypersensitive participants. The result is hallucination. These experience-inducing fields (EIFs: see Braithwaite, 2004) are described as being a series of weak but very complex electromagnetic fields with the potential to influence human conscious experience. It has been argued that field complexity rather than excessive field magnitude itself is an important factor for inducing these types of experience (Persinger, 1995, 1999; Persinger & Koren, 2001; Persinger & Richards, 1994; Persinger, Richards, & Koren, 1997). The intensity of the fields typically used in the laboratory is generally in the range of 10 nT-1,000 nT, though as much as 5,000 nT have been used in some cases. These fields can be pulsed and emitted in short bursts of around 3-6 ms (milliseconds) duration every 3,000-5,000 ms for a period of 15-30 min. The amplitude of the pulses can also vary within the pulse train sequence. All of these manipulations produce extremely complex magnetic profiles that are somewhat akin to the emerging complex neural patterns recorded from the human brain. The effects of such stimulation are not instantaneous and seem to result from constant exposure to these fields over a prolonged time period. By varying the number of bursts; their amplitude, duration, and rotation; and the region being stimulated, many distinct forms of experience can be elicited (see Persinger, 1999; Persinger & Koren, 2001 for a further discussion of the technique).