Electrical Induction (VIDEO)
Caption
Is electrical induction responsible for the brainwave response? (Ans: no). The six diagrams show the strength of the alpha-waves (~ 10 Hz) in the human brain, at 64 locations on the human head for different magnetic field rotations; note the symbols for the nose and ears for reference. The bottom row of diagrams shows experiments with the North-seeking direction of the field pointing stably downwards at an inclination of 60? (as in the Northern Hemisphere), and the top row with the field pointing upwards. The left pair of diagrams show results from the counter-clockwise rotation of the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field (CCW from NE to NW), the middle column is the opposite rotation (CW from NW to NE), and the right shows one of the control conditions where the field did not rotate, but data are analyzed in the same fashion. Data are shown at about half a second after the field shifts (or not, for the FIXED control). Only the downwards CCW stimulation causes a significant drop in the alpha-wave band (shown by the deep blue in the lower left diagram). Note that electrical induction will depend only upon the moving, horizontal component of the magnetic field, not the static vertical component. The lack of response in the upwards CCW stimulation (top right diagram) contradicts predictions of the electrical induction hypothesis. This shows that the effect is not an artifact of any form of electrical induction, including from the electrodes on the scalp.
Credit
Wang et al., eNeuro (2019)
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