Enhancement of Temporal Lobe-Related Experiences During Brief Exposures to Milligauss Intensity Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields

Abstract

Volunteers wore opaque goggles while sitting quietly within an acoustic chamber that was weakly illuminated by a red light. During six successive 5-minute periods each subject received 3 pairs (offlon) of either 4 Hz, 9 Hz or 16 Hz, 0.3 mG to 1.0 mG (100 nT), pulsed magnetic fields (both polarities) that were applied externally at the level of the temporal lobes; a fourth group received the sham field. Subjects exposed to the magnetic fields displayed enhanced vestibular, depersonalization and imagining experiences compared to sham-field controls. Pleasantness scores were positively correlated with numbers of temporal lobe spikes; both measures were enhanced within the field conditions. When variance associated with psychometric inferences of temporal lobe sensitivity and cognitive style was accommodated, a significant increase in temporal (but not occipital) lobe alpha activity for the groups exposed to the magnetic fields was revealed. These results suggest that weak, pulsed magnetic fields, focused across the temporal plane, may generate neurostructure-specific behaviors within a context that encourages their occurrence.