Biomedical subjects

M A Persinger

Publications and source records attributed to M A Persinger.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Application of transcerebral, weak (1 microT) complex magnetic fields and mystical experiences: are they generated by field-induced dimethyltryptamine release from the pineal organ?

During the last 15 years weak, complex magnetic fields have been applied across the two cerebral hemispheres at the level of the temporoparietal lobes of more than 500 volunteers. Most of these subjects have reported visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive sensations as well as experiences of detachment from the body of 'sentient beings'. Similar but more intense experiences were reported by Strassman in 2001 for volunteers who were injected with N,n-dimethyltryptamine, a compound Strassman hypothesized as the primary mediator of these experiences. If this speculation is valid, then subjects who are exposed to the very weak, complex fields known to elicit similar experiences should display significant increases in the metabolites of this compound within their blood.

Electromagnetic Fields↗

PubMed2003

Mechanical impacts to the skulls of rats produce specific deficits in maze performance and weight loss: evidence for apoptosis of cortical neurons and implications for clinical neuropsychology.

The purpose of this experiment was to induce closed head injuries that might be applicable to clinical neuropsychology. Six adult female albino rats were struck over the right dorsal skull by a 200-gm weight that fell through a 0.9-m tube while another six rats served as controls. The rats that received the impact to the skulls displayed significantly more weight loss and fewer completions of the maze during the subsequent two to four days (effect size about 40%) while their open field behaviors, response latencies to thermal stimulation of the feet, and immobility within a conditioned fear setting did not differ significantly from those of controls. Histological analyses of the brains about 35 days after the impact indicated striking alterations in the morphology of cerebral cortical neurons, strongly suggestive of an apoptotic-like process, within the dorsal cerebral cortices below the likely impact site. Distributions of clusters of these aberrant-looking cells were also evident opposite to the impact site within the ventral cerebrum. Because apoptosis is involved with minimal inflammation and edema, detection of diffuse apoptosis by MRI and CT would be unlikely even though the influence on adaptability would be significant.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Conditioned taste aversion is not disrupted in rats exposed to weak, complex magnetic fields during the CS-UCS interval.

40 normal male Wistar rats were trained for 8 successive days to consume water ad libitum during once-daily 20-min. sessions. On the following day (training day) the rats were presented with a novel solution of 10% sucrose for 20 min. followed by a single exposure for 2 hr. to one of two weak (200 to 500 nanoTesla) complex magnetic fields or to sham-field conditions. The patterns of the two magnetic fields and the durations of their repeated presentations (interstimulus interval) were designed to be resonant with the intrinsic firing of hippocampal pyramidal and solitary neurons, respectively. Immediately after the applications of the fields one-half the number of rats were injected with lithium to evoke gastrointestinal malaise. Although on the test day, three days later, rats previously injected with the lithium exhibited the usual robust reduction in the consumption of sucrose compared to the training day, there were no statistically significant differences between field-exposed and sham-field groups for these ratios. We conclude that a 2-hr. exposure to weak magnetic fields designed to simulate the pattern of two structures likely involved with conditioned taste aversion between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus did not affect this behavior.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Neurobehavioral and neurometabolic (SPECT) correlates of paranormal information: involvement of the right hemisphere and its sensitivity to weak complex magnetic fields.

Experiments were designed to help elucidate the neurophysiological correlates for the experiences reported by Sean Harribance. For most of his life he has routinely experienced "flashes of images" of objects that were hidden and of accurate personal information concerning people with whom he was not familiar. The specificity of details for target pictures of people was correlated positively with the proportion of occipital alpha activity. Results from a complete neuropsychological assessment, Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), and screening electroencephalography suggested that his experiences were associated with increased activity within the parietal lobe and occipital regions of the right hemisphere. Sensed presences (subjectively localized to his left side) were evoked when weak, magnetic fields, whose temporal structure simulated long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, were applied over his right temporoparietal lobes. These results suggest that the phenomena attributed to paranormal or "extrasensory" processes are correlated quantitatively with morphological and functional anomalies involving the right parietotemporal cortices (or its thalamic inputs) and the hippocampal formation.

Alpha Rhythm↗

PubMed2002

Geophysical variables and behavior: XCVII. Increased proportions of the left-sided sense of presence induced experimentally by right hemispheric application of specific (frequency-modulated) complex magnetic fields.

12 young men and women who were not aware of the stimulus order were exposed to 8 configurations of weak 1 microTesla) magnetic fields for 5 min. each, applied primarily over the right parietotemporal region. The numbers of sensed presences along the left side, right side, or front/back, as inferred by button presses at the time of the experience, were recorded. There were significantly (eta2= .37) more experiences along the left side than the right side during the presentations of a frequency-modulated (Thomas) pattern with 3-msec. point durations compared to the presentation of its temporally reversed structure or to patterns that were more or less complex. 40% of all left-sided presences occurred during the 5-min. presentation of this specific frequency-modulated pattern. These results suggest that the subjective lateralization of a sensed presence to the left during right hemispheric stimulation by weak magnetic fields is enhanced by the specific temporal structure of the applied field.

Brain↗

PubMed2002

Remote viewing with the artist Ingo Swann: neuropsychological profile, electroencephalographic correlates, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and possible mechanisms.

In the present study, the artist Ingo Swann, who helped develop the process of remote viewing (awareness of distant objects or places without employing normal senses), was exposed during a single setting of 30 min. to specific patterns of circumcerebral magnetic fields that significantly altered his subjective experiences. Several times during subsequent days, he was asked to sit in a quiet chamber and to sketch and to describe verbally distant stimuli (pictures or places) beyond his normal senses. The proportions of unusual 7-Hz spike and slow wave activity over the occipital lobes per trial were moderately correlated (rho=.50) with the ratings of accuracy between these distal, hidden stimuli and his responses. A neuropsychological assessment and Magnetic Resonance Imaging indicated a different structural and functional organization within the parieto-occipital region of the subject's right hemisphere from organizations typically noted. The results suggest that this type of paranormal phenomenon, often dismissed as methodological artifact or accepted as proofs of spiritual existence, is correlated with neurophysiological processes and physical events. Remote viewing may be enhanced by complex experimentally generated magnetic fields designed to interact with the neuromagnetic "binding factor" of consciousness.

Art↗

PubMed2002

Intratest and intertest means and reliability of the MMPI-168 for university students and patients referred for neuropsychological assessment.

68 first-year university students and 37 patients, after a 1-mo. or a 2-yr. interval, respectively, were re-administered the MMPI-168 (the first 168 items of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory). The mean of the test-retest correlation coefficients between the first and second administrations for the 13 scales (3 validity, 10 clinical) was about .62 for the students and the patients. The mean absolute change in standardized scores for the scales between the two administrations for both groups was only 0.2 of a standard deviation. Compared to the students, however, the patients who had been referred for neuropsychological assessments displayed elevated (>2 SD) mean scores for several of the scales during both administrations. These results indicate that the MMPI-168 profiles of the patients did not change appreciably even though several years had elapsed since the injuries. The correlation coefficients between means of the scaled scores between the first and second administrations for the students and patients were .91 and .95, respectively.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Geophysical variables and behavior: XCVIII. Ambient geomagnetic activity and experiences of "memories": interactions with sex and implications for receptive psi experiences.

During 96 nonsequential days over a 3-yr. period, a total of 53 men and 86 women were exposed only once for 30 min. to transcerebral, weak complex magnetic fields while they sat alone within a quiet chamber. They were asked to record the frequency of specific experiences after the exposure was completed. There was a significant interaction between sex and global geomagnetic activity for the incidence of experiences attributed to memories. Women reported more experiences attributed to "childhood memories" when geomagnetic activity was less than 20 nT, while men reported more of these experiences when the activity was more than 20 nT. Re-analyses of a database of "paranormal experiences" reported by 395 separate individuals over a 100-yr. period indicated that more men than women reported "precognitive experiences" on days the geomagnetic activity was above 20 nT while women reported such experiences if the geomagnetic activity was below 20 nT. These results suggest that these experiences, be they veridical or illusory, may be influenced by global geomagnetic activity that affect the neuroelectrical or neurochemical processes associated with memory consolidation or the attribution of the serial order of experiences during retrieval.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Enhancement of images of possible memories of others during exposure to circumcerebral magnetic fields: correlations with ambient geomagnetic activity.

On the basis of results from a special subject who reported information at a distance during exposure to weak, circumcerebral magnetic fields rotating within the horizontal plane, we designed an experiment to discern if the subjective narratives of normal people exposed to these fields could be similar to the comments of emotionally related individuals who were concurrently generating shared memories about a randomly selected stimulus. Blind matching of the comments indicated that the proportions of 44 students who accurately paired the narratives of the field-exposed subject and the comments of the stimulus person as congruent were statistically significant for 5 of the 7 pairs whose narratives were of sufficient length for analysis. The ratings for congruence of the pairs of verbal behaviors for the 7 pairs of subjects were negatively correlated (rho = -.72) with the geomagnetic activity during the 24-hr. interval within which the experiences were conducted. The results suggested consciousness might also be an insulator to myriad stimuli which might be accessible when brain activity is modified by circumcerebral magnetic fields with temporal configurations in the order of 20 msec.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Ranking of stimuli that evoked memories in significant others after exposure to circumcerebral magnetic fields: correlations with ambient geomagnetic activity.

To identify means to enhance the laboratory production of alleged paranormal phenomena, 15 pairs of men and women involved emotionally were tested by male and female experimenters who were not familiar with the hypothesis that ambient (geomagnetic) activity could modulate this production. While the female of the pair was exposed to six different patterns of complex magnetic fields designed to affect states of consciousness, the male wrote his reminiscences about shared experiences evoked by a postcard randomly selected from a collection of five. Increased global geomagnetic activity (k values between 0 and 5) at the time of the experiments was significantly and moderately correlated with the more accurate ranking of the stimulus cards. These results were similar to those of a previous study. We suggest that alleged paranormal phenomena involve processes that might be produced by experimentally altering the electroencephalographic correlates of consciousness with circumcerebral applications of counterclockwise weak magnetic fields. However, these processes may be enhanced if global geomagnetic activity is increasing during the periods of exposure.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Increased analgesia to thermal stimuli in rats after brief exposures to complex pulsed 1 microTesla magnetic fields.

Nociceptive thresholds to a 55 degrees C hot surface were measured for female Wistar rats before treatments and 30 min. and 60 min. after the treatments. After injection with either naloxone or saline following baseline measurements, the rats were exposed for 30 min. to either sham fields or to weak (about 1 microTesla) burst-firing magnetic fields composed of 230 points (4 msec. per point) presented once every 3 sec. The rats that had received the burst-firing magnetic fields exhibited elevated nociceptive thresholds that explained about 50% of the variance. A second pattern, designed after the behaviour of individual thalamic neurons during nociceptive input and called the "activity rhythm magnetic field" produced only a transient analgesic effect. These results replicated previous studies and suggest that weak, extremely low frequency, pulsed magnetic fields with biorelevant temporal structures may have utility as adjuncts for treatment of pain.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Circumcerebral application of weak complex magnetic fields with derivatives and changes in electroencephalographic power spectra within the theta range: implications for states of consciousness.

Relative power within the delta, theta, low-alpha, high-alpha, and gamma electroencephalographic spectra of 8 human volunteers was recorded over the left and right frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes during and after the circumcerebral application through an array of 8 solenoids of 6 different configurations of weak (5 to 10 microTesla) magnetic fields. The solenoids were equally spaced around the subject's head along a horizontal plane above the ears. An approximately 30% increase in power within the theta band occurred transcerebrally during the application of a specific configuration, previously shown to affect subjective time, involving 20-msec. rates of change in the duration of delivery of the magnetic fields to each successive solenoid. Compared to the left hemisphere, the right hemisphere displayed a 20% increase in power within the 5.0- to 5.9-Hz range for all 6 configurations. The results suggest that very complex magnetic fields with the appropriate temporal parameters rotated around and within brain space can interact with the cerebral processes, measured as specific hands of frequencies, generating consciousness. Implications for the roles of hippocampal theta activity, cortical resonance, and Goldstone bosons in these processes are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The brain matrix and multifocal brain damage following a single injection of ketamine in young adult rats: conspicuous changes in old age.

Male rats were seized with lithium and pilocarpine and then injected within 30 min. with either acepromazine or ketamine. These rats as well as age-matched normal rats were observed daily for one year. The rats which had received the ketamine after the seizures were significantly heavier than either the normal rats or the other group of seized rats. The bulk of this increased weight was due to the marked increase in white, extremely dense adipose tissue. Compared to the acepromazine-treated rats, the ketamine-treated rats did not exhibit spontaneous seizures and exhibited cerebral widths comparable to normal rats. These results suggest that the multifocal, graded neuronal loss associated with this seizure model may allow other "configurations" to emerge that can support normal behaviors as well as new characteristics.

Acepromazine↗

PubMed2002

Effects of daily or weekly thermal (footpad) stress upon manifestation of melanoma tumours.

A total of 48 C57 male and female mice received thermal stimulation to their footpads either daily, weekly, or never. After either two or three weeks of this treatment the mice were injected to discern if the initiation of carcinogenic cell proliferation during a stressful period would influence the rate of development of the tumour. The latency in days for the onset of a discernable node over the injection site was measured. A statistically significant interaction between the temporal pattern of treatments and sex explained about 25% of the variance in the latency of the appearance of tumours. Post hoc analysis showed the source of interaction involved the group that had not received the thermal stress. The results may suggest that either weekly or daily thermal stress may have reduced the females' resistance to tumorigenesis. However, this pattern and type of stress did not influence the first appearance of these skin tumours in the males.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Possible disruption of remote viewing by complex weak magnetic fields around the stimulus site and the possibility of accessing real phase space: a pilot study.

In 2002 Persinger, Roll, Tiller, Koren, and Cook considered whether there are physical processes by which recondite information exists within the space and time of objects or events. The stimuli that compose this information might be directly detected within the whole brain without being processed by the typical sensory modalities. We tested the artist Ingo Swann who can reliably draw and describe randomly selected photographs sealed in envelopes in another room. In the present experiment the photographs were immersed continuously in repeated presentations (5 times per sec.) of one of two types of computer-generated complex magnetic field patterns whose intensities were less than 20 nT over most of the area. WINDOWS-generated but not DOS-generated patterns were associated with a marked decrease in Mr. Swann's accuracy. Whereas the DOS software generated exactly the same pattern, WINDOWS software phase-modulated the actual wave form resulting in an infinite bandwidth and complexity. We suggest that information obtained by processes attributed to "paranormal" phenomena have physical correlates that can be masked by weak, infinitely variable magnetic fields.

Art↗

PubMed2002

Voluminous sucrose consumption in female rats: increased "nippiness" during periods of sucrose removal and possible oestrus periodicity.

In a two-bottle paradigm in which water and 10% sucrose water were always available, female rats drank about 200 cc of the sugar water (about 65 g of sucrose/kg) per day for 4 wk. There were no significant decreases in consumption over this time. In Exp. 2 female rats singly housed were given two bottles containing water for 1 wk. and then a bottle containing water and a bottle containing 15% sucrose for the next week for 6 wk. When sucrose was available, the rats ate 33% more rat chow. When sucrose was removed, the rats displayed more episodes of biting a stimulus when the food cubes were being removed for daily measurements. Some females exhibited a marked 4- to 5-day periodicity in sucrose (7.5%) consumption. The persistent and voluminous consumption of sucrose water and enhanced agonistic-like behavior during periods of withdrawal suggests the presence of a robust phenomenon with potential dinical applications to the challenge of addiction.

Aggression↗

PubMed2002

Working memory and reference memory in adult rats following limbic seizures induced at 21 or 90 days of age.

Rats were either seized or not seized at 21 days of age (weaning) or at 90 days of age with a single systemic injection of lithium (3 mEq/kg) and pilocarpine (30 mg/kg). When tested as adults (120 days of age) for spatial memory in the Olton radial maze, the rats that had been seized as adults exhibited about five times more working (short-term) memory errors than the other three groups which did not differ significantly from one another. The numbers of errors for long-term (reference) memory did not differ significantly among the four groups. The deficits in working memory for the group seized as weanlings and reported previously were not replicated. One possible explanation for this discrepancy might be differential effects upon brain organization associated with seizures evoked by injecting the pilocarpine 24 hr. rather than 4 hr. after the lithium.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2002

Bilingual men but not women display less left ear but not right ear accuracy during dichotic listening compared to monolinguals.

Thirty monolingual university men and women and 33 bilingual university men and women who had learned English after 5 years of age were administered Roberts' Dichotic Word Listening Test. The bilingual men committed twice the numbers of errors for words presented to the left ear but not to the right ear or to both ears when compared to the bilingual women, the monolingual men, or the monolingual women. The latter three groups did not differ significantly from each other. This interaction between sex and language history explained about 16% of the variance in the numbers of errors for the left ear. The results are related to other studies that showed men who acquired English after the age of 5 years exhibited a relative weakness for verbal memory but not for figural memory compared to bilingual women or monolingual men and women. Implications for the relative accuracies of verbal memory are considered.

Adult↗