Shifts in the Plutchik emotion profile indices following three weekly treatments with pulsed vs continuous cerebral magnetic fields

Weak, but complex pulsed magnetic fields may reduce depression following traumatic brain injury

Many patients who display psychological depression following a traumatic brain injury do not respond completely to antidepressant drugs. We hypothesized that this type of depression is strongly correlated with subclinical, complex partial seizure-activity within the hippocampal-amygdaloid region that continues for months to years after apparent neurological and behavioral "recovery." Four depressed patients who had sustained traumatic brain injuries and who exhibited mild to moderate brain impairment according to standardized tests received 30 min. of weak (1 microT) burst-firing magnetic fields across the temporal lobes once per week for 5 weeks. There was a significant improvement of depression and reduction of phobias while physical symptoms and other complaints were not changed.

THE EFFECTS OF INTERPERSONAL TRUST AND GROUP STATUS ON PROSOCIAL AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIORS

Preliminary evidence suggests that interpersonal trust is associated with both aggression and prosocial behavior, but little research has been conducted to investigate these relationships in nonclinical samples. It has been suggested by Scott (1980) that general trust is not as useful in predicting behavior in organizational settings as is situational trust. However, if moderated by in-group - out-group status, general trust may be useful in predicting general response tendencies such as aggressive and prosocial behaviors. Building on the norm of reciprocity as described by Kaufmann (1970) and Rushton (1980), it was hypothesized that: a) subjects identified as high trusters would show low levels of aggression and high levels of prosocial behaviors towards both in- and outgroup members; b) low trusters would show high levels of aggression and low levels of prosocial behavior towards both in- and out-groups members; and c) moderate trusters would show lower levels of aggression towards the in-group than towards the outgroup and higher levels of prosocial behavior towards the in-group than towards the out-group. These hypotheses were not confirmed. Participants reported higher levels of prosocial behavior towards the in-group than towards the out-group, regardless of the level of trust. Group differences also emerged on the aggression measures regardless of trust level. Trend analyses revealed that as trust h∼creases, overall prosocial behavior increases.

Differential ratings of pleasantness following right and left hemispheric application of low energy magnetic fields that stimulate long-term potentiation

A total of 40 normal men and women were exposed under double blind conditions for 20 min to either sham-conditions or to 1 microT (10 mG) electromagnetic fields (known to produce long-term potentiation within hippocampal slices) that were applied primarily over the right temporal lobe, over the left temporal lobe or over both temporal lobes homogeneously. The men and women who received the stimulation over the right hemisphere rated their experiences as significantly more pleasant than those who received the same stimulation over the left hemisphere [eta = 0.51]. Covariance for the variation in ambient geomagnetic activity, which was negatively correlated with pleasantness, increased the significance of the experimental treatment. The potential clinical utility of applying computer-generated local and penetrative but weak intensity complex magnetic fields over portions of the human brain is discussed.