TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1996//
TI  - Atmospheric electromagnetism: individual differences in brain electrical response to simulated sferics
JO  - International journal of psychophysiology
A1  - Schienle, Anne
A1  - Stark, R.
A1  - Kulzer, R.
A1  - Klöpper, R.
A1  - Vaitl, D.
SP  - 177
EP  - 188
VL  - 21
IS  - 2-3
N2  - The living organism is constantly affected by natural electromagnetic influences covering a wide range of frequencies and amplitudes. One of these natural influences is represented by a phenomenon called atmospherics or sferics. Sferics are very weak electromagnetic impulses generated by atmospheric discharges (lightning). With a newly developed simulation system it was possible to reproduce a previously registered sferics signal and present it to 52 subjects while recording the electroencephalogram (EEG). The repeated application of this stimulus for ten minutes evoked a significant decrease in alpha power in parietal and occipital regions compared to the control condition without sferics presentation. Two constitutional factors were revealed as mediators of sferics effectiveness: the general physical condition of the subjects, and their neuroticism. Individuals with many somatic complaints and a high degree of emotional lability did not respond to the sferics stimulation. This absence of a response is interpreted as an adaptational deficit in reaction to variations in atmospheric parameters.<p /> <p>Language: en</p> 
LA  - en
SN  - 0167-8760
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -