Nicolas Rouleau

Electromagnetic fields as structure-function zeitgebers in biological systems: environmental orchestrations of morphogenesis and consciousness

Within a cell system structure dictates function. Any interaction between cells, or a cell and its environment, has the potential to have long term implications on the function of a given cell and emerging cell aggregates. The structure and function of cells are continuously subjected to modification by electrical and chemical stimuli. However, biological systems are also subjected to an ever-present influence: the electromagnetic (EM) environment. Biological systems have the potential to be influenced by subtle energies which are exchanged at atomic and subatomic scales as EM phenomena. These energy exchanges have the potential to manifest at higher orders of discourse and affect the output (behavior) of a biological system. Here we describe theoretical and experimental evidence of EM influence on cells and the integration of whole systems. Even weak interactions between EM energies and biological systems display the potential to affect a developing system. We suggest the growing literature of EM effects on biological systems has significant implications to the cell and its functional aggregates.

Focal attenuation of specific electroencephalographic power over the right parahippocampal region during transcerebral copper screening in living subjects and hemispheric asymmetric voltages in fixed brain tissue.

Covering the heads of human volunteers with a toque lined with copper mesh compared to no mesh resulted in significant diminishments in quantitative electroencephalographic power within theta and beta-gamma bands over the right caudal hemisphere. The effect was most evident in women compared to men. The significant attenuation of power was verified by LORETA (low resolution electromagnetic tomography) within the parahippocampal region of the right hemisphere. Direct measurements of frequency-dependent voltages of coronal section preserved in ethanol-formalin-acetic acid from our human brain collection revealed consistently elevated power (0.2μV(2)Hz(-1)) in right hemispheric structures compared to left. The discrepancy was most pronounced in the grey (cortical) matter of the right parahippocampal region. Probing the superficial convexities of the cerebrum in an unsectioned human brain demonstrated rostrocaudal differences in hemispheric spectral power density asymmetries, particularly over caudal and parahippocampal regions, which were altered as a function of the chemical and spatial contexts imposed upon the tissue. These results indicate that the heterogeneous response of the human cerebrum to covering of the head by a thin conductor could reflect an intrinsic structure and unique electrical property of the (entorhinal) cortices of the right caudal hemisphere that persists in fixed tissue.

When Is the Brain Dead? Living-Like Electrophysiological Responses and Photon Emissions from Applications of Neurotransmitters in Fixed Post-Mortem Human Brains.

The structure of the post-mortem human brain can be preserved by immersing the organ within a fixative solution. Once the brain is perfused, cellular and histological features are maintained over extended periods of time. However, functions of the human brain are not assumed to be preserved beyond death and subsequent chemical fixation. Here we present a series of experiments which, together, refute this assumption. Instead, we suggest that chemical preservation of brain structure results in some retained functional capacity. Patterns similar to the living condition were elicited by chemical and electrical probes within coronal and sagittal sections of human temporal lobe structures that had been maintained in ethanol-formalin-acetic acid. This was inferred by a reliable modulation of frequency-dependent microvolt fluctuations. These weak microvolt fluctuations were enhanced by receptor-specific agonists and their precursors (i.e., nicotine, 5-HTP, and L-glutamic acid) as well as attenuated by receptor-antagonists (i.e., ketamine). Surface injections of 10 nM nicotine enhanced theta power within the right parahippocampal gyrus without any effect upon the ipsilateral hippocampus. Glutamate-induced high-frequency power densities within the left parahippocampal gyrus were correlated with increased photon counts over the surface of the tissue. Heschl’s gyrus, a transverse convexity on which the primary auditory cortex is tonotopically represented, retained frequency-discrimination capacities in response to sweeps of weak (2μV) square-wave electrical pulses between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. Together, these results suggest that portions of the post-mortem human brain may retain latent capacities to respond with potential life-like and virtual properties.

Experimental Evidence of Classical Conditioning and Microscopic Engrams in an Electroconductive Material

Synthetic experimental substrates are indispensable tools which can allow researchers to model biological processes non-invasively in three-dimensional space. In this study, we investigated the capacities of an electroconductive material whose properties converge upon those of the brain. An electrically conductive material composed of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, ions, water, and trace amounts of other organic compounds and minerals was classically conditioned as inferred by electrophysiological measurements. Spectral densities evoked during the display of a conditioned stimulus (CS) probe were strongly congruent with those displayed during the conditioned-unconditioned stimulus pairing (CS-UCS). The neutral stimulus consisted of the pulsed light from a LED. The unconditioned stimulus was an alternating current. Interstimulus intervals >130 ms did not result in conditioned responses. Microscopic analysis of the chemically-fixed substratum revealed 10–200 μm wide ‘vessel structures’ within samples exposed to a stimulus. Greater complexity (increased fractal dimensions) was clearly discernable by light microscopy for stained sections of fixed samples that had been conditioned compared to various controls. The denser pixels indicated greater concentration of stain and increased canalization. Implications for learning and memory formation are discussed.

Functional neuroimaging of post-mortem tissue: lithium-pilocarpine seized rats express reduced brain mass and proportional reductions of left ventral cerebral theta spectral power

Structural imaging tools can be used to identify neuropathology in post-mortem tissue whereas functional imaging tools including quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) are thought to be restricted for use in living subjects. We are not aware of any study which has used electrophysiological methods decades after death to infer pathology. We therefore attempted to discriminate between chemically preserved brains which had incurred electrical seizures and those that did not using functional imaging. Our data indicate that modified QEEG technology involving needle electrodes embedded within chemically fixed neural tissue can be used to discriminate pathology. Forty (n = 40) rat brains preserved in ethanol-formalin-acetic acid (EFA) were probed by needle electrodes inserted into the dorsal and ventral components of the left and right cerebral hemispheres. Raw microvolt potentials were converted to spectral power densities within classical electroencephalographic frequency bands (1.5 Hz to 40 Hz). Brain mass differences were shown to scale with left hemispheric ventral theta-band spectral power densities in lithium-pilocarpine seized rats. This relationship was not observed in non-seized rats. A conspicuous absence of pathological indicators within dorsal regions as inferred by microvolt fluctuations was expected given the known localization of post-ictal damage in lithium-pilocarpine seized rats. Together, the data demonstrate that post-mortem neuroimaging is both possible and potentially useful as a means to identify neuropathology without structural imaging techniques or dissection.

Biophotonic markers of malignancy: Discriminating cancers using wavelength-specific biophotons

Early detection is a critically important factor when successfully diagnosing and treating cancer. Whereas contemporary molecular techniques are capable of identifying biomarkers associated with cancer, surgical interventions are required to biopsy tissue. The common imaging alternative, positron-emission tomography (PET), involves the use of nuclear material which poses some risks. Novel, non-invasive techniques to assess the degree to which tissues express malignant properties are now needed. Recent developments in biophoton research have made it possible to discriminate cancerous cells from normal cells both in vitro and in vivo. The current study expands upon a growing body of literature where we classified and characterized malignant and non-malignant cell types according to their biophotonic activity. Using wavelength-exclusion filters, we demonstrate that ratios between infrared and ultraviolet photon emissions differentiate cancer and non-cancer cell types. Further, we identified photon sources associated with three filters (420-nm, 620-nm., and 950-nm) which classified cancer and non-cancer cell types. The temporal increases in biophoton emission within these wavelength bandwidths is shown to be coupled with intrisitic biomolecular events using Cosics resonant recognition model. Together, the findings suggest that the use of wavelength-exclusion filters in biophotonic measurement can be employed to detect cancer in vitro.

Right cerebral hemispheric sensitivity to pH and physiological ions in fixed post-mortem Wistar rat brains

Post-mortem human neural tissues fixed in ethanol and aldehyde-based solutions express modulated frequency-dependent microvolt potentials when probed by chemical and electrical stimuli. These observations run contrary to the assumption that basic tissue functions are irreversibly impaired upon fixation, in the absence of nutrients and sufficient concentrations of physiological ions. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relative effects of pH and specific charged particles relevant to normal cell physiology upon electric potentials associated with fixed post-mortem rat brain tissue. We identified a positive relationship between the total time the brains had been immersed in ethanol–formalin–acetic acid and high-frequency microvolt potentials within the dorsal right hemisphere of the rat cerebrum. Measuring the pH of the fixative solution surrounding the brains indicated that as time increased, a logarithmic trend toward alkalinity could be observed. Further experiments revealed that high-frequency microvolt potentials were related to pH changes within the right hemisphere only. The right ventral cerebrum displayed a unique response to potassium chloride in ways uncounted for by pH alone. The results suggest that the fixed post-mortem right cerebrum of the rat is particularly sensitive to pH and physiological ions which explains a subset of previous findings with respect to stimulus–response patterns in human coronal brain sections. A concluding hypothesis is presented which suggests that brain tissue expresses material properties independent of metabolic activity though perhaps relevant to living brain function.

Neural Tissues Filter Electromagnetic Fields: Investigating Regional Processing of Induced Current in Ex vivo Brain Specimens

As has been demonstrated experimentally, the living brain responds to pulsatile electromagnetic fields. Our aim was to investigate the capacities of ex vivo neural tissue to process and filter induced current generated by naturally occurring and laboratory-controlled electromagnetic fields. Microvolt potentials within the chemically fixed postmortem brains were collected throughout the field exposures. During strong geomagnetic storms there was a significant increase in power spectra within the 7.5 Hz to 14 Hz range within the right but not the left parahippocampal gyrus compared to days with relatively quiet geomagnetic activity. This finding indicated that ambient electromagnetic fluctuations from natural sources were processed differentially as a function of subsections of the postmortem tissue. Exposing a whole, fixed human brain to two physiologically patterned magnetic fields that have been associated with powerful subjective experiences reported by hundreds of human volunteers in the laboratory setting elicited increased power within the 7.5 Hz to 20 Hz range. The effects required 10 to 20 s to emerge and were primarily represented within tissue subsections of the right amygdala and orbitofrontal gyri. Other fields such as simple sine-wave (20 Hz) patterns of comparable intensity (2 to 10 μT) did not elicit the same configuration of changes. The results indicate that neural tissues filter electromagnetic fields non-randomly.

Marked Increases in Alpha Power Over the Left Prefrontal Region During Days Following Shift Work: A Case Report

Quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) measurements were completed for a 35 year old of paramedic following two to five days of shift change and rest periods. The most conspicuous and reliable change was a marked increase (factor of 5) in power within the alpha band over the left prefrontal region and, to a lesser degree, increased power within the low-beta band over the right parietal region during the test periods after no work days. These results indicate that regions of cerebral cortices associated with self-monitoring and spatial vigilance are most affected by a schedule that involves serial shifts in sleep schedule but that the structure of employment may attenuate the most significant changes that occur after days of rest. These results are consistent with previous observations that changing sleep and work schedules affect the activity of regions of the human brain that are essential for awareness of spatial content and reasoning.

Simple Binary Prediction of Daily Storm-Level Geomagnetic Activity with Solar Winds and Potential Relevance for Cerebral Function

A number of previous studies have examined various statistical methods for the prediction of geomagnetic activity, particularly based on predictor input of solar wind variables. However, investigation of the potential for a simple binary prediction system based on either “quiet” or stormlevel activity of the planetary magnetic field has been severely lacking. The goals of the current analyses were to identify potential space weather models for the accurate prediction of geomagnetic storm events. Furthermore, while the deleterious or negative effects of increases in geomagnetic activity on a range of terrestrial systems have been focused on in the past, theoretical perspectives on the potential benefits of significantly increased geomagnetic perturbations are considered.