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Thursday May 24, 2007
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I'm having one of those days where I just don't feel like I'm firing on all cylinders. I swear part of my brain is sleeping. Everyone knows how that goes, but most of us like to stimulate our brains with a strong mug of coffee or a power smoothie in the morning. Some people, on the other hand, want something a bit more...direct. Why ingest chemicals that can stimulate your brain when you can just stimulate it directly, with the Magnetic Brain Stimulator?
The stimulator is non-invasive, and the company claims that it generates an electromagnetic field reaching up to three centimeters into the brain, when you hold the device up to your head. Much like Dan Costa's experiment with the Hairmax Laser Comb (How's that going, Dan?), you hold the device straight up to your head, and it starts to work its magic.
The electromagnetic pulse that it puts out is supposed to, "stimulate the prefrontal cortex and paralimbic blood flow to give the patient a feel-good factor." The device was designed for psychiatrists who were looking for a non-invasive, non-chemical method of treating mild depression or the "casual blues."
Possible side-effects include: post-treatment headache, muscle twitching, pain at the part of your head where the device was positioned, and possible seizures. Ouch. The device is currently up for FDA approval, and psychiatrists are looking to use it regularly for patients who have a hard time sticking to medication or electroshock therapy. Science? Pseudo-science? I suppose we'll have to wait for the FDA review to find out.
[ via Wired ]
Post by Alan Henry
Posted By:
Gearlog
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May 25, 2007 10:13 AM
Several studies have found that magnets do not increase blood flow. If blood were strongly attracted to magnets, it would tend to pool and might even come through the skin when a person is exposed to the powerful magnets in MRI machines.
http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/QA/magnet.html
May 25, 2007 1:43 PM
Dear Dion,
in short, your mistaken belief is based upon incorrect information.
i you'd done your homework, you'd have found that pulsed magnetic fields are quite a bit different from static ones and do in fact increase circulation.
pulsed magnetic fields are highly bioactive both physiologically and psychologically.
read more.
http://www.pr.com/press-release/38250
May 25, 2007 3:38 PM
I can not find any evidence in any peer reviewed medical journal that claims a magnetic field of any kind, pulsed (which is what a MRI does) or constant effects blood flow in the least. The iron in blood is non-ferromagnetic no matter what "PR.com" claims. The link you provided is just for a press release and is not an accredited source, it does make reference to a University of Wisconsin sleep study, but no where do they say they find that magnetic fields increase blood flow. If you can point me to an accredited medical journal that can back this claim I will gracefully abdicate.
May 25, 2007 3:53 PM
I'm going to have to side with Dion here. In my old physics classes (thanks to the illustrious Dr. Robert Park) we confirmed that blood iron is indeed non-ferromagnetic, and treatments like magnetotherapy are by and large absolutely ineffective and border on pseudoscience. At the same time, the explosion of magnetic bracelets, kneepads, in-shoe soles, and more is rather disappointing considering they at best have a placebo effect on the person using them.
I'll admit, when I was writing this piece, I was actually hoping to hear Dion's point somewhere in the comments to this article, which is why I'm more than skeptical to the effectiveness of this device, as cool and geeky as it might be.
Now on the other hand, I'm more curious how the magnetic field would affect, if at all, brain tissue in such close proximity and with these so-called "pulsed" magnetic fields. Psychologists claim that the device is indeed effective, and are pushing the FDA to approve it for clinical use. Now, whether those same psychologists are falling for another placebo effect is another story, but we can hope that the FDA will sort it out, and their testing will result in studies published, like Dion says, in peer-reviewed, accredited scientific journals.
May 28, 2007 10:36 AM
Well, if the possible side effects really do include "post-treatment headache, muscle twitching, pain at the part of your head where the device was positioned, and possible seizures", then I doubt it's merely a placebo effect -- clearly it's doing *something*. The question is whether that "something" is beneficial...
May 28, 2007 10:39 AM
ELECTROmagnetism. There's an electrical field component. The effects are by induced currents, if the field is strong enough. If strong enough, this device might produce untoward or unexpected effects... even in the hands of relevantly educated and responsible users. The effects are gross when compared to relevant brain and neural dimensions and are thus hard to predict or control. Individual brains are likely to vary significantly from person to person... or even, in a single person, from application to application of the applied field. This is interesting but the device should be considered experimental and potentially dangerous.
June 4, 2008 3:19 PM
I bought a magnetic blanket a while back, it has small magnets spaced equi-distant throughout it in the fabric. There is no question that it was doing something to my body. It felt like increased heart rate and blood was pulsing in my arteries/veins. If I tried to sleep with this blanket, I couldn't because the effects were keeping me awake. I had to remove it.