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Bioelectromagnetism

FIGURE 3.6 Brain waves of various animals. (a) Lef from top; Codfsh, frog, guinea pig, and rabbit and (b) Right

from top; Cat, monkey, infant, and adult (From Iwase, 1970 and Morrell, 1967)

frequency of 50 Hz or lower. Te former corresponds to α wave in humans, and the latter to β wave.

Tere is no intrinsic diference between the brain waves of diferent species (Figure 3.6 and Table 3.1).

In frog brains (odontoid and optic lobes), EEG can be seen even when the brain is removed, and EEG

can be seen even when the brains is cut into pieces the size of a grain of rice. Invertebrate brains, or

ganglia as they are properly called, can also record rhythmic waves like EEG. Such rhythmic waves can

also be seen in simple nerve centers. For example, the optic ganglia of grasshoppers (Melanoplus) and

genus damselfy (Dysticus) show rhythmic waves of 7–10 Hz. Light stimulation increases the frequency

to 20–40 Hz. In the grasshopper (Schistocerca), the rhythmic waves are mixed with spini-form waves

(Iwase, 1970).

Afer König’s speculation, Bullock suggested that the origin of the frequency of electrical activity

in many biological systems on our planet and many species exhibit electrical activity in the ELF range

below 50 Hz, which is strongly similar to the natural ELF spectrum in the atmosphere produced by

lightning (Bullock, 2002). It is surprising that many diferent types of species exhibit similar low-fre­

quency electrical wave activity. Most vertebrates from fsh to Homo sapiens show very similar electrical

of activity (Bullock, 2002).

Recently, it was once again reported that there is a link between the constantly occurring atmospheric

lightning-derived electromagnetic phenomena and the electrical activity in many biological systems

acquired during evolution on our planet (Price et al., 2021). An example of the results, Figure 3.7 shows

TABLE 3.1 Te Brain Waves of Humans and Animals

Frequency (Hz)

Amplitude (µV)

Human (Adult)

˜ wave

8–12

5–100

˜ wave

13–30

5–30

˜ wave

0.5–3

5–100

˜ wave

4–7

5–100

Animal

Dog·Cat

10–16

Guinea pig

6–7

Rabbit

3–6

Fish

Salmon

14–16

Goldfsh

14–16