Influence of artificial air ionisation on the human electroencephalogram

Exposure of 20 subjects to negative ionisation was monitored by EEG. Negative ionisation was supplied by an Ionotron apparatus (Amcor-Amron, Herzlia-Israel) with an output of 3.5 × 10⁵ ions/(cm³ · sec) at 1 m distance. Objective findings in ten normal subjects showed reduction of the frequency of the alpha-waves from 10 or 11 down to 9 or 8 Hz, increase of the amplitude by up to 20%, advance of the alpha rhythm pattern from the occipital to the frontal area and general synchronisation of the EEG records of both hemispheres. These reactions were suppressed in 10 subjects by tranquillisers. Subjective findings included relaxation, alertness, improved working capacity and relief from the Serotonin Irritation Syndrome produced by the positive ionisation of hot, dry desert winds.This paper is devoted to the memory of Dr Igho H.Kornblueh, the pioneer of ion therapy, who passed away in 1973 in Philadelphia. Working on this project in 1957 he concluded "that further research on the effects of ionisation on the EEG is warranted".This report was prepared with the technical assistance of Mrs Suzi Alpern and B.Shalita.     

No short-term effects of digital mobile radio telephone on the awake human electroencephalogram

A recent study reported the results of an exploratory study of alterations of the quantitative sleep profile due to the effects of a digital mobile radio telephone. Rapid eye movement (REM) was suppressed, and the spectral power density in the 8–13 Hz frequency range during REM sleep was altered. The aim of the present study was to illuminate the influence of digital mobile radio telephone on the awake electroencephalogram (EEG) of healthy subjects. For this purpose, we investigated 34 male subjects in a single-blind cross-over design experiment by measuring spontaneous EEGs under closed-eyes condition from scalp positions C₃ and C₄ and comparing the effects of an active (0.05 mW/cm²) and an inactive digital mobile radio telephone (GSM) system. During exposure of nearly 3.5 min to the 900 MHz electromagnetic field pulsed at a frequency of 217 Hz and with a pulse width of 580 μs, we could not detect any difference in the awake EEGs in terms of spectral power density measures. Bioelectromagnetics 18:172–176, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Applications of artificial ionization

Summary The effects of positive and negative ions on man and on animals have been widely studied by numerous teams of researchers. It is well-known that negative ions have beeeficial effects on chronic and allergy-related bronchopathies in man; they stimulate the activity of the endocrine glands and psychomotor, muscular and cerebral functions. They have a beneficial effect on general circulation, and in particular on the microcirculatory system, such that they are suggested for use in prophylaxis and prevention of senescence, in acute, chronic and allergy-related pneumopathies, and in neuro-vegetative dystonia. The use of artificial negative ion producers may be a useful tool for both preventive and therapeutic purposes, as well as hygienic/domestic applications. Systematic measurements ere taken of negative ions artificially produced in a confined space. The spatial distribution of artificially-produced negative ions in a confined space is presented. Applications relative to artificial generators are also suggested in order to obtain repeatable experimental conditions.     

Influence of geophysical factors on the parameters of the human electroencephalogram

It has been shown that cerebral processes are characterized by fine physiological meteosensitivity. Under ordinary conditions, this manifests itself in correlations between human EEG parameters and the geophysical factors: wind regime, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and relative air humidity. The biometeorological properties of EEG rhythms of a human irrespective of age increase with their quickening in the order delta — theta — alpha — beta. The less the background expressiveness of the neurodynamic process, the sharper its meteosensitivity till a certain limit. The lack of a component of one neurodynamic process is filled up by the functional component of another.     

Influence of air ions on brain activity induced by electrical stimulation in the rat

The brain induced activity was studied in 18 rats wearing chronically skull implanted electrodes. The stimulating factor was various electrical stimulations of the mesencephalic reticular activating formation, given during the slow wave state of sleep. The results of 300 stimulations were measured by amplitude and frequency changes in the EEG simultaneously recorded. Animals previously exposed to positive air ions (3 weeks 80,000 ions/ml) exhibited lowered excitability of the reticulocortical system. Significantly higher stimulations were necessary to induce arousal. Negative air ions induced more intricate effects: brain excitability was lowered when tested with weak stimulations, but normal when evaluated with medium high level stimilations. Sleep seems first more stable but as stimulation increases, arousal is soon as effective as in controls. These results are in agreement with others findings in behavioral fields and partly explains them.     

The effect of negative air ionization on the thymus glands of laboratory rats

Continuous negative air ionization, over two generations, was found to result in depletion of thymus mass when compared with control values. Evidence from adrenal weights suggested that this effect was not mediated via stress effect; it is suggested that there may be a direct action of negative ions on the immune system. The normal pattern of thymic growth and involution was unaffected by such treatment. However, successive generations of animals, raised in a negatively ionized atmosphere, showed no such depletion of thymus mass.     

The influence of cortical lesions on penicillin induced convulsive activity in the awake rat

1. Experiments were performed to investigate the effects of cortical lesions on convulsive behaviour. Rats were lesioned in the left motor or sensory cortex by aspirating cortical tissue 2 to 3 months prior to the elicitation of convulsions. Convulsions were induced in the awake rats by the GABA antagonist Na-penicillin (Na-PCN) which was applied into the superficial layer of the foreleg field of their right motor cortex. Convulsive activity was recorded by means of the EEG. 2. The time courses of convulsive cortical activity were similar in the animals without or with a cortical lesion. Generalized seizures belonged to the tonic-clonic type in both intact and lesioned rats. 3. The early period of convulsive activity was described by the time to the onset (latency) of the first convulsive potential, jerk and seizure, and by the mean repetition rate of jerks during the first ten minutes, and the duration of the first generalized seizure. None of these parameters was significantly affected by a cortical lesion. 4. The median duration of the convulsive activity in intact animals was 162 min. In rats with a lesion in the sensory cortex it raised to more than 540 min while a lesion of the motor cortex increased the median duration to more than 273 min. The differences between intact and lesioned rats were significant (p less than 0.01 and p = 0.05, respectively). 5. The median time to the onset of the last generalized seizure in intact rats corresponded to 92 min with respect to the time of Na-PCN application. In rats with a lesion of the sensory cortex the last seizure was generated 433 min and in animals with a lesion of the motor cortex 167 min after Na-PCN treatment of the motor cortex of one side. This increase of latency of the last seizure was significant for the rats with a lesioned sensory area (p less than 0.02) or motor area (p = 0.05) compared to that of the intact rats. Additionally, the number of generalized seizures was significantly (p less than 0.01) increased by both groups of rats with a lesion of the motor or sensory cortex. 6. It is suggested that a substantial lesion of the cortex decreases predominantly the intrinsic cortical inhibition thus destabilizing brain function. This destabilizing effect becomes pronounced under the condition of superimposed suppression of the GABAergic cortical component. It is concluded that the intrinsic cortical inhibitory mechanism which in the intact brain acts against hyperexcitation and prevents the development of neuronal synchronization, i.e. the formation of seizures, becomes less effective in performing this task once an abnormal brain activation has developed.     

The effect of negative air ionization on the growth of four generations of laboratory rats

Initial work indicated an inhibition of pre-weaning growth in the first generation of rats born and raised at high negative ion levels. This effect, however, was not carried through to the successive generations. Negative ionization had little apparent effect on post-weaning growth throughout the four generations studied.     

Comparative effects of halothane, isoflurane, sevoflurane and desflurane on the electroencephalogram of the rat

Inhalant anaesthetic agents are commonly used in studies investigating the electroencephalographic (EEG) effects of noxious stimuli in animals. Halothane causes less EEG depression than isoflurane, however, the EEG effects of halothane, isoflurane, sevoflurane and desflurane have not been compared in the same model. This study aimed to compare the EEG effects of these inhalational agents in the rat. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to four groups and anaesthetized with halothane, isoflurane, sevoflurane or desflurane. EEG was recorded from the left and right somatosensory cortices for 5 min at three different multiples of minimal alveolar concentration (MAC) (1.25, 1.5 and 1.75). Median, 95% spectral edge frequency and total power were derived and a single mean value for each was calculated for the first 60 s of each recording period. When the raw EEG contained burst suppression (BS), the BS ratio (BSR) over 60 s was calculated. No BS was found in EEG recorded from the halothane group at any concentration. BS was present at all concentrations with the other anaesthetic agents. BS was almost complete at all concentrations of isoflurane, whereas BSR increased significantly with increasing concentrations of sevoflurane and desflurane. No significant differences were found between the BSR due to the 1.75 MAC multiple of isoflurane, sevoflurane or desflurane. Halothane causes significantly less depression of cortical activity than the newer inhalant agents at equivalent multiples of MAC. These data support the hypothesis that halothane has a fundamentally different mechanism of action than the other inhalant agents.     

Effects of air flow on rat electroolfactogram

The electroolfactogram (EOG) previously has been used to demonstrate the regional distribution of rat olfactory epithelial odorant responses. Here, we evaluated the effects of airflow parameters on EOGs in two preparations: one where odorants were directly applied to the epithelium (opened preparation) and one where odorants were drawn through the nasal passages by an artificial sniff (closed preparation). EOG rise times served as one measure of odorant access. For isoamyl acetate (but not for limonene), rise times were slower in the lateral recesses of the closed (but not the opened) preparation. Polar odorants (amyl acetate, carvone and benzaldehyde) evoked smaller responses in the closed preparation than in the opened preparation, and these responses were particularly depressed in the lateral regions of the closed preparation. Responses to nonpolar hydrocarbon odorants (limonene and benzene) were equal in the lateral regions of both preparations, but were somewhat depressed in the medial region of the closed preparation. The responses to some polar odorants in the closed preparation were sensitive to changes in airflow parameters. These data suggest that the sorptive properties of the nose contribute substantially to determining the response of the epithelium and act to increase differences produced by inherent receptor mechanisms.     

Prostaglandin E2 on the electroencephalogram

Present study was prompted by the report from another center on the occasional occurrence of convulsions and abnormal electroencephalogram (E.E.G.) patterns in women aborted with intraamniotic prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α). Fifty four subjects were investigated by means of an E.E.G. taken before and after initiation of PGE2 administration. They included pregnant and non-pregnant patients, nearly half (23) of whom were known epileptics. One seizure was observed during PG administration in a man with daily psychomotor attacks who had not taken his anticonvulsants on the day the test was performed. PGE2 caused no alteration of the E.E.G. in subjects with a normal control tracing; in those with an abnormal E.E.G., a deterioration was seen in one and an improvement in three. It is concluded that PGE2 is not epileptogenic at doses required for termination of pregnancy.