Sensitivity of Planaria to Weak, Patterned Electric Current and the Subsequent Correlative Interactions with Fluctuations in the Intensity of the Magnetic Field of Earth

" ... It was found that a small proportion of the population seemed to be attracted to this current. Additionally, if the experiment was preceded by a geomagnetic storm, the planaria showed a linear correlation increase in the variability of their movement in response to the presence of the weak electric field. Both of these results indicate that a subpopulation of planaria show some ability to respond to electromagnetic fields." {Credits 1}

" Most fish capable of eletro‐ or magnetoreception do so by producing a weak electromagnetic field of their own and detecting fluctuations and disturbances of this endogenously produced field [2]. Some electroreception receptors involved operate through low‐voltage L‐type calcium (Cav1.3) and potassium ion channels [3]. The Cav1.3 channels are present in a wide variety of other cells, not traditionally thought to have the capacity of electroreception, including dopamine secreting cells in the brain [4,5] and cochlear cells in the ear canal responsible for hearing [6]. While land mammals do not live in a medium as electrically conductive as water, air is able to efficiently conduct magnetic fields [7]. Additionally, electromagnetic fields are generated by organs whose cells communicate with each other with bioelectric discharges caused by the movement of ions across the cell membrane, such as in the heart [8] and in the brain [9]. Some experiments have indicated the potential for reception of disturbances of the Earth’s magnetic or electric field. For example, the application of a magnetic field with the same intensity as the Earth’s was used to classically condition sharks [1]. The potential interaction between environmental electromagnetic fields has already been demonstrated in the human brain, where the pattern of its electrical activity showed transient periods of coherence with the Earth’s magnetic field [10,11]. " {Credits 1}

{Credits 1} 🎪 Hossack, V., Persinger, M., & Dotta, B. (2020). Sensitivity of Planaria to Weak, Patterned Electric Current and the Subsequent Correlative Interactions with Fluctuations in the Intensity of the Magnetic Field of Earth. J—Multidisciplinary Scientific Journal, 3(1), 79-89. © 2020 the authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.