Blue light-dependent human magnetoreception in geomagnetic food orientation.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Controlled laboratory physiological experiment in humans (graded by design analogy for non-clinical research).
PubMed 30763322 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0211826
What was done
In a self-rotatory chair experiment, researchers tested whether starved human participants (men and women) could orient toward food-associated magnetic directions (ambient or modulated magnetic north or east) without auditory or visual cues. The study evaluated orientation under varying light conditions (blue light, wavelengths > 500 nm, and blindfolded), tested the effect of inverting the vertical component of the geomagnetic field, and evaluated the role of blood glucose levels.
What was found
Starved men, but not women, significantly oriented toward food-associated magnetic directions without sight or sound cues. This response was present under blue light but was abolished when blindfolded or exposed to longer wavelength light (> 500 nm). Inversion of the vertical magnetic field component shifted orientation toward magnetic south, and post-food blood glucose appeared to modulate sensing motivation. The abstract provides no exact numerical values, sample sizes, or confidence intervals.
Why it matters
This study provides experimental evidence suggesting that humans may possess a light-dependent inclination compass mechanism capable of sensing geomagnetic fields under specific metabolic states.
Limits
The abstract does not disclose participant sample size, age, effect sizes, or specific statistical test values. The observed effect was restricted to fasting males and was absent in females, and the findings require independent replication given the historical difficulty of reproducing human magnetoreception effects.
Cited by
- partial Experimental studies published in Science magazine demonstrate that the human brain exhibits magnetoreception and people can detect magnetic fields above chance levels.