Direction of magnetic field of earth and brain

[shivakumar06]

does direction of magnetic field influence the process occurring in brain? what are the other external factor that influence the brain other than information?

 

[Ryan_m_b]

No the magnetic field of the Earth doesn't effect the human brain to any measurable degree (and if it did, well the brain evolved in the magnetic field so it wouldn't matter). I'm not sure what you mean by "external factors". The brain, like any other part of the body, is effected by things like drugs, nutrition, environmental factors like heat etc.

 

[Pythagorean]

There are many experiments whereby magnetic fields influence behavior and brain circuitry, but it requires magnetic field strengths on the order of 10 Teslas, whereas the Earth's magnetic field is on the order of 10^{-5} Teslas. A refrigerator magnet is on the order of .01 Teslas.

To get even a single Tesla takes a considerable amount of energy (usually generated with an electromagnet).

 

[Dotini]

does direction of magnetic field influence the process occurring in brain? what are the other external factor that influence the brain other than information?

The brains of insects and various animals may be affected by the Earth's magnetic field, according to the following entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoception
Magnetoception (or magnetoreception as it was first referred to in 1972[1]) is a sense which allows an organism to detect a magnetic field to perceive direction, altitude or location. This sense has been proposed to explain animal navigation in vertebrates and insects, and as a method for animals to develop regional maps. For the purpose of navigation, magnetoception deals with the detection of the Earth's magnetic field.

Magnetoception has been observed in bacteria. It has also been commonly hypothesized in birds, where sensing of the Earth's magnetic field may be important to the navigational abilities during migration; insects (including fruit flies and honeybees); and other animals such as turtles, lobsters, sharks and stingrays.

 

[gravenewworld]

This may be of interest to some people:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0013883