Can the 8-Coil Shakti Alter Subjective Emotional Experience? A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

At present, a commercially available device (the 8-coil Shakti) claims to produce weak and complex magnetic fields that alter neurobiological processes. The effects of the Shakti on emotional responses to photographs that varied on emotional valence were investigated. Participants (N = 37) were expo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perceptual and motor skills 2012-02, Vol.114 (1), p.217-235
Main Authors: Gendle, Mathew H., McGrath, Megan G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Amygdala - physiology
CD-ROM
Clinical trials
Cognition & reasoning
Emotions
Emotions - physiology
Equipment Design
Female
Humans
Magnetic Field Therapy - instrumentation
Magnetic fields
Male
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Perceptions
Software
Therapy, Computer-Assisted - instrumentation
Young Adult
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Summary:At present, a commercially available device (the 8-coil Shakti) claims to produce weak and complex magnetic fields that alter neurobiological processes. The effects of the Shakti on emotional responses to photographs that varied on emotional valence were investigated. Participants (N = 37) were exposed to either 30 min. of magnetic fields or a sham condition and rated their emotional reactions to a set of 54 color photographs. Although participants indicated significantly different emotional responses to images with distinct emotional valences, exposure to magnetic fields did not affect these responses, nor significantly interact with image emotional valence. Although the device's “amygdala signal” had no effect on the emotive response to images in this study, additional investigations examining the effects of weak and complex magnetic fields on various aspects of perception and cognition are warranted.
ISSN:0031-5125
1558-688X
DOI:10.2466/02.24.PMS.114.1.217-235