Brain’s magnetic particles mapped by German scientists

July 31 (UPI) — For the first time, scientists have mapped the magnetic particles in the human brain. The feat, accomplished by researchers at the University of Munich in Germany, showed the brain’s magnetic particles are concentrated inside the cerebellum and brainstem.

Some migratory birds can sense Earth’s magnetic field, and scientists have debated whether humans also possess magnetotactic sense. The latest findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, confirm humans have the necessary tools.

Advanced imaging showed the human brain’s magnetic particles and asymmetrically distributed.

“The human brain exploits asymmetries in sensory responses for spatial orientation, and also for sound-source localization,” Christoph Schmitz, professor of neuroanatomy, said in a news release.

Researchers used magnetometry to map the distribution of magnetic particles in tissue samples collected from seven human post-mortem brains.

While humans possess the prerequisite for magnetotactic sensing, researchers suggest the human brain’s magnetic particles are likely insufficient to deliver a strong enough magnetic signal to serve any biological purpose.

Scientists hope to perform similar surveys of the magnetic particles inside the brains of marine mammals, like whale species that migrate thousands of miles across the world’s oceans.

“We want determine whether we can detect magnetic particles in the brains of whales, and if so whether they are also asymmetrically distributed,” said Schmitz. “It goes without saying that such studies will be carried out on animals that have died of natural causes.”