Incidence
A study correlated 192 geomagnetic storms recorded between 976 and 1986 with hospital admissions in the area of Lothian, Scotland, and found a 36% increase in male admissions for manic or psychotic depression in the period eight to 14 days following the storms. Laboratory animals have shown the pineal gland is sensitive to changes in magnetic fields, leading to decreases in the brain messenger seretonin, and also melatonin, the chemical that regulate the daily "biological clock". There is also an increase in adrenalin-like hormones. Women may be unaffected because of the complex interaction of sex hormones.