ABSTRACT

I. Introduction 92 A. Criteria for Valid Scientific Experiments 92 B. Control, Measurement, and Documentation of the Physical

Environment 92 C. Experimental Design, Procedures, and Statistical Testing 93 D. Replication 93

II. Air Ions: Summary of Animal and Human Studies 93 A. Human Physiology and Behavior 94

1. Reported Results: Aggregate Data 94 2. Critique of Experimental Design and Documentation 99 3. Results of Minimally Acceptable Studies 111

B. Animal Physiology and Behavior 113 1. Reported Results: Aggregate Data 113

a. Conditioned Emotional Response 113 b. Learning and Performance 117 c. Serotonin 117 d. Pain Sensitivity 118 e. Physiological Arousal and Activity 118

2. Critique of Experimental Design and Documentation 119 3. Results of Minimally Acceptable Studies 119

C. Human Biomedical Responses 129 1. Reported Results: Aggregate Data 129 2. Critique of Experimental Design and Documentation 131 3. Results of Minimally Acceptable Studies 139

D. Animal Biomedical Responses 140 1. Reported Results: Aggregate Data 140 2. Critique of Experimental Design and Documentation 141 3. Results of Minimally Acceptable Studies 144

III. Conclusions 146

Acknowledgment 146

Air Ions: Physical and Biological Aspects

I. INTRODUCTION

Reports in the literature indicate both wide-ranging and mixed effects of air ions on physiological and behavioral systems in animals and humans. No one particular biological system appears to be specifically receptive to air ion exposure, and, in fact, it appears that air ions, if they have an effect at all, would be best characterized as nonspecific environmental stimuli. However, not all researchers agree with this assessment, and, in fact, one investigator has recently proposed the presence of a specific receptor in the lung consisting of neuroendocrine cell bodies (see Chapter 8).