Humans often perceive themselves as solid entities, independent of their surroundings and isolated within the bony structure of the skull. However, a new wave of neuroscience research proposes a radically different vision: we are porous systems, largely composed of water and matter, functioning through continuous electromagnetic energy processes. At the Polytechnic University of Turin, anesthesiologist Marco Cavaglià and his team are developing a map to explain how human biology participates in the planet’s energy fields – a fundamental phenomenon for understanding the emergence of thought and the self. This research could have significant implications for fields like bioengineering and our understanding of consciousness.
At the heart of this hypothesis lie the Schumann Resonances, electromagnetic pulses that oscillate between the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere at a constant frequency of 7.83 Hz, popularly known as the Earth’s heartbeat. According to neuroscientist Tommaso Firaux, living systems aren’t static entities, but dynamic processes integrating internal and external signals. “The brain is always adjusting, moment by moment, integrating signals from inside the body and from the environment,” explained the expert, distancing himself from the idea of the brain as a rigid computer simply executing pre-programmed instructions.
The research focuses on vicinal water, an organized layer of molecules surrounding neuronal membranes that, according to experts, could act as a biological battery. This layer responds to electromagnetic signals, even of low intensity, due to the natural polarity of water. However, the mystery remains in the cell membrane, where Cavaglià believes a deeper understanding of the organization of lipids within these membranes is needed to understand their role in energy interaction. “The membrane isn’t just a container, it’s more like the material of the instrument; two violins can play the same note, but the materials affect the resonance and stability,” the specialist stated.
To articulate these findings, the team is using the EMI framework (Energy–Mass–Information), which describes the brain as a system seeking stabilization through repetitive patterns. In the language of dynamic systems, these states of stability are called attractors – valleys in the mental landscape toward which the system tends to return naturally. Information, emerges when neuronal activity manages to maintain these patterns, something that guides our perception and the continuity of personal identity.
The analogy to an antenna is key to understanding this relationship: just as a radio captures invisible waves and transforms them into sound depending on its tuning, the human brain would process external rhythms. When two individuals share similar frequencies and amplitudes, resonance occurs; conversely, misalignment generates dissonance. Cavaglià suggests this dynamic underlies collective resonance, a phenomenon where groups of people in social events experience physiological and emotional synchronization.
“Attendees are all exposed to the same structured stimuli: music, chants, synchronized movements, shared emotion, focused attention,” Firaux detailed, explaining how the environment can shape internal frequency. Hyperscanning, a neuroscientific technique, allowed researchers to observe this synchronization between brains during shared experiences. Unlike a radio, humans process this information through language and memory, to construct what researchers define as a semantic story about who we are. The goal of “following the flow,” according to the scientists, is to allow the brain-body system to reach states of greater clarity by synchronizing with the fundamental rhythms of its environment, with the aim of minimizing internal noise that distorts reality.
