Maie Bachmann

Effect of 7, 14 and 21 Hz modulated 450 MHz microwave radiation on human electroencephalographic rhythms

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of microwaves modulated at different frequencies on human electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms. Materials and methods: Thirteen healthy volunteers were exposed to microwaves (450 MHz) pulse-modulated at frequencies of 7, 14 and 21 Hz. The field power density at the scalp was 0.16 mW/cm2. Our experimental protocol consisted of two five-cycle (1 min on and 1 min off) series of exposures at fixed modulation frequencies. A relative change in the EEG power with and without exposure was used as a quantitative measure. EEG frequencies recorded in the theta (4 – 6.8 Hz), alpha (8 – 13 Hz), beta1 (15 – 20 Hz), and beta2 (22 – 38 Hz) bands were analyzed. Results: Modulated microwaves caused an increase in the average EEG alpha (17%) and beta (7%) power but the theta rhythm remained unaffected. Increases in the EEG alpha and beta power were statistically significant during the first half-period of the exposure interval (30 s) at the modulation frequencies of 14 and 21 Hz. Differences were found in individual sensitivity to exposure. Increases in the EEG beta power appeared statistically significant in the case of four subjects. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the effect of the 450 MHz microwave radiation modulated at 7, 14 and 21 Hz varies depending on the modulation frequency. The microwave exposure modulated at 14 and 21 Hz enhanced the EEG power in the alpha and beta frequency bands, whereas no enhancement occurred during exposure to the modulation frequency of 7 Hz.

Effect of low frequency modulated microwave exposure on human EEG: individual sensitivity.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of modulated microwave exposure on human EEG of individual subjects. The experiments were carried out on four different groups of healthy volunteers. The 450 MHz microwave radiation modulated at 7 Hz (first group, 19 subjects), 14 and 21 Hz (second group, 13 subjects), 40 and 70 Hz (third group, 15 subjects), 217 and 1000 Hz (fourth group, 19 subjects) frequencies was applied. The field power density at the scalp was 0.16 mW/cm(2). The calculated spatial peak SAR averaged over 1 g was 0.303 W/kg. Ten cycles of the exposure (1 min off and 1 min on) at fixed modulation frequencies were applied. All subjects completed the experimental protocols with exposure and sham. The exposed and sham-exposed subjects were randomly assigned. A computer also randomly assigned the succession of modulation frequencies. Our results showed that microwave exposure increased the EEG energy. Relative changes in the EEG beta1 power in P3-P4 channels were selected for evaluation of individual sensitivity. The rate of subjects significantly affected is similar in all groups except for the 1000 Hz group: in first group 3 subjects (16%) at 7 Hz modulation; in second group 4 subjects (31%) at 14 Hz modulation and 3 subjects (23%) at 21 Hz modulation; in third group 3 subjects (20%) at 40 Hz and 2 subjects (13%) at 70 Hz modulation; in fourth group 3 subjects (16%) at 217 Hz and 0 subjects at 1000 Hz modulation frequency.

Spectral Asymmetry and Higuchi's Fractal Dimension Measures of Depression Electroencephalogram

This study was aimed to compare two electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis methods, spectral asymmetry index (SASI) and Higuchis fractal dimension (HFD), for detection of depression. Linear SASI method is based on evaluation of the balance of powers in two EEG frequency bands in one channel selected higher and lower than the alpha band spectrum maximum. Nonlinear HFD method calculates fractal dimension directly in the time domain. The resting EEG signals of 17 depressive patients and 17 control subjects were used as a database for calculations. SASI values were positive for depressive and negative for control group (P < 0.05). SASI provided the true detection rate of 88% in the depressive and 82% in the control group. The calculated HFD values detected a small (3%) increase with depression (P < 0.05). HFD provided the true detection rate of 94% in the depressive group and 76% in the control group. The rate of correct indication in the both groups was 85% using SASI or HFD. Statistically significant variations were not revealed between hemispheres (P > 0.05). The results indicated that the linear EEG analysis method SASI and the nonlinear HFD method both demonstrated a good sensitivity for detection of characteristic features of depression in a single-channel EEG.

Non-linear analysis of the electroencephalogram for detecting effects of low-level electromagnetic fields

The study compared traditional spectral analysis and a new scale-invariant method, the analysis of the length distribution of low-variability periods (LDLVPs), to distinguish between electro-encephalogram (EEG) signals with and without a weak stressor, a low-level modulated microwave field. During the experiment, 23 healthy volunteers were exposed to a microwave (450 MHz) of 7 Hz frequency on-off modulation. The field power density at the scalp was 0.16 mW cm−2. The experimental protocol consisted of ten cycles of repetitive microwave exposure. Signals from frontal EEG channels FP1 and FP2 were analysed. Smooth power spectrum and length distribution curves of low-variability periods, as well as probability distribution close to normal, confirmed that stationarity of the EEG signal during recordings was achieved. The quantitative measure of LDLVPs provided a significant detection of the effect of the stressor for the six subjects exposed to the microwave field but for none of the sham recordings. The spectral analysis revealed a significant result for one subject only. A significant effect of the exposure to the EEG signal was detected in 25% of subjects, with microwave exposure increasing EEG variability. The effect was not detectable by power spectral measures.

Parametric mechanism of excitation of the electroencephalographic rhythms by modulated microwave radiation

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanism of parametric excitation of the electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms by modulated microwave radiation. Materials and methods: The model of parametric excitation based on polarization of water molecules was proposed and experimental results compared to the model. The experiments were carried out on 28 human volunteers. The 450 MHz microwave radiation modulated at 7, 14, 21, 40 and 70 Hz frequencies was applied at the field power density 0.16 mW/cm2. The resting EEG was recorded in 8 channels and EEG power at selected frequencies was analyzed. A relative change in the EEG power during 10 cycles with and without radiation was used as a quantitative measure. Results: Microwave radiation caused an increase in the average EEG power in all selected EEG frequency bands. Increase in the EEG power was statistically significant only at the EEG frequency f0 to modulation frequency F ratios f0 /F = 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75. Conclusions: Results of the experimental study are in accordance with the proposed model of parametric excitation of the brain neural oscillations and demonstrate that modulated microwave radiation causes excitation of the brain EEG rhythms at the frequencies predicted by the non-linear model.

Effect of Microwave Radiation on Human EEG at Two Different Levels of Exposure

This study is aimed at evaluating the effect of microwave radiation on human brain bioelectric activity at different levels of exposure. For this purpose, 450 MHz microwave exposure modulated at 40 Hz frequency was applied to a group of 15 healthy volunteers at two different specific absorption rate (SAR) levels: a higher level of 0.303 W/kg (field strength 24.5 V/m) and a lower level of 0.003 W/kg (field strength 2.45 V/m). Ten exposure cycles (1 min off and 1 min on) at fixed SAR values were applied. A resting eyes-closed electroencephalogram (EEG) was continuously recorded. Results showed a statistically significant increase in the EEG power in the EEG beta2 (157%), beta1 (61%) and alpha (68%) frequency bands at the higher SAR level, and in the beta2 (39%) frequency band at the lower SAR level. Statistically significant changes were detected for six individual subjects in the EEG alpha band and four subjects in the beta1 and beta2 bands at the higher SAR level; three subjects were affected in the alpha, beta1 and beta2 bands at the lower SAR level. The study showed that decreasing the SAR 100 times reduced the related changes in the EEG three to six times and the number of affected subjects, but did not exclude the effect.

Methods of electroencephalographic signal analysis for detection of small hidden changes

The aim of this study was to select and evaluate methods sensitive to reveal small hidden changes in the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal. Two original methods were considered. Multifractal method of scaling analysis of the EEG signal based on the length distribution of low variability periods (LDLVP) was developed and adopted for EEG analysis. The LDLVP method provides a simple route to detecting the multifractal characteristics of a time-series and yields somewhat better temporal resolution than the traditional multifractal analysis. The method of modulation with further integration of energy of the recorded signal was applied for EEG analysis. This method uses integration of differences in energy of the EEG segments with and without stressor. Microwave exposure was used as an external stressor to cause hidden changes in the EEG. Both methods were evaluated on the same EEG database. Database consists of resting EEG recordings of 15 subjects without and with low-level microwave exposure (450 MHz modulated at 40 Hz, power density 0.16 mW/cm2). The significant differences between recordings with and without exposure were detected by the LDLVP method for 4 subjects (26.7%) and energy integration method for 2 subjects (13.3%). The results show that small changes in time variability or energy of the EEG signals hidden in visual inspection can be detected by the LDLVP and integration of differences methods.

Microwave effect on diffusion: a possible mechanism for non-thermal effect

Abstract In this study, we assume that microwave radiation affects hydrogen bonding between dipolar water molecules and through that diffusion in water at constant temperature. The experimental study was performed on the setup of two identical reservoirs filled with pure water and 0.9% NaCl solution and connected by a thin tube. Alterations of NaCl concentration in the reservoir initially filled with pure water were measured using the resistance of the solution as an indicator. The applied 450 MHz continuous-wave microwave field had the maximal specific absorption rate of 0.4 W/kg on the connecting tube. The standard deviation of water temperature in the setup was 0.02 °C during an experiment. Our experimental data demonstrated that microwave exposure makes faster the process of diffusion in water. The time required for reduction of initial resistance of the solution by 10% was 1.7 times shorter with microwave. This result is consistent with the proposed mechanism of low-level microwave effect: microwave radiation, rotating dipolar water molecules, causes high-frequency alterations of hydrogen bonds between water molecules, thereby affects its viscosity and makes faster diffusion.

Integration of differences in EEG Analysis Reveals Changes in Human EEG Caused by Microwave

Three different methods in combination with integration of differences in signals were applied for EEG analysis to distinguish changes in EEG caused by microwave: S-parameter, power spectral density and length distribution of low variability periods. The experiments on the effect of modulated low-level microwaves on human EEG were carried out on four different groups of healthy volunteers exposed to 450 MHz microwave radiation modulated with 7 Hz, 14 Hz, 21 Hz, 40 Hz, 70 Hz, 217 or 1000 Hz frequencies. The field power density at the scalp was 0.16 mW/cm2. The EEG analysis performed for individuals with three different methods showed that statistically significant changes occur in the EEG rhythms energy and dynamics between 12% and 30% of subjects

Detrended Fluctuation Analysis of EEG in Depression

Diagnosis of depression is still based mainly on evaluation of the intensity of subjective and clinical symptoms by psychiatrists. This study is aimed to give additional objective information about depression analyzing the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal using the method of detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). DFA is applied to evaluate the presence and persistence of long range correlations in time in EEG signals. EEG recordings were carried out on the groups of depressive and healthy subjects of 18 female volunteers each. The DFA was calculated on EEG signals from P3-Pz channel at a length of 5 minutes. The DFA method revealed statistically significant difference between healthy and depressive subjects. Resting EEG of healthy subjects exhibited persistent long-range correlation in time. In depression the long-range correlation was less persistent and for about half of the depressed subjects (44%) the EEG revealed long-range anti-correlation in time.