The present study investigated the gender-related influence of electromagnetic fields (EMF), similar to that emitted by mobile phones, on brain activity. Ten women and nine men performed a short memory task (Wechsler test), both without (baseline) and with exposure to a 900 MHz signal. The EEG energy of the total waveform and the alpha, beta, delta and theta; rhythms were calculated from the recordings of 15 scalp electrodes. Baseline EEG energy of males was greater than that of females, while exposure to EMF decreased EEG energy of males and increased that of females. Memory performance was invariant to EMF exposure and gender influences. These findings indicate that EMF may exert a gender-related nfluence on brain activity.

No abstract

BackgroundRecent research recognizes the association between handedness, linguistic processes and cerebral networks subserving executive functioning, but the nature of this association remains unclear. Since the P50 event related potential (ERP) is considered to reflect thalamocortical processes in association with working memory (WM) operation the present study focuses on P50 patterns elicited during the performance of a linguistic related executive functioning test in right- and left-handers.MethodsIn 64 young adults with a high educational level (33 left-handed) the P50 event-related potential was recorded while performing the initiation and inhibition condition of a modified version of the Hayling Sentence Completion test adjusted to induce WM. The manual preference of the participants was evaluated with the use of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI).ResultsP50 showed greater amplitudes in left- than in right-handers, mainly in frontal leads, in the initiation condition. Reduced amplitudes in inhibition compared to initiation condition were observed in left-handers. Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) analysis showed lower frontal lobe activation in the inhibition than in the initiation condition in both right- and left-handers. Also, LORETA yielded that right-handers exhibited greater activation in the inhibition condition than left-handers. Additionally, LORETA showed assymetrical hemispheric activation patterns in right-handers, in contrast to symmetrical patterns observed in left-handers. Higher P50 amplitudes were recorded in right-hemisphere of right-handers in the initiation condition.ConclusionBrain activation, especially the one closely related to thalamocortical function, elicited during WM operation involving initiation and inhibition processes appears to be related to handedness.

No abstract

The effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by cellular phones on human electroencephalogram (EEG) were studied during an auditory memory task. The experimental method and the experimental setup are introduced as a credible measurement method of EEG. 19 normal subjects (10 women and 9 men) performed the memory task both with and without exposure to a 900 MHz signal, emitted by a dipole antenna placed near the subjects' head. The energy of the EEG signals was calculated at the time domain. A Fourier transform of the EEG signals was done and the EEG energy was also calculated at the frequency domain. As the Parseval's theorem anticipates the energies were identical. The EEG energy was found concentrated at the four basic bands (α (8-13 Hz), β(14-30 Hz), δ (0-4 Hz) and θ (5-7 Hz)). The primary concern of the present study was the gender related influence of EMF on the spectral energy of EEG. The results show evidence of a strong gender-radiation interaction effect on the EEG energy and on the peak amplitudes within each of the four rhythms. Without radiation the spectral power of males is greater than of females, while under exposure the situation is reversed. Under the influence of EMF the spectral power of the males EEG is decreased while that of the females is increased. In conclusion both the baseline EEG and the changes effected to the EEG power spectrum under the influence of EMF seem to be gender dependent.