Using the nonlinear control of anaesthesia-induced hypersensitivity of EEG at burst suppression level to test the effects of radiofrequency radiation on brain function.

Nonlinear biomedical physics · 2009 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 4948

Phase I: no correlation was observed between EMF stimulation onsets/endpoints and EEG burst occurrences. Phase II: no significant changes were observed in EEG activity during 10 minutes of continuous RF stimulation at 31 W/kg, while subcutaneous head temperat…

Study snapshot

PublicationNonlinear biomedical physics · 2009

Study typeanimal

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In this study, investigating the effects of mobile phone radiation on test animals, eleven pigs were anaesthetised to the level where burst-suppression pattern appears in the electroencephalogram (EEG). At this level of anaesthesia both human subjects and animals show high sensitivity to external stimuli which produce EEG bursts during suppression. The burst-suppression phenomenon represents a nonlinear control system, where low-amplitude EEG abruptly switches to very high amplitude bursts. This switching can be triggered by very minor stimuli and the phenomenon has been described as hypersensitivity. To test if also radio frequency (RF) stimulation can trigger this nonlinear control, the animals were exposed to pulse modulated signal of a GSM mobile phone at 890 MHz. In the first phase of the experiment electromagnetic field (EMF) stimulation was randomly switched on and off and the relation between EEG bursts and EMF stimulation onsets and endpoints were studied. In the second phase a continuous RF stimulation at 31 W/kg was applied for 10 minutes. The ECG, the EEG, and the subcutaneous temperature were recorded. RESULTS: No correlation between the exposure and the EEG burst occurrences was observed in phase I measurements. No significant changes were observed in the EEG activity of the pigs during phase II measurements although several EEG signal analysis methods were applied. The temperature measured subcutaneously from the pigs' head increased by 1.6 degrees C and the heart rate by 14.2 bpm on the average during the 10 min exposure periods. CONCLUSION: The hypothesis that RF radiation would produce sensory stimulation of somatosensory, auditory or visual system or directly affect the brain so as to produce EEG bursts during suppression was not confirmed.

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Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal

Effect directionmixed

PopulationAnaesthetised pigs at burst-suppression level (EEG)

Sample size11

ExposureRF · 890 MHz · 31 W/kg · 10 minutes (phase II); phase I had random on/off switching (duration not stated)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

EEG burst occurrences during burst-suppression
EEG activity (signal analysis)
ECG/heart rate
Subcutaneous head temperature

Limitations

Animal study (pigs under anaesthesia at burst-suppression level), limiting generalizability to awake humans
Small sample size (n=11)
Exposure details for phase I (e.g., duration/intensity) not fully specified in the abstract
Temperature measured subcutaneously (may not reflect brain temperature directly)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": 890,
    "sar_wkg": 31,
    "duration": "10 minutes (phase II); phase I had random on/off switching (duration not stated)"
  },
  "population": "Anaesthetised pigs at burst-suppression level (EEG)",
  "sample_size": 11,
  "outcomes": [
    "EEG burst occurrences during burst-suppression",
    "EEG activity (signal analysis)",
    "ECG/heart rate",
    "Subcutaneous head temperature"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Phase I: no correlation was observed between EMF stimulation onsets/endpoints and EEG burst occurrences. Phase II: no significant changes were observed in EEG activity during 10 minutes of continuous RF stimulation at 31 W/kg, while subcutaneous head temperature increased by 1.6°C and heart rate increased by 14.2 bpm on average.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Animal study (pigs under anaesthesia at burst-suppression level), limiting generalizability to awake humans",
    "Small sample size (n=11)",
    "Exposure details for phase I (e.g., duration/intensity) not fully specified in the abstract",
    "Temperature measured subcutaneously (may not reflect brain temperature directly)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "radiofrequency",
    "GSM",
    "mobile phone radiation",
    "890 MHz",
    "EEG",
    "burst suppression",
    "anaesthesia",
    "pigs",
    "SAR 31 W/kg",
    "temperature",
    "heart rate"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phones-rf",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Study tests GSM mobile phone RF exposure (890 MHz) effects on brain/EEG in animals."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1186/1753-4631-3-5
PubMed: 19615084

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