Radiofrequency signal affects alpha band in resting electroencephalogram

Rania Ghosn (1, 2) , Lydia Yahia-Cherif (3, 4) , Laurent Hugueville (3, 4) , Antoine Ducorps (3, 4) , Jean-Didier Lemarechal (3, 4, 1) , György Thuróczy (1) , René de Seze (1, 5) , Brahim Selmaoui (1, 5)

1 INERIS - Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques
2 PERITOX - Périnatalité et Risques Toxiques - UMR INERIS_I 1
3 CRICM - Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière
4 CENIR - Center for NeuroImaging Research-Human MRI Neuroimaging core facility for clinical research [ICM Paris]
5 UPJV - Université de Picardie Jules Verne

Objective: The aim of the present work was to investigate the effects of the radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on human resting EEG with a control of some parameters that are known to affect alpha band such as electrode impedance, salivary cortisol and caffeine. Methods: Eyes open and eyes-closed resting EEG data were recorded in 26 healthy young subjects under two conditions: sham exposure and real exposure in double-blind, counterbalanced, crossover design. Spectral power of EEG rhythms was calculated for the alpha band (8-12Hz). Saliva samples were collected before and after the study. Salivary cortisol and caffeine were assessed respectively by Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The electrode impedance was recorded at the beginning of each run. Results: Compared with sham session, the exposure session showed a statistically significant (p < 0.0001) decrease of the alpha band spectral power during closed eyes condition. This effect persisted in the post-exposure session (p < 0.0001). No significant changes were detected in electrode impedance, salivary cortisol and caffeine in the sham session when compared to the exposure one. Conclusions: These results suggest that GSM-EMFs of a mobile phone affect alpha band within spectral power of resting human EEG.

Keywords: electroencephalogram; radiofrequency; mobile phone; alpha band

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Ecology, environment; Health

Rania Ghosn, Lydia Yahia-Cherif, Laurent Hugueville, Antoine Ducorps, Jean-Didier Lemarechal, et al.. Radiofrequency signal affects alpha band in resting electroencephalogram. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2015, 113 (7), pp.2753-2759. ⟨10.1152/jn.00765.2014⟩. ⟨ineris-01852915⟩