Automated ELF magnetic field stimulation of the human EEG activity

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Cvetkovic, Dean | Cosic, Irena^*

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Australian Centre for Radio Frequency Bioeffects Research (ACRBR), RMIT University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, GPO Box 2476V Melbourne VIC 3001 Australia. Tel.: +613 9925 1971; Fax: +613 9925 2007; E-mail: [email protected], [email protected].

Abstract: The automated tracking system was designed and developed with the goal to generate a consistent pattern of the extremely low frequency (ELF) or radio frequency (RF) magnetic field distribution around the human head. The automated tracking system consisted of mechanical, control software and hardware designs which all passed through a development process of refinement and operational performance of the robotic arm, the general user interface, communication, motor control and electromagnetic field computation. In this paper, the automated tracking system was utilised for the single-blind counter-balanced pilot study to investigate whether the human electroencephalographic (EEG) activity could be altered when stimulated by localised ELF magnetic field at the top-central human head region. The statistical results performed on the recorded EEG data revealed a significant difference between exposure and control, found in the Alpha1 EEG band (7.5–9.5 Hz) at the vertex head position, where magnetic field stimulation was applied at the Alpha1 frequency of 8.33 Hz. However, the post-hoc statistical Alpha adjustment analysis did not reveal any significant differences between exposure and control. We assume that the effect in the Alpha1 EEG findings is possibly related to ‘synchronisation’, ‘induced rhythmic’ and ‘synchrony spread’ theories of neuron firing rate after ELF magnetic field.

DOI: 10.3233/ICA-2006-13402

Journal: Integrated Computer-Aided Engineering, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 313-328, 2006