Physiological and hygienic assessment of the impact of mobile phones with various radiation intensity on the functional state of brain of children and adolescents according to electroencephalographic data

Abstract

To test the effect of mobile phones (MP) of various radiation intensities on the functional state of the brain in children and adolescents, a sham-controlled EEG-study was conducted in a group of thirteen 6-13 years old children, including eight 6-10 years old children. The study showed that a 3-minute exposure to the MP causes the significant decline in alpha-band absolute power, which depends on the radiation intensity and the user’s age. Different from sham, an EEG-effect of MP with the energy flux density (EFD) about 100 mW/cm2 was registered both in total, and in a younger (6-10 yr) group. Its bilateral character, more prominent in the hemisphere that is ipsilateral to MP, indicates that this intensity of the radiation influences not only the superficial cortical areas of the ipsilateral hemisphere, but also the deep structures of the brain. MP with the EFD less than 1 mW/cm2 differed from sham by EEG-effect only in the group of children who are 6-10 years old. Its local, ipsilateral character indicates to the superficial influence of such intensity of the radiation on the cortex of the ipsilateral hemisphere. The results show that for the regulation of MP-radiation it’s necessary to consider age features of the brain’s response. The high significance of the EFD, as an index in the assessment of the impact of MP on the EEG of children, is shown. Since almost all schoolchildren are the users of mobile phones, the situation with the valuation of MP-effects on children of various ages, requires hygienic solution.