Comparative analysis of studies investigating the influence of extremely-low frequency electromagnetic fields on human EEG patterns

In addition to dominant radio-frequency content, extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic field (EMF) components are also produced from the devices for global mobile communication. Being in the same range as human EEG frequencies there is a potential for mutual interference. However, they were rarely subject of scientific investigation. In this paper, we conducted a comparative analysis of published studies on similar topics in order to evaluate the need for further exploration. We analyzed published studies from several sources, that ranged a time period of 13 years and 3 continents, and we only found out five related studies. They deal mainly with people belonging to the same age group (around 27 year of age) and in quite similar physiological (e.g. healthy individuals) and mental conditions (e.g. awake). Most of the studies use artificial means of EMF production, but the experimental protocol and the EEG montage differ considerably in each of them. Obtained results in all of the studies show considerable changes in EEG power spectrum under the ELF EMF. However, evidenced changes differ from each other in each of the studies. Positive and inconsistent results indicate that there is need for further, more specific and standardized investigations