ID Number		1080
Study Type		In Vivo
Model		800 MHz (TDMA) exposure to rabbits and analysis of EEG
Details		New Zealand rabbits (n = 10) were exposed to 835 MHz (TDMA) with the mobile phone hooked up to the network (undefined power level, max possible was 0.6 watts, undefined dose in terms of SAR) in an acrylic restraining box with the antennas placed either 1 cm above the head or 3 meters horizontally from the rabbit. Exposure was switched back and forth from the near and distant antennas every few seconds (2 seconds near, 5 seconds far, repeated 60 times). Rabbits were also exposed separately to a light stimulus. EEG recordings taken during exposure showed an effect that the authors summarize as: "& reducing the amount of determinism". When the antenna close to the head was relocated to the thorax, no effect on EEG was observed. All 10 rabbits also demonstrated an increase in the "determinism" of EEG with the visible light stimulus. The authors used a complex and iterative statistical procedure to "... to maximize the probability (P) of detecting a difference", and only "artifact free" trials were used, although the basis for determining what artifact free meant was not defined. A "recurrence plot" was constructed from the data and quantified using percent recurrence (%R) and percent determinism (%D). %R was defined as the number of recurrent points divided by the possible number of recurrent points. %D was defined as the number of recurrent points located on lines parallel to the main diagonal of the diagram divided by the number of recurrent points. The authors found that %R and %D differed significantly between the E and C epochs only when a frequency filter removed 3, 4, and 8 - 12 Hz EEG components, the EEG window was set to 300 ms and centered at 250 ms from the beginning of the epoch, and only 85% of the attractor volume was included in the calculation of the recurrence plot. The authors speculate that similar effects are "likely" to occur in humans using mobile phones, and they questioned current FCC compliance standards using SAR as a metric for exposure.
Findings		Effects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		Louisiana State University, USA
Funding Agency		Private/Instit.
Country		UNITED STATES
References		Marino , AA et al. Bioelectromagnetics, (2003) 24:339-346
Comments		There was no description of the actual power level of the phone, location of exposure, or exposure dose (the phone was apparently hooked up to the network during exposure). There was no control for artifact signal on the EEG electrodes or wires due to direct induction by the RF signal. THere was no explanation of why such a convoluted statistical approach was used, and the data did not show what appeared to be statistically significant results (error bars clearly overlapped).