Acute neurobehavioral effects of exposure to static magnetic fields: Analyses of exposure-response relations

Purpose: To assess exposure-response relations between exposure to magnetic Fields and microbehavioral effects.

Materials and Methods: Twenty company volunteers completed a microbehavioral test battery after they moved their heads with the magnetic field absent, and while they moved their heads In the inhomogenous stray fields of 1.5 and 3.0 T MRI magnets.

Results: The value of the stray fields at the position of the head of the volunteer was estimated to be 0.6 Tand 1.0 T on the 1.5 T and 3.0 T systems, respectively. Exposure-response relations were found for visual (-2.1%/100 mT) and auditory (-1.0%/100 mT) working memory, eye-hand coordination speed (-1.0%/100 mT), and visual tracking tasks (-3.1%/100 mT). Eve-hand precision, scanning speed, and visual contrast sensitivity were apparently not influenced by the magnetic field strength.

Conclusion: Additional research should focus on the potential side effects of interventional MR procedures because of the exposure to strong magnetic fields of these systems.