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Anecdotal report of magnetophosphene perception in 50 mT 20, 50and 60 Hz magnetic fields

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2014

M. Souques ,
M. Plante ,
G. Ostiguy ,
D. Goulet ,
F. Deschamps ,
G. Mezei ,
J. Modolo ,
J. Lambrozo  and
A. Legros
M. Souques*
Affiliation:
EDF, Service des Études médicales, 45 rue Kléber, 92309 Levallois-Perret Cedex, France
M. Plante
Affiliation:
Hydro-Québec, 75 René-Lévesque West boulevard, Montréal (Québec), H2Z 1A4, Canada
G. Ostiguy
Affiliation:
Hydro-Québec, 75 René-Lévesque West boulevard, Montréal (Québec), H2Z 1A4, Canada
D. Goulet
Affiliation:
Hydro-Québec, 75 René-Lévesque West boulevard, Montréal (Québec), H2Z 1A4, Canada
F. Deschamps
Affiliation:
RTE, Département Concertation et Environnement, Cœur Défense – Tour B, 92030 Paris-La Défense, France
G. Mezei
Affiliation:
Exponent, 149 Commonwealth Dr, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
J. Modolo
Affiliation:
Lawson Health Research Institute, Human Threshold Research Group, St. Joseph’s Health Care, 268 Grosvenor Street, London, Ontario N6A 4V2, Canada Western University, St. Joseph’s Health Care, 268 Grosvenor Street, London, Ontario N6A 4V2, Canada
J. Lambrozo
Affiliation:
EDF, Service des Études médicales, 45 rue Kléber, 92309 Levallois-Perret Cedex, France
A. Legros
Affiliation:
Lawson Health Research Institute, Human Threshold Research Group, St. Joseph’s Health Care, 268 Grosvenor Street, London, Ontario N6A 4V2, Canada Western University, St. Joseph’s Health Care, 268 Grosvenor Street, London, Ontario N6A 4V2, Canada
*
a[email protected]
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Abstract

Magnetophosphenes are described as flickering lights appearing in the visual field, dueto retinal exposure to time-varying magnetic fields (MF). Human magnetophospheneperception (MP) serves as a scientific basis for international guidelines intending tolimit exposure to electromagnetic fields in the extremely low frequency range. However,the flux density threshold at which MP occurs, as well as the dose and frequency responsesof the phenomenon, are not clearly experimentally established. The 50–60 Hz threshold isextrapolated from data in the lower frequency range. The objective of this paper is toprovide a descriptive anecdotal report of MP from 8 individuals exposed to 50 mT MF at 20,50 and 60 Hz. They describe variations of flickering light perceptions in the visualfield, matching the description by D’Arsonval (1896). This preliminary testing introduces a new experimental protocol, which willtest the threshold for MP and other associated neurophysiological responses in humans.

Keywords

magnetophosphenemagnetic fieldextremely low frequencythresholdanecdotal report
Type
Brief Report
Information
Radioprotection , Volume 49 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 69 - 71
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, 2014

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References

D’Arsonval A. (1896) Dispositifs pour la mesure des courants alternatifs de toutes fréquences, CR de la Société de Biologie séance du 2 mai 1896, 100e série, 450-451.
Hirata, A., Takano, Y., Fujiwara, O., Dovan, T., Kavet, R. (2011) An electric field induced in the retina and brain at threshold magnetic flux density causing magnetophosphenes, Phys Med Biol. 56, 4091-4101. Google Scholar
ICNIRP (2010) Guidelines for limiting exposure to time-varying electric and magnetic fields (1 Hz to 100 kHz), Health Phys. 99, 818-836. Erratum (2011) Health Phys. 100, 112.
Lövsund, P., Oberg, P.A., Nilsson, S.E.G., Reuter, T. (1980) Magnetophosphenes: a quantitative analysis of thresholds, Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 18, 326-334. Google ScholarPubMed