title: Acute neurobehavioral effects of exposure to static magnetic fields: analyses of exposure-response relations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess exposure-response relations between exposure to magnetic fields and neurobehavioral effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty company volunteers completed a neurobehavioral 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 T and 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). Eye-hand precision, scanning speed, and visual contrast sensitivity were apparently not influenced by the magnetic field strength.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Additional research should focus on the potential side effects of interventional MR procedures because of the exposure to strong magnetic fields of these systems.
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Occupational Health Division, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.176, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands. F.devocht@iras.uu.nl
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Vocht
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Berna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van Wendel-de-Joode
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Engels
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kromhout
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D019416:Head Movements; D006801:Humans; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests