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Functional State of the Brain of Elderly Women at Rest and in Mental Stress under Varying Geomagnetic Conditions

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Abstract

We studied the effect of geomagnetic disturbances on the functional activity of the brain in healthy elderly women (50–60 years). We performed personalized studies of the brain bioelectrical activity (EEG) in normal days (Kp = 1–2) and days with weak geomagnetic disturbances (Kp = 4). The EEG segments of the main regions in both hemispheres were used for computer analysis to determine the frequency, amplitude, and index characteristics in the state of quiet wakefulness with eyes closed and in solving a mental arithmetic task. We observed changes in the structural organization both at rest and in mental stress in the days of geomagnetic disturbances in comparison with the normal days. The changes reflected mainly the disturbances of the balance of synchronization and desynchronization mechanisms of nonspecific brain systems and the response of the limbic system and temporal areas, mainly in the right hemisphere. At the same time, the activation processes in the high-frequency beta spectrum affect the frontal and temporal regions in mental stress in normal days. On the days of geomagnetic disturbances, the activation is diffuse and affects the low-frequency spectra of the EEG beta-range. These data and the decrease in the index and frequency of the theta rhythm on the days of weak geomagnetic disturbances, in contrast to the increase in the index of the theta rhythm in the normal days, suggest that the variant of the EEG structure is less optimal for successful completion of the task.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to Debora Aronovna Farber, Academician of the Russian Academy of Education, Professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences for her advice during the discussion of the results and appropriate support of this work. We would also like to thank the staff of the Baku Clinic for assistance with the research.

Funding

This study was performed by the staff of the Laboratory of Clinical Neurophysiology, Karaev Institute of Physiology and the Shamakhy Astrophysical Laboratory, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences with the support of the grant project approved by the Science Development Foundation under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (subject “Variations in the Heliophysical Conditions and Their Impact on Technobiological Systems”) (Baku).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Karaev Institute of Physiology, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan

    A. R. Allakhverdiev & A. A. Allakhverdieva

  2. Shamakhy Astrophysical Observatory named after N. Tusi, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan

    E. S. Babayev

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  1. A. R. Allakhverdiev
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  2. A. A. Allakhverdieva
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  3. E. S. Babayev
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Correspondence to A. R. Allakhverdiev or E. S. Babayev.

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Statement of compliance with standards of research involving humans as subjects. All studies were conducted in accordance with the principles of biomedical ethics listed in the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments and approved by the local bioethics committee of the Karaev Institute of Physiology, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (Baku). Each study participant provided a voluntary written informed consent signed after explanations of potential risks and benefits as well as the nature of the forthcoming investigations.

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Translated by M. Batrukova

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Allakhverdiev, A.R., Allakhverdieva, A.A. & Babayev, E.S. Functional State of the Brain of Elderly Women at Rest and in Mental Stress under Varying Geomagnetic Conditions. Hum Physiol 46, 408–416 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119720020024

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