Abstract
The present experiments were designed in order to investigate the effect of infrasound on wakefulness.
20 male subjects were exposed in a pressure chamber designed for high infrasonic sound levels. The level was adjusted to 125 dB(Lin) for the frequencies 6 Hz, 12 Hz, 16 Hz and intermittent 16 Hz. During exposure measurements were made on EEG, blood pressure and heart activity.
Exposure to intermittent 16 Hz and 6 Hz were found to stimulate the appearance of drowsy states. The effect was verified through deorganization of the alpha activity in EEG and appearance of theta waves (recorded in periods of 5 minutes), lowering of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and reductions in heart frequency.
On the basis of these results it is suggested that exposure to infrasound might, in some cases, be a stimulus for production of drowsy states.
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