Abstract
This study concerned itself with the development and application of a non invasive screening procedure to detect pesticide exposure in deep Brain structures Before onset of overt clinical symptoms.
This system used the electroencephalogram (EEG) as an indication of pesticide exposure. Sections of the EEG were first converted to the frequency domain. The energy content of each frequency band was then reduced by an amount determined by an energy template which best described the power spectra of a control group. The selection of a proper template was based upon the shape of the input EEG's power spectrum. By reducing the amount of energy in the input spectrum, a new spectrum was effectively generated which was then converted back to the time domain. The resulting time domain signal was the filtered EEG. This process emphasized the differences between controls and animals exposed to pesticides. These differences, usually appearing as spikes, were used as an indication of pesticide exposure.
This procedure was then used to detect long term, low level exposure to the pesticide Baygon. The study involved 20 female Rhesus monkeys and three different exposure levels (0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 mg/kg body weight/day). The frequency and duration of spiking that was present in the filtered EEG was used as an indication of alteration in deep brain structure electrical activity. A total of 40 minutes of EEG data was analyzed and statistical analysis of the results demonstrated that there was a statistical difference both in the frequency and duration of spiking between exposed monkeys and controls (P < 0.05).
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