Standard head movements made while exposed to one of the three electromagnetic fields produced by a heavy duty MRI scanner seem to temporarily lower concentration and visuospatial awareness, shows an experimental study published online in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Thirty one volunteers made standard head movements within the static magnetic field of a higher field 7 Tesla MRI scanner at exposure levels of zero (sham), 0.5 (medium), and 1 (high)Tesla, in a random order, one week apart.

After each exposure level, the volunteers were set 12 timed cognitive tasks, designed to test the sorts of skills that a surgeon or other healthcare professional might need to deploy within the vicinity of an MRI scanner.

These included visual tracking and movement, as well as more general functions, such as attention, concentration and working memory. The tests were neutral in that they didn’t test intelligence or depend on practice.

In all, 30 volunteers completed all three sessions. Compared with the sham test, the results showed that the more general functions, such as attention and concentration, and visuospatial awareness were significantly affected.