Application of electroencephalographic techniques to the study of visual impact of renewable energies.

Autor: Grima Murcia MD; Institute of Bio-engineering, University Miguel Hernández and CIBER BBN Avenida de la Universidad, 03202, Elche, Spain. Electronic address: maria.grima@umh.es., Sánchez Ferrer F; Faculty of Medicine, University Miguel Hernández and CIBER BBN Avenida de la Universidad, 03202, Elche, Spain., Sorinas J; Institute of Bio-engineering, University Miguel Hernández and CIBER BBN Avenida de la Universidad, 03202, Elche, Spain., Ferrandez JM; Dept. of Electronics and Computer Technology, University of Cartagena, Spain., Fernandez E; Institute of Bio-engineering, University Miguel Hernández and CIBER BBN Avenida de la Universidad, 03202, Elche, Spain.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of environmental management [J Environ Manage] 2017 Sep 15; Vol. 200, pp. 484-489. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Jun 13.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.096
Abstrakt: Much is currently being studied on the negative visual impact associated to the installation of large wind turbines or photovoltaic farms. However, methodologies for quantitatively assessing landscape impact are scarce. In this work we used electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings to investigate the brain activity of 14 human volunteers when looking at the same landscapes with and without wind turbines, solar panels and nuclear power plants. Our results showed no significant differences for landscapes with solar power systems or without them, and the same happened for wind turbines, what was in agreement with their subjective scores. However, there were clear and significant differences when looking at landscapes with and without nuclear power plants. These differences were more pronounced around a time window of 376-407 msec and showed a clear right lateralization for the pictures containing nuclear power plants. Although more studies are still needed, these results suggest that EEG recordings can be a useful procedure for measuring visual impact.
(Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE