Longitudinal study of brain function and depletion of iron stores in individual subjects

Seven men living in a controlled research unit showed decrements in iron stores due to repeated phlebotomy. For each subject, weekly measures of cognitive task performance, electroencephalographic (EEG) power and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were examined in relation to serum ferritin level. No reliable relationships of ferritin level to cognitive performance ability were observed. Some EEG findings appeared similar to previous observations on EEG data and iron status in cross-sectional research. For four of the seven subjects, asymmetries of EEG power in the occipital electrodes appeared related to the decline in iron status over time.