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Brain & Nervous System

Effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM 900 and WCDMA mobile phones on cognitive function in young male subjects.

No Effects Found

Sauter C, Dorn H, Bahr A, Hansen ML, Peter A, Bajbouj M, Danker-Hopfe H · 2011

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Extended mobile phone radiation exposure showed no measurable cognitive effects in this controlled study of young men.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

German researchers exposed 30 young men to mobile phone signals (GSM 900 and WCDMA) for over 7 hours to test effects on cognitive function including attention and working memory. While some minor changes appeared in vigilance tests, these effects disappeared when researchers properly accounted for statistical testing and time-of-day variations. The study found no evidence that extended mobile phone radiation exposure impairs cognitive performance.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

The study examined exposure from: GSM 900 and WCDMA mobile phones Duration: 7 h 15 min

Study Details

Results of studies on the possible effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones on cognitive functions are contradictory, therefore, possible effects of long-term (7 h 15 min) electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure to handset-like signals of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 900 and Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) on attention and working memory were studied.

The sample comprised 30 healthy male subjects (mean ± SD: 25.3 ± 2.6 years), who were tested on nine...

Univariate comparisons revealed significant changes when subjects were exposed to GSM 900 compared t...

The results of the present study do not provide any evidence of an EMF effect on human cognition, but they underline the necessity to control for time of day.

Cite This Study
Sauter C, Dorn H, Bahr A, Hansen ML, Peter A, Bajbouj M, Danker-Hopfe H (2011). Effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM 900 and WCDMA mobile phones on cognitive function in young male subjects. Bioelectromagnetics. 32(3):179-190, 2011.
Show BibTeX
@article{c_2011_effects_of_exposure_to_3366,
  author = {Sauter C and Dorn H and Bahr A and Hansen ML and Peter A and Bajbouj M and Danker-Hopfe H},
  title = {Effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM 900 and WCDMA mobile phones on cognitive function in young male subjects.},
  year = {2011},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21365662/},
}
PubMed: 21365662

Cited By (41 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

No, a 2011 German study found no evidence that 7+ hours of GSM 900 or WCDMA phone radiation impairs cognitive performance in young men. While minor changes appeared in vigilance tests, these effects disappeared when researchers properly controlled for time-of-day variations and statistical testing.
Research shows WCDMA phone signals don't impair attention or working memory. A controlled study exposing 30 young men to WCDMA radiation found no significant effects on selective attention tests or working memory tasks after accounting for natural time-of-day performance variations.
Mobile phone signals don't meaningfully affect vigilance performance. While one study initially found changes in vigilance tests during GSM 900 exposure, these effects became statistically insignificant after researchers corrected for multiple testing and controlled for natural daily performance fluctuations.
Phone radiation studies can show false positives when researchers don't control for time-of-day effects and multiple statistical testing. A 2011 study demonstrated that apparent cognitive effects from GSM and WCDMA exposure disappeared once proper statistical corrections were applied.
Research suggests extended GSM 900 phone use doesn't impair cognitive function. A study involving over 7 hours of continuous exposure found no evidence of cognitive performance decline in attention, memory, or vigilance tasks among healthy young adults.