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Brain & Nervous System

Do signals of a hand-held TETRA transmitter affect cognitive performance, well-being, mood or somatic complaints in healthy young men? Results of a randomized double-blind cross-over provocation study.

No Effects Found

Sauter C, Eggert T, Dorn H, Schmid G, Bolz T, Marasanov A, Hansen ML, Peter A, Danker-Hopfe H · 2015

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Short-term TETRA radio exposure showed no cognitive impairment in healthy men, but this doesn't address chronic, multi-frequency EMF exposure.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

German researchers exposed 30 healthy young men to TETRA radio signals (used by emergency services) for 2.5 hours at two different power levels to test effects on thinking abilities and well-being. They found no negative impacts on cognitive performance, mood, or physical complaints, with some measures actually showing slight improvement during exposure. This suggests short-term exposure to TETRA signals at these levels doesn't impair mental function in healthy adults.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 385 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 385 MHzPower lines50/60 HzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

The study examined exposure from: TETRA 385 MHz Duration: 2.5 h

Study Details

To investigate possible acute effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) of two different levels of TETRA hand-held transmitter signals on cognitive function and well-being in healthy young males.

In the present double-blind cross-over study possible effects of short-term (2.5 h) EMF exposure of ...

Attention remained unchanged in two out of three tasks. In the working memory significant changes we...

The results of the present study do not indicate a negative impact of a short-term EMF-effect of TETRA on cognitive function and well-being in healthy young men.

Cite This Study
Sauter C, Eggert T, Dorn H, Schmid G, Bolz T, Marasanov A, Hansen ML, Peter A, Danker-Hopfe H (2015). Do signals of a hand-held TETRA transmitter affect cognitive performance, well-being, mood or somatic complaints in healthy young men? Results of a randomized double-blind cross-over provocation study. Environ Res. 140:85-94, 2015.
Show BibTeX
@article{c_2015_do_signals_of_a_2805,
  author = {Sauter C and Eggert T and Dorn H and Schmid G and Bolz T and Marasanov A and Hansen ML and Peter A and Danker-Hopfe H},
  title = {Do signals of a hand-held TETRA transmitter affect cognitive performance, well-being, mood or somatic complaints in healthy young men? Results of a randomized double-blind cross-over provocation study.},
  year = {2015},
  
  url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935115000997},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

A 2015 German study found no negative impact on brain function from TETRA radio signals used by emergency services. Researchers exposed 30 healthy men to these 385 MHz signals for 2.5 hours and found no impairment in cognitive performance, with some measures actually showing slight improvement during exposure.
Research shows TETRA radiation doesn't cause memory problems in healthy adults. A controlled study testing working memory found no negative effects from 2.5-hour exposure to TETRA signals. Out of four memory tasks tested, only two showed changes, and these were actually improvements rather than impairments.
TETRA radio signals don't appear to negatively affect mood or well-being. German researchers found no impact on mood, well-being, or physical complaints in healthy young men exposed to TETRA transmissions for 2.5 hours. The study used double-blind testing to ensure reliable results.
Current research suggests minimal short-term health risks from emergency service radio signals like TETRA. A 2015 study found no negative effects on thinking abilities, mood, or physical symptoms in healthy adults. However, this covers only short-term exposure in one demographic group.
Police radio signals don't appear to impair concentration based on available research. A study testing TETRA radio frequencies found attention levels remained unchanged in most tasks during 2.5-hour exposure periods. Some cognitive measures actually improved slightly, suggesting no negative impact on focus.