Effects of electromagnetic field emitted by cellular phones on the EEG during a memory task.
Krause CM, Sillanmaki L, Koivisto M, Haggqvist A, Saarela C, Revonsuo A, Laine M, Hamalainen H · 2000
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation measurably disrupts brain wave patterns during memory tasks, suggesting cognitive interference beyond simple heating effects.
Plain English Summary
Finnish researchers exposed 16 people to 902 MHz cell phone radiation while they performed memory tasks, measuring brain activity through EEG recordings. They found that cell phone radiation significantly altered brain wave patterns during memory encoding and retrieval, even though it didn't affect resting brain activity. This suggests that EMF exposure specifically disrupts the brain's electrical activity when it's actively working on cognitive tasks.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that cell phone radiation doesn't just passively exist near your brain - it actively interferes with your brain's electrical activity during cognitive tasks. The 902 MHz frequency used here falls within the range of older digital cell phones, and the fact that effects were seen across multiple brain wave frequencies suggests the interference is broad-based, not limited to one specific type of brain activity. What makes this research particularly significant is that it shows EMF effects are task-dependent, meaning your brain may be most vulnerable to interference when you're actively using it for memory, learning, or other cognitive functions. This aligns with growing evidence that EMF exposure timing matters as much as intensity - your brain during a phone call or while texting may be experiencing measurable electrical disruption that could affect cognitive performance.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 4-6 Hz, 6-8 Hz, 8-10 Hz and 10-12 Hz, and 902 MHz
Study Details
The effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by cellular phones on the ERD/ERS of the 4-6 Hz, 6-8 Hz, 8-10 Hz and 10-12 Hz EEG frequency bands were studied in 16 normal subjects performing an auditory memory task.
All subjects performed the memory task both with and without exposure to a digital 902 MHz EMF in co...
The exposure to EMF significantly increased EEG power in the 8-10 Hz frequency band only. Nonetheles...
Our results suggest that the exposure to EMF does not alter the resting EEG per se but modifies the brain responses significantly during a memory task.
Show BibTeX
@article{cm_2000_effects_of_electromagnetic_field_2308,
author = {Krause CM and Sillanmaki L and Koivisto M and Haggqvist A and Saarela C and Revonsuo A and Laine M and Hamalainen H},
title = {Effects of electromagnetic field emitted by cellular phones on the EEG during a memory task.},
year = {2000},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10757515/},
}