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Brain & Nervous System118 citations

Effects of electromagnetic field emitted by cellular phones on the EEG during an auditory memory task: a double blind replication study.

No Effects Found

Krause CM, Haarala C, Sillanmaki L, Koivisto M, Alanko K, Revonsuo A, Laine M, Hamalainen H. · 2004

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Cell phone radiation's effects on brain function proved difficult to replicate consistently, though memory errors still increased during EMF exposure.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed 24 people to cell phone radiation (902 MHz) while they performed memory tests and measured their brain waves. Unlike their previous study which found brain wave changes, this double-blind replication study found no consistent effects on brain activity, though it did find more memory errors during EMF exposure. The inconsistent results highlight how difficult it can be to replicate EMF research findings.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 6 Hz - 902 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 6 Hz - 902 MHzPower lines50/60 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

The study examined exposure from: 4-6 Hz, 6-8 Hz, 8-10 Hz and 10-12 Hz, and 902 MHz

Study Details

The aim of this study is to invesitgate Effects of electromagnetic field emitted by cellular phones on the EEG during an auditory memory task: a double blind replication study.

In the present double blind study, all subjects performed the memory task both with and without expo...

We were not able to replicate the findings from our earlier study. All eight of the significant chan...

We conclude that EMF effects on the EEG and on the performance on memory tasks may be variable and not easily replicable for unknown reasons.

Cite This Study
Krause CM, Haarala C, Sillanmaki L, Koivisto M, Alanko K, Revonsuo A, Laine M, Hamalainen H. (2004). Effects of electromagnetic field emitted by cellular phones on the EEG during an auditory memory task: a double blind replication study. Bioelectromagnetics. 25(1): 33-40, 2004.
Show BibTeX
@article{cm_2004_effects_of_electromagnetic_field_3158,
  author = {Krause CM and Haarala C and Sillanmaki L and Koivisto M and Alanko K and Revonsuo A and Laine M and Hamalainen H.},
  title = {Effects of electromagnetic field emitted by cellular phones on the EEG during an auditory memory task: a double blind replication study.},
  year = {2004},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14696051/},
}
PubMed: 14696051

Cited By (118 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

A 2004 double-blind study found no consistent effects on brain waves when 24 people were exposed to 902 MHz cell phone radiation during memory tests. This contradicted the researchers' earlier findings, highlighting how difficult EMF research can be to replicate.
Yes, a 2004 study found people made significantly more memory errors during 902 MHz cell phone exposure while performing auditory memory tasks. However, the researchers couldn't replicate their previous brain wave findings in this double-blind study.
Researchers concluded that EMF effects on brain waves and memory performance may be variable and difficult to replicate for unknown reasons. A 2004 double-blind study failed to reproduce eight significant brain wave changes found in earlier research.
Finnish researchers failed to replicate their earlier findings when they repeated their cell phone radiation study using double-blind methods in 2004. All eight previously significant brain wave changes disappeared, though memory errors increased during 902 MHz exposure.
The 2004 replication study found no significant effects across multiple EEG frequency bands (4-6 Hz, 6-8 Hz, 8-10 Hz, and 10-12 Hz) during 902 MHz exposure, contradicting earlier research that showed brain wave changes in these same frequency ranges.