Effects of pulsed and continuous wave 902 MHz mobile phone exposure on brain oscillatory activity during cognitive processing.
Krause CM, Pesonen M, Haarala Bjornberg C, Hamalainen H. · 2007
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation subtly alters brain wave patterns during use, even when cognitive performance appears unaffected.
Plain English Summary
Finnish researchers exposed 72 men to cell phone radiation at 902 MHz while they performed memory tasks, measuring brain wave activity through EEG recordings. The study found that phone radiation caused subtle changes in brain oscillations (electrical activity patterns) in the alpha frequency range, though these effects were inconsistent and didn't affect actual task performance. This adds to growing evidence that cell phone radiation can influence brain activity, even when users don't notice any immediate behavioral changes.
Why This Matters
This study represents an important piece of the puzzle in understanding how cell phone radiation affects our brains. The researchers found measurable changes in brain wave patterns during exposure to 902 MHz radiation, the same frequency used by many mobile phones. What makes this particularly significant is that these neural changes occurred without any noticeable impact on cognitive performance, suggesting our brains may be responding to EMF in ways we don't consciously perceive. The inconsistent nature of the effects the researchers observed actually mirrors what we see across much of the EMF research landscape. This variability doesn't invalidate the findings, but rather points to the complex ways electromagnetic fields interact with biological systems. The reality is that our brains operate on electrical signals, so it's entirely plausible that external electromagnetic fields would influence this activity. What this means for you is that your phone may be subtly altering your brain's electrical patterns during use, even when you feel completely normal.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 8-12 Hz
Study Details
The aim of the current double-blind studies was to partially replicate the studies by Krause et al. [2000ab, 2004] and to further investigate the possible effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by mobile phones (MP) on the event-related desynchronisation/synchronisation (ERD/ERS) EEG (electroencephalogram) responses during cognitive processing.
Two groups, both consisting of 36 male participants, were recruited. One group performed an auditory...
In line with our previous studies, we observed that the exposure to EMF had modest effects on brain ...
We conclude that the effects of EMF on brain oscillatory responses may be subtle, variable and difficult to replicate for unknown reasons
Show BibTeX
@article{cm_2007_effects_of_pulsed_and_2311,
author = {Krause CM and Pesonen M and Haarala Bjornberg C and Hamalainen H.},
title = {Effects of pulsed and continuous wave 902 MHz mobile phone exposure on brain oscillatory activity during cognitive processing.},
year = {2007},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17203478/},
}