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Brain & Nervous System

The sensitivity of human event-related potentials and reaction time to mobile phone emitted electromagnetic fields.

No Effects Found

Hamblin DL, Croft RJ, Wood AW, Stough C, Spong J. · 2006

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This rigorous study found no measurable brain function changes from 30 minutes of mobile phone radiation at typical exposure levels.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed 120 people to mobile phone radiation for 30 minutes while measuring their brain activity and reaction times during cognitive tasks. They found no significant changes in brain function, reaction speed, or electrical brain patterns compared to fake exposure sessions. This contradicts some earlier studies that suggested cell phones might affect how quickly the brain processes information.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 217 Hz - 895 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 217 Hz - 895 MHzPower lines50/60 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

The study examined exposure from: 895 MHz modulated at 217 Hz Duration: 30 minutes

Study Details

The current investigation (n = 120) aimed to test recent findings in this area, namely that N100 amplitude and latency would decrease, and that P300 latency and reaction time (RT) would increase under active relative to sham exposure during an auditory task.

Visual measures were also explored. A double blind, counterbalanced, crossover design was employed w...

There was no significant difference between exposure conditions for any auditory or visual event rel...

As previous positive findings were not replicated, it was concluded that there is currently no evidence that acute MP exposure affects these indices of brain activity.

Cite This Study
Hamblin DL, Croft RJ, Wood AW, Stough C, Spong J. (2006). The sensitivity of human event-related potentials and reaction time to mobile phone emitted electromagnetic fields. Bioelectromagnetics.27(4):265-273, 2006.
Show BibTeX
@article{dl_2006_the_sensitivity_of_human_3062,
  author = {Hamblin DL and Croft RJ and Wood AW and Stough C and Spong J.},
  title = {The sensitivity of human event-related potentials and reaction time to mobile phone emitted electromagnetic fields.},
  year = {2006},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16437544/},
}
PubMed: 16437544

Cited By (79 papers)

View all 79 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

No, a 2006 study of 120 people found that 30-minute exposure to 895 MHz mobile phone radiation did not affect reaction times during cognitive tasks. Participants showed no significant changes in how quickly they responded to visual or auditory stimuli compared to fake exposure sessions.
A controlled study found no evidence that 895 MHz mobile phone radiation changes brain wave patterns. Researchers measured event-related potentials (electrical brain activity) in 120 people during 30-minute exposures and found no significant differences compared to sham exposure conditions.
No, research shows that 895 MHz radiation modulated at 217 Hz does not impair cognitive performance. A study of 120 participants found no significant effects on brain function or cognitive task performance during 30-minute exposures to this specific frequency combination.
Researchers typically use 30-minute exposures to test acute brain effects from mobile phone radiation. A 2006 study used this duration to measure brain activity and reaction times in 120 people, finding no significant changes in neural function or cognitive performance.
Event-related potentials (brain electrical responses to stimuli) do not change significantly with mobile phone exposure. A study measuring these brain signals in 120 people during 895 MHz radiation exposure found no differences compared to control conditions, contradicting some earlier research claims.