Effects of microwaves emitted by cellular phones on human slow brain potentials.
Freude, G, Ullsperger, P, Eggert ,S, Ruppe, I · 1998
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation altered brain electrical patterns during complex mental tasks, suggesting EMF interferes with cognitive processing even when performance appears normal.
Plain English Summary
German researchers studied how cell phone radiation affects brain wave patterns by having men perform simple finger movements and complex visual tasks while exposed to phone emissions. They found that radiation significantly altered slow brain potentials (electrical patterns that prepare the brain for action) during the demanding cognitive task, but not during simple movements. This suggests cell phone radiation can interfere with brain electrical activity during mentally challenging activities, even when performance appears normal.
Why This Matters
This 1998 study provides early evidence that cell phone radiation affects brain electrical activity in measurable ways, particularly during cognitively demanding tasks. What makes this research significant is that it detected neurological changes even when subjects' actual performance remained unchanged - suggesting the brain was working harder to maintain the same level of function under EMF exposure. The fact that effects appeared only during complex cognitive tasks, not simple movements, indicates that radiation may specifically interfere with higher-order brain processing. While this study predates modern smartphones with their more complex radiation patterns, it establishes a foundation showing that even basic cell phone emissions can alter brain wave patterns. The research adds to a growing body of evidence that EMF exposure affects nervous system function at levels below what current safety standards consider harmful.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
The influence of electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by cellular phones on preparatory slow brain potentials (SP) was studied in two different experimental tasks
In the first, healthy male human subjects had to perform simple self-paced finger movements to elici...
Whereas subjects' performance did not differ between the EMF exposure conditions, SP parameters were...
Show BibTeX
@article{freude_1998_effects_of_microwaves_emitted_2085,
author = {Freude and G and Ullsperger and P and Eggert andS and Ruppe and I},
title = {Effects of microwaves emitted by cellular phones on human slow brain potentials.},
year = {1998},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9738529/},
}