Effect of 7, 14 and 21 Hz modulated 450 MHz microwave radiation on human electroencephalographic rhythms.
Hinrikus H, Bachmann M, Lass J, Tomson R, Tuulik V. · 2008
View Original AbstractModulated microwave radiation at everyday exposure levels can increase human brain wave activity by up to 17%, depending on the specific frequency pattern.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed 13 volunteers to 450 MHz microwave radiation while monitoring brain waves. Specific frequencies (14 and 21 Hz) significantly increased brain electrical activity by up to 17%. This proves microwaves can alter normal brain function, with effects varying by frequency.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that modulated microwave radiation can directly influence human brain activity in measurable ways. The researchers used a power density of 0.16 mW/cm2, which is well within the range of everyday exposures from cell phones and wireless devices. What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates frequency-specific effects - the brain responded differently depending on how the microwaves were modulated, suggesting our nervous systems may be more sensitive to certain EMF characteristics than others. The 17% increase in alpha brain waves and 7% increase in beta waves during exposure represents a substantial alteration in normal brain electrical patterns. While the immediate health implications of these changes aren't fully understood, the fact that external electromagnetic fields can reliably modify brain activity raises important questions about chronic exposure from our wireless devices.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 0.16 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 450 MHz modulated at 7, 14 and 21 Hz.
- Exposure Duration
- Two five-cycle (1 min on and 1 min off)
Exposure Context
This study used 0.16 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 16Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 266.7Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of microwaves modulated at different frequencies on human electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms.
Thirteen healthy volunteers were exposed to microwaves (450 MHz) pulse-modulated at frequencies of 7...
Modulated microwaves caused an increase in the average EEG alpha (17%) and beta (7%) power but the t...
Our findings suggest that the effect of the 450 MHz microwave radiation modulated at 7, 14 and 21 Hz varies depending on the modulation frequency. The microwave exposure modulated at 14 and 21 Hz enhanced the EEG power in the alpha and beta frequency bands, whereas no enhancement occurred during exposure to the modulation frequency of 7 Hz.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2008_effect_of_7_14_1025,
author = {Hinrikus H and Bachmann M and Lass J and Tomson R and Tuulik V.},
title = {Effect of 7, 14 and 21 Hz modulated 450 MHz microwave radiation on human electroencephalographic rhythms.},
year = {2008},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18058332/},
}