Psychophysiological tests and provocation of subjects with mobile phone related symptoms.
Wilen J, Johansson A, Kalezic N, Lyskov E, Sandstrom M. · 2006
View Original AbstractPeople with mobile phone symptoms show measurable nervous system differences during mental tasks, regardless of actual radiation exposure.
Plain English Summary
Swedish researchers exposed 20 people who experience symptoms from mobile phones and 20 people without symptoms to 900 MHz cell phone radiation for 30 minutes at levels typical of phone use. While the radiation didn't cause immediate measurable changes in either group, the symptomatic individuals showed different nervous system patterns during cognitive tests, suggesting their autonomic nervous systems may function differently regardless of radiation exposure.
Why This Matters
This study provides important insights into electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), a condition affecting an estimated 3-5% of the population. The research demonstrates that people reporting mobile phone symptoms show measurable differences in their autonomic nervous system function, specifically a shift toward sympathetic dominance during mental tasks. This occurs whether or not they're actually exposed to RF radiation, suggesting the symptoms may stem from underlying nervous system sensitivity rather than direct electromagnetic effects. The exposure level used (1 W/kg SAR) represents typical mobile phone use, making these findings relevant to everyday scenarios. What this means for you: if you experience symptoms around wireless devices, your nervous system may indeed be responding differently to stress and cognitive demands, validating your experience even if the mechanism isn't direct electromagnetic sensitivity.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 1 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 30 minutes
Exposure Context
This study used 1 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 2.5x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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 the present study was to investigate the effect of exposure to a mobile phone-like radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic field on persons experiencing subjective symptoms when using mobile phones (MP).
Twenty subjects with MP-related symptoms were recruited and matched with 20 controls without MP-rela...
No significant differences related to RF exposure conditions were detected. Also no differences in b...
Show BibTeX
@article{j_2006_psychophysiological_tests_and_provocation_1433,
author = {Wilen J and Johansson A and Kalezic N and Lyskov E and Sandstrom M.},
title = {Psychophysiological tests and provocation of subjects with mobile phone related symptoms.},
year = {2006},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16304699/},
}