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Psychophysiological tests and provocation of subjects with mobile phone related symptoms

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Wilen J, Johansson A, Kalezic N, Lyskov E, Sandstrom M · 2006

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No significant differences linked to radiofrequency exposure were found, but subjects with mobile phone-related symptoms showed distinct heart rate variability patterns compared to controls regardless of exposure.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers investigated the effect of a mobile phone-like radiofrequency electromagnetic field on people who reported subjective symptoms when using mobile phones. Twenty subjects with mobile phone-related symptoms were matched with 20 controls without such symptoms, and each person took part in one true exposure session and one sham exposure session in random order. No significant differences related to radiofrequency exposure conditions were detected. The symptomatic group displayed a shift in low/high frequency ratio towards sympathetic dominance in the autonomous nervous system during tests, regardless of exposure condition.

Why This Matters

The true exposure condition used an indoor base station antenna attached to a 900 MHz GSM mobile phone, exposing subjects for 30 minutes to a field with a maximum SAR1g in the head of 1 W/kg. Researchers measured heart rate and heart rate variability, respiration, local blood flow, electrodermal activity, critical flicker fusion threshold, short-term memory, and reaction time. At the start of testing, reaction time was significantly longer among the symptomatic cases than among the controls, but this difference disappeared when the test was repeated. The heart rate variability difference between the groups was present regardless of exposure condition. The researchers suggested this heart rate variability pattern might be interpreted as a sign of differences in autonomous nervous system regulation between people with and without mobile phone-related symptoms.

Exposure Details

SAR
1 W/kg
Source/Device
900 MHz GSM
Exposure Duration
30 min

Exposure Context

This study used 1 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 1 W/kgExtreme Concern - 0.1 W/kgFCC Limit - 1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 2 times higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic 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...

Cite This Study
Wilen J, Johansson A, Kalezic N, Lyskov E, Sandstrom M (2006). Psychophysiological tests and provocation of subjects with mobile phone related symptoms Bioelectromagnetics. 27(3):204-214, 2006.
Show BibTeX
@article{j_2006_psychophysiological_tests_and_provocation_501,
  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},
  doi = {10.1002/bem.20195},
  url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.20195},
}
DOI: 10.1002/bem.20195

Cited By (96 papers)

View all 96 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

No significant differences related to radiofrequency exposure conditions were detected.
Subjects were exposed for 30 minutes to a field with a maximum SAR1g in the head of 1 W/kg through an indoor base station antenna attached to a 900 MHz GSM mobile phone.
The symptomatic cases differed significantly from controls in heart rate variability measured in the frequency domain, showing a shift toward sympathetic dominance regardless of exposure condition.
Twenty subjects with mobile phone-related symptoms were recruited and matched with 20 controls without such symptoms.
Researchers suggested the heart rate variability difference might be interpreted as a sign of differences in autonomous nervous system regulation between people with and without mobile phone-related symptoms.