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Inter‐individual and intra‐individual variation of the effects of pulsed RF EMF exposure on the human sleep EEG

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Lustenberger, C., Murbach, M., Tüshaus, L., Wehrle, F., Kuster, N., Achermann, P. and Huber, R. · 2015

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Researchers found some exposure-related increases in delta-theta EEG activity during sleep, but no reproducible within-subject effects were observed.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

The study investigated how much variation exists between individuals and within the same individual in response to pulsed radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure during sleep. The EEG analysis showed exposure-related increases in the delta-theta frequency range at several fronto-central electrodes, but no differences in the spindle frequency range. Reproducible within-subject effects on sleep spindle and delta-theta activity were not observed, and it remained unclear whether a biological trait of how subjects' brains react to RF EMF exists.

Why This Matters

The exposure used a spatial peak absorption of 2 W/kg averaged over 10 g of tissue. While group-level increases in delta-theta activity appeared at fronto-central electrode sites, these did not replicate consistently within the same individual. The researchers noted it remains unclear whether a biological trait governing how individual brains react to RF EMF exists.

Exposure Details

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

Exposure Context

This study used 2 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: 2 W/kgExtreme Concern - 0.1 W/kgFCC Limit - 1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 1 times the FCC limit
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

Our study aimed to investigate inter‐individual variation and intra‐individual stability of field effects.

To do so, we exposed 20 young male subjects twice for 30 min prior to sleep to the same amplitude mo...

The topographical analysis of EEG power during all‐night non‐rapid eye movement sleep revealed: (1) ...

Cite This Study
Lustenberger, C., Murbach, M., Tüshaus, L., Wehrle, F., Kuster, N., Achermann, P. and Huber, R. (2015). Inter‐individual and intra‐individual variation of the effects of pulsed RF EMF exposure on the human sleep EEG Bioelectromagnetics. 36(3) 169, 2015.
Show BibTeX
@article{lustenberger_2015_interindividual_and_intraindividual_variation_134,
  author = {Lustenberger and C. and Murbach and M. and Tüshaus and L. and Wehrle and F. and Kuster and N. and Achermann and P. and Huber and R.},
  title = {Inter‐individual and intra‐individual variation of the effects of pulsed RF EMF exposure on the human sleep EEG},
  year = {2015},
  doi = {10.1002/bem.21893},
  url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.21893},
}
DOI: 10.1002/bem.21893

Cited By (33 papers)

View all 33 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

The study included 20 young male subjects.
Subjects were exposed for 30 min prior to sleep to amplitude modulated 900 MHz radiofrequency EMF with a spatial peak absorption of 2 W/kg averaged over 10 g.
Exposure-related increases in the delta-theta frequency range were found at several fronto-central electrodes, while no differences appeared in the spindle frequency range.
Reproducible within-subject effects on sleep spindle and delta-theta activity were not observed.
Researchers stated it remains unclear whether a biological trait of how subjects' brains react to RF EMF exists.