8,700 Studies Reviewed. 87.0% Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body

Note: This study found no significant biological effects under its experimental conditions. We include all studies for scientific completeness.

Brain & Nervous System115 citations

Human brain activity during exposure to radiofrequency fields emitted by cellular phones.

No Effects Found

Hietanen M, Kovala T, Hamalainen AM · 2000

View Original Abstract
Share:

This controlled study found no consistent brain wave changes from 20-minute cell phone exposures, with one isolated finding likely due to chance.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Finnish researchers measured brain wave activity (EEG) in 19 volunteers while they were exposed to radiation from five different cell phones operating at 900 MHz or 1800 MHz for 20 minutes each. They found one small change in brain activity with one phone, but no consistent patterns across the other phones or brain wave frequencies. The researchers concluded this single finding was likely due to random chance rather than actual effects from the phone radiation.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz - 1.80 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHz - 1.80 GHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

The study examined exposure from: 900 MHz or 1800 MHz Duration: 20 minutes

Study Details

The aim of this study was to explore the possible influence of radiofrequency (RF) radiation exposure on human brain function.

The electroencephalographic (EEG) activity of 19 volunteers was quantitatively analyzed. Ten of the ...

Exposure to one of the phones caused a statistically significant change in the absolute power at the...

The findings of this study suggest that exposure to radiofrequency fields emitted by cellular phones has no abnormal effects on human EEG activity. The observed difference in 1 parameter was probably caused by statistical chance.

Cite This Study
Hietanen M, Kovala T, Hamalainen AM (2000). Human brain activity during exposure to radiofrequency fields emitted by cellular phones. Scand J Work Environ Health 26(2):87-92, 2000.
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2000_human_brain_activity_during_3077,
  author = {Hietanen M and Kovala T and Hamalainen AM},
  title = {Human brain activity during exposure to radiofrequency fields emitted by cellular phones.},
  year = {2000},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10817372/},
}
PubMed: 10817372

Cited By (115 papers)

View all 115 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Finnish researchers found no consistent changes in brain wave patterns when 19 volunteers were exposed to five different cell phones for 20 minutes each. One phone showed a minor change in delta brain waves, but this was likely due to statistical chance rather than actual effects.
A 2000 study testing both 900 MHz and 1800 MHz cell phone frequencies found no consistent differences in EEG brain activity between the two frequencies. Only one isolated change occurred with one phone, which researchers attributed to random statistical variation.
EEG monitoring during cell phone exposure showed no abnormal brain wave activity patterns. Finnish researchers concluded that radiofrequency fields from cellular phones produce no detectable effects on human EEG activity when measured across multiple phones and frequency bands.
The Finnish study tested five different cell phones operating at either 900 MHz or 1800 MHz frequencies. Researchers exposed 19 volunteers to each phone for 20 minutes while monitoring brain wave activity, finding no consistent effects across the devices.
The Hietanen study concluded that cell phone radiation has no abnormal effects on human brain wave activity. While one statistical difference appeared with one phone, researchers determined this single finding was probably caused by chance rather than actual radiation effects.