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Effects of GSM signals during exposure to event related potentials (ERPs)

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Bak M, Dudarewicz A, Zmyślony M, Sliwinska-Kowalska M · 2010

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Cell phone radiation immediately reduces brain wave activity during exposure, with effects reversing once the phone is turned off.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed 15 volunteers to GSM cell phone radiation for 20 minutes while measuring their brain activity using a test called event-related potentials (ERPs), which tracks how the brain processes information. They found that during EMF exposure, the brain's P300 wave amplitude decreased significantly, but returned to normal levels immediately after exposure ended. This suggests that cell phone radiation can temporarily alter brain function in real-time.

Why This Matters

This study provides compelling evidence that GSM radiation directly affects brain function during exposure. The P300 wave is a well-established marker of cognitive processing and attention, so the observed amplitude reduction indicates that cell phone EMF interferes with normal brain activity. What makes this research particularly significant is the immediate reversibility of the effect - brain function returned to normal as soon as exposure stopped, suggesting a direct causal relationship rather than a delayed biological response. The SAR level of 0.81 W/kg used in this study is well within the range of typical cell phone use, making these findings directly relevant to everyday exposure. The science demonstrates that your brain responds to EMF in real-time, which raises important questions about the cumulative effects of chronic exposure from devices we use throughout the day.

Exposure Details

SAR
0.81 W/kg
Power Density
0.001 to 10 µW/m²
Source/Device
GSM 935 MHz telephones
Exposure Duration
continuously for 20 min

Exposure Context

This study used 0.001 to 10 µW/m² for radio frequency:

This study used 0.81 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 ContextA logarithmic scale showing exposure levels relative to Building Biology concern thresholds and regulatory limits.Study Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.001 to 10 µW/m²Extreme Concern1,000 uW/m2FCC Limit10M uW/m2Effects observed in the No Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 10,000,000,000x higher than this exposure level

Study Details

The primary aim of this work was to assess the effect of electromagnetic field (EMF) from the GSM mobile phone system on human brain function. The assessment was based on the assay of event related potentials (ERPs)

The study group consisted of 15 volunteers, including 7 men and 8 women. The test protocol comprised...

The statistical analysis revealed an effect of EMF on P300 amplitude. In the experiment with EMF exp...

The results suggest that exposure to GSM EMF exerts some effects on CNS, including effects on long latency ERPs.

Cite This Study
Bak M, Dudarewicz A, Zmyślony M, Sliwinska-Kowalska M (2010). Effects of GSM signals during exposure to event related potentials (ERPs) Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 23(2):191-199, 2010.
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2010_effects_of_gsm_signals_65,
  author = {Bak M and Dudarewicz A and Zmyślony M and Sliwinska-Kowalska M},
  title = {Effects of GSM signals during exposure to event related potentials (ERPs)},
  year = {2010},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20682490/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers exposed 15 volunteers to GSM cell phone radiation for 20 minutes while measuring their brain activity using a test called event-related potentials (ERPs), which tracks how the brain processes information. They found that during EMF exposure, the brain's P300 wave amplitude decreased significantly, but returned to normal levels immediately after exposure ended. This suggests that cell phone radiation can temporarily alter brain function in real-time.