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Brain & Nervous System135 citations

No short-term effects of digital mobile radio telephone on the awake human electroencephalogram

No Effects Found

Roschke, J, Mann, K · 1997

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Brief 3.5-minute cell phone exposures showed no immediate brain wave changes, but this doesn't address long-term daily use effects.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

German researchers exposed 34 healthy men to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for 3.5 minutes while measuring their brain activity with EEG sensors. They found no detectable changes in brain wave patterns during the short exposure period compared to when the phone was turned off. This suggests that brief cell phone use may not immediately alter brain electrical activity in awake, healthy adults.

Why This Matters

This 1997 study represents an early attempt to measure immediate brain effects from cell phone radiation, finding no detectable changes in EEG patterns during short exposures. However, the study's limitations are significant. The 3.5-minute exposure duration is extremely brief compared to typical daily cell phone use, and the power density of 0.05 mW/cm² is relatively low compared to what your head experiences during an actual phone call (which can reach 1-2 mW/cm²). The science demonstrates that EMF effects often require longer exposure periods to manifest, and many documented neurological effects from RF radiation occur with chronic rather than acute exposure. What this means for you is that while this study found no immediate brain wave changes, it doesn't address the cumulative effects of daily cell phone use over months and years.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.05 mW/cm²
Source/Device
900 MHz
Exposure Duration
3.5 min

Exposure Context

This study used 0.05 mW/cm² for radio frequency:

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: 0.05 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 20 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 illuminate the influence of digital mobile radio telephone on the awake electroencephalogram (EEG) of healthy subjects.

For this purpose, we investigated 34 male subjects in a single-blind cross-over design experiment by...

During exposure of nearly 3.5 min to the 900 MHz electromagnetic field pulsed at a frequency of 217 ...

Cite This Study
Roschke, J, Mann, K (1997). No short-term effects of digital mobile radio telephone on the awake human electroencephalogram Bioelectromagnetics 18(2):172-176, 1997.
Show BibTeX
@article{roschke_1997_no_shortterm_effects_of_3334,
  author = {Roschke and J and Mann and K},
  title = {No short-term effects of digital mobile radio telephone on the awake human electroencephalogram},
  year = {1997},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9084868/},
}
PubMed: 9084868

Cited By (135 papers)

View all 135 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

No, a 1997 German study found that 3.5 minutes of 900 MHz cell phone exposure did not change brain wave patterns in 34 healthy men. EEG measurements showed no detectable differences in brain electrical activity during the brief exposure period compared to when phones were off.
Research shows no immediate brain effects from 217 Hz pulsed cell phone radiation. German scientists exposed healthy adults to 900 MHz signals pulsed at 217 Hz for 3.5 minutes and found no changes in brain wave spectral power density compared to non-exposure periods.
Short cell phone calls do not appear to affect awake brain electrical patterns. A 1997 study measuring EEG activity in 34 men during brief 900 MHz exposure found no significant changes in brain wave patterns while participants were awake and alert.
Phone radiation with 580 microsecond pulse widths is not detectable on EEG measurements. German researchers using precise EEG monitoring found no spectral power density changes in brain waves when healthy men were exposed to 900 MHz signals with this specific pulse characteristic.
Healthy men show no brain wave changes from brief phone exposure according to EEG research. A controlled study of 34 healthy male participants found no detectable alterations in brain electrical activity during 3.5 minutes of 900 MHz cell phone radiation exposure.