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Brain & Nervous System

Does acute exposure to the electromagnetic field emitted by a mobile phone influence visual evoked potentials?

No Effects Found

Urban, P, Lukas, E, Roth, Z · 1998

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Five minutes of mobile phone exposure showed no immediate brain activity changes in this small 1998 study.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed 20 healthy volunteers to electromagnetic fields from a Motorola mobile phone for 5 minutes and measured visual evoked potentials (electrical brain responses to visual stimuli) to see if phone radiation affected brain function. They found no changes in brain activity after the exposure. This small pilot study suggests short-term mobile phone use may not immediately disrupt this particular aspect of brain function.

Why This Matters

This 1998 pilot study represents early research into mobile phone effects on brain function, using visual evoked potentials as a marker of central nervous system activity. While the researchers found no immediate effects from 5 minutes of exposure at SAR levels of 0.16-0.84 W/kg (within today's regulatory limits), this was a very small study with just 20 participants examining only acute, short-term effects. The science demonstrates that immediate neurological changes don't necessarily capture the full picture of EMF health effects. What this means for you is that while this study didn't find acute brain disruption from brief phone calls, it doesn't address the potential for cumulative effects from years of daily use, nor does it examine other biological endpoints that have shown sensitivity to RF radiation in subsequent research.

Exposure Details

SAR
0.37, 0.16, 0.84 W/kg

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.37, 0.16, 0.84 W/kgExtreme Concern - 0.1 W/kgFCC Limit - 1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 10 times higher than this level

Study Details

To search for a potential negative influence on the central nervous system (CNS) of the electromagnetic field emitted by a mobile phone, the authors performed a pilot experimental study of the influence of a single short acute exposure to the GSM mobile phone Motorola 8700, using visual evoked potentials (VEP) examination as an electrophysiological marker of CNS dysfunction.

The study group consisted of 20 healthy volunteers. The duration of exposure was 5 minutes. The outp...

No statistically significant influence of the above-described exposure to the electromagnetic field ...

Cite This Study
Urban, P, Lukas, E, Roth, Z (1998). Does acute exposure to the electromagnetic field emitted by a mobile phone influence visual evoked potentials? A pilot study. Cent Eur J Public Health 6(4):288-290, 1998.
Show BibTeX
@article{urban_1998_does_acute_exposure_to_3458,
  author = {Urban and P and Lukas and E and Roth and Z},
  title = {Does acute exposure to the electromagnetic field emitted by a mobile phone influence visual evoked potentials?},
  year = {1998},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9919379/},
}
PubMed: 9919379

Cited By (38 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

A 1998 study found no significant effects on visual evoked potentials after 5 minutes of Motorola mobile phone exposure. Researchers measured electrical brain responses to visual stimuli in 20 healthy volunteers and detected no changes in brain activity following the brief EMF exposure.
Research suggests short-term mobile phone use may not immediately disrupt visual processing in the brain. A study exposing volunteers to phone radiation for 5 minutes found no changes in visual evoked potentials, which measure how the brain responds to visual stimuli.
Brain response latencies remain unchanged after mobile phone EMF exposure according to research. A 1998 study measuring visual evoked potentials found no statistically significant influence on the timing of brain responses following 5 minutes of electromagnetic field exposure from a mobile phone.
Visual evoked potentials do not change with electromagnetic field exposure from mobile phones based on available research. A study of 20 healthy volunteers found no alterations in these electrical brain measurements after 5 minutes of phone radiation exposure.
Researchers exposed volunteers to phone radiation for 5 minutes in visual evoked potential studies. This 1998 research used a Motorola mobile phone to generate electromagnetic fields while measuring brain responses to visual stimuli in 20 healthy participants, finding no significant effects.