Effect of a single 30 min UMTS mobile phone‐like exposure on the thermal pain threshold of young healthy volunteers.
Vecsei Z, Csathó A, Thuróczy G, Hernádi I · 2013
View Original AbstractCell phone-level radiation altered pain processing in the nervous system, suggesting RF exposure affects brain function beyond simple heating.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed 20 young adults to cell phone-like radiation (UMTS signals) for 30 minutes while testing their sensitivity to heat-induced pain on their fingertips. They found that radiation exposure altered how the nervous system processes repeated painful stimuli, reducing the normal desensitization that occurs with repeated pain. This suggests that cell phone radiation can influence how our nervous system responds to pain signals.
Why This Matters
This study provides important evidence that radiofrequency radiation at levels similar to cell phone use can measurably alter nervous system function in humans. The exposure level of 1.75 W/kg falls within the range of typical cell phone SAR values, making these findings directly relevant to everyday device use. What's particularly significant is that the researchers detected changes in pain processing on the side of the body opposite to where the radiation was applied, suggesting the effects involve central nervous system pathways rather than just local heating. The science demonstrates that RF EMF exposure can influence fundamental neurological processes like pain perception and neural adaptation. While the immediate health implications aren't clear, this research adds to growing evidence that our nervous systems are more sensitive to electromagnetic fields than previously assumed.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 1.75 W/kg
- Source/Device
- UMTS RF EMF
- Exposure Duration
- 30 min
Exposure Context
This study used 1.75 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 4.4x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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 Details
In the present study, therefore, we tested the effects of third generation Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RF EMF exposure on the thermal pain threshold (TPT) measured on the surface of the fingers of 20 young adult volunteers.
The protocol was initially validated with a topical capsaicin treatment. The exposure time was 30 mi...
Compared to the control and sham conditions, the results provide evidence for intact TPT but a reduc...
Show BibTeX
@article{z_2013_effect_of_a_single_195,
author = {Vecsei Z and Csathó A and Thuróczy G and Hernádi I},
title = {Effect of a single 30 min UMTS mobile phone‐like exposure on the thermal pain threshold of young healthy volunteers.},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1002/bem.21801},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.21801},
}