6,486 Studies Reviewed. 85.2% of Original Studies Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.

EMF Research Studies

Browse 6,486 peer-reviewed studies on electromagnetic field health effects from 4 research libraries.

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Showing 1,982 studies with bioeffects seen from BioInitiative Report

Effects of magnetic stray fields from a 7 Tesla MRI scanner on neurocognition: a double-blind randomised crossover study.

van Nierop LE et al. · 2011

Researchers tested whether movement-induced time-varying magnetic fields within the static magnetic stray field of a 7 Tesla MRI scanner affected neurocognition. Using a double-blind randomised crossover design, 31 healthy volunteers were tested in a sham (0 T), low (0.5 T) and high (1.0 T) exposure condition, with standardised head movements made before every neurocognitive task to induce time-varying magnetic fields. Of six tested neurocognitive domains, attention and concentration were negatively affected, and visuospatial orientation was also affected after exposure.

Exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields induces fos-related antigen-immunoreactivity via activation of dopaminergic D1 receptor.

Shin EJ, Nguyen XK, Nguyen TT, Pham DT, Kim HC. · 2011

Researchers examined whether repeated extremely low frequency magnetic field exposure induces fos-related antigen immunoreactivity in the striatum and nucleus accumbens of mice. Exposure at 0.3 or 2.4 mT for 1 hour per day over fourteen consecutive days significantly induced hyperlocomotor activity and fos-related antigen immunoreactivity in a field intensity-dependent manner. The fos-related antigen immunoreactivity lasted for at least 1 year, while locomotor activity returned near control level 3 months after the final exposure.

Effects of sinusoidal electromagnetic fields on histopathology and structures of brains of preincubated white leghorn chicken embryos

Lahijani MS, Bigdeli MR, Kalantary S. · 2011

Researchers investigated the effects of sinusoidal electromagnetic fields on the brain histopathology and structures of preincubated white leghorn chicken embryos. Three hundred fertilized eggs were divided into experimental, control, and sham groups, with the experimental eggs exposed to three different field intensities of 1.33, 2.66, and 7.32 mT for 24 hours before incubation. The results suggested that the electromagnetic fields induce brain damages at different levels.

Effects of extremely low frequency magnetic field on anxiety level and spatial memory of adult rats.

He LH, Shi HM, Liu TT, Xu YC, Ye KP, Wang S. · 2011

Researchers exposed adult rats daily to a 50-Hz extremely low frequency magnetic field set to 2 mT, dividing them into a control group, a 1-hour exposure group, and a 4-hour exposure group. After 4 weeks of daily exposure, anxiety-related behaviors were assessed in the open field test and the elevated plus maze, and spatial learning and memory were assessed in the Morris water maze. Rats in the 4-hour group showed increased anxiety-like behaviors, reduced latency to find a hidden platform, and improved long-term memory of the platform's former location, without changes in short-term memory or locomotor activity.

Transient and steady-state magnetic fields induce increased fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in the rat hindbrain.

Frilot C 2nd, Carrubba S, Marino AA. · 2011

Researchers exposed rats to a 2.5-G, 60-Hz magnetic field and used positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose to identify brain regions where glucose uptake changed. Increased glucose utilization occurred in hindbrain voxels when the field was applied orthogonally to the sagittal plane, but not when the angle between the field and the sagittal plane varied randomly. Distinct activation effects were observed in response to transient and steady-state magnetic stimuli.

Effects of extremely low frequency magnetic field on oxidative balance in brain of rats.

Ciejka E, Kleniewska P, Skibska B, Goraca A. · 2011

The study aimed to assess the effect of extremely low frequency magnetic field parameters on reactive oxygen species generation in brain tissue of experimental animals depending on the time of exposure. Exposure at 30 min/day for 10 days caused a significant increase in lipid peroxidation and an insignificant increase in hydrogen peroxide and free sulphydryl groups. Exposure at 60 min/day caused a significant increase in free sulphydryl groups and protein concentration, which the researchers described as indicating an adaptive mechanism.

Extremely low frequency magnetic field induces oxidative stress in mouse cerebellum

Chu LY et al. · 2011

Researchers investigated whether extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) induces lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species in mouse cerebellum. After exposure to 60 Hz ELF-MF at 2.3 mT intensity for 3 hours, malondialdehyde and hydroxyl radical levels increased significantly. The researchers concluded that ELF-MF may induce oxidative stress in mouse cerebellum, though the mechanism remains to be characterized.

Effects of cell phone radiofrequency signal exposure on brain glucose metabolism

Volkow ND et al. · 2011

Researchers used positron emission tomography to measure brain glucose metabolism in 47 healthy participants, once with the right cell phone activated for 50 minutes and once with both cell phones deactivated. Whole-brain metabolism did not differ between the on and off conditions, but metabolism in the region closest to the antenna was significantly higher in the on condition than the off condition. The researchers noted that this finding is of unknown clinical significance.

Effects of radiofrequency radiation exposure on blood-brain barrier permeability in male and female rats

Sirav B, Seyhan N · 2011

Researchers exposed male and female Wistar albino rats to 0.9 and 1.8 GHz continuous-wave radiofrequency radiation for 20 minutes to investigate effects on blood-brain barrier permeability. A significant increase in albumin was found in the brains of the RF-exposed male rats when compared to sham-exposed male brains. In female rats, no albumin extravasation was found in the brain after RFR exposure. The researchers noted that these results suggest that exposure at levels below the international limits can affect vascular permeability in the brain of male rats.

Acute Effect of Exposure of Mollusk Single Neuron to 900-MHz Mobile Phone Radiation

Partsvania B, Sulaberidze T, Shoshiashvili L, Modebadze Z · 2011

Researchers exposed single neurons of a mollusk to electromagnetic fields using a Transverse Electromagnetic Cell to study effects on neuron excitability and memory processes. The specific absorption rate deposited into the single neuron was calculated to be 0.63 W/kg with a temperature increment of 0.1°C. After acute exposure, the average firing threshold of action potentials was not changed, but the average latent period was significantly decreased. The researchers noted that the observed alterations were transient and that only the latent period remained at the changed level.

Effects of wi-fi signals on the p300 component of event-related potentials during an auditory hayling task.

Papageorgiou CC et al. · 2011

Fifteen male and fifteen female subjects, matched for age and education level, were investigated while performing a modified version of the Hayling Sentence Completion test adjusted to induce working memory. ERPs were recorded at 30 scalp electrodes, both without and with exposure to a Wi-Fi signal. Male subjects showed decreased P300 amplitudes compared to female subjects, but only in the presence of Wi-Fi EMF. The researchers concluded that Wi-Fi exposure may exert gender-related alterations on neural activity associated with attentional resources during a linguistic working-memory test.

Short-term memory in mice is affected by mobile phone radiation

Ntzouni MP, Stamatakis A, Stylianopoulou F, Margaritis LH. · 2011

Researchers studied the effects of mobile phone electromagnetic fields on a non-spatial memory task called the Object Recognition Task in mice. Three groups of mice were tested under three different radiation exposure protocols, with a SAR value of 0.22 W/kg. Results revealed a major effect on the "chronic exposure-I" protocol, suggesting a possible severe interaction of EMF with the consolidation phase of recognition memory processes.

Local exposure of the rat cortex to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields increases local cerebral blood flow along with temperature

Masuda H et al. · 2011

The study aimed to detect reproducible responses to local radiofrequency exposure in the parietal cortex of anesthetized rats and to determine their dependence on exposure intensity. The target cortex tissue was locally exposed to 2-GHz RF using a figure-eight loop antenna at averaged specific absorption rates of 10.5, 40.3, 130, and 263 W/kg. All measured parameters except calf hypodermis temperature increased significantly in exposed animals compared with sham-exposed ones during 18-min exposures. The local cerebral blood flow elevation seemed to be driven by the rise in target temperature, but not by rectal temperature, in the early part of RF exposure or at low-intensity RF exposure.

Sleep after mobile phone exposure in subjects with mobile phone-related symptoms.

Lowden A et al. · 2011

Researchers investigated the effects of a double-blind radiofrequency exposure on sleepiness and EEG measures during sleep. Forty-eight subjects with a mean age of 28 years underwent three hours of controlled exposure prior to sleep, followed by a full-night polysomnographic recording in a sleep laboratory. Following exposure, slow-wave sleep decreased by 9.5 minutes and the latency to Stage 3 sleep was prolonged by 4.8 minutes compared to sham. No differences were found between subjects who had previously reported mobile phone-related symptoms and those who had not.

Potential Protection of Green Tea Polyphenols Against 1800 MHz Electromagnetic Radiation-Induced Injury on Rat Cortical Neurons

Liu ML, Wen JQ, Fan YB. · 2011

Researchers investigated whether green tea polyphenols could protect cultured rat cortical neurons from injury caused by 1800 MHz electromagnetic field exposure from a mobile phone. Mobile phone irradiation for 24 hours induced marked neuronal cell death, as measured by MTT and TUNEL assays. Green tea polyphenols significantly inhibited the radiation-induced increases in active Bax, while total Bax levels showed no marked changes.

Effects of 2G and 3G mobile phones on performance and electrophysiology in adolescents, young adults and older adults

Leung S et al. · 2011

This study examined sensory and cognitive processing in adolescents, young adults and older adults when exposed to 2G and 3G mobile phone signals. Forty-one 13–15 year olds, forty-two 19–40 year olds and twenty 55–70 year olds were tested using a double-blind cross-over design, where each participant received Sham, 2G and 3G exposures, separated by at least 4 days. On a memory task, adolescents performed less accurately during 3G exposure compared to Sham, and delayed brainwave responses were found in both 2G and 3G conditions across all age groups.

GSM Mobile Phone Radiation Suppresses Brain Glucose Metabolism

Kwon MS et al. · 2011

Researchers used positron emission tomography with an 18F-deoxyglucose tracer to investigate the effects of mobile phone radiation on cerebral glucose metabolism in humans. Thirteen young right-handed male subjects were exposed to a pulse-modulated 902.4 MHz Global System for Mobile Communications signal for 33 minutes while performing a simple visual vigilance task. The relative cerebral metabolic rate of glucose was significantly reduced in the temporoparietal junction and anterior temporal lobe of the right hemisphere, on the same side as the exposure. The exposure did not affect task performance, measured by reaction time and error rate.

900-MHz microwave radiation promotes oxidation in rat brain

Kesari KK, Kumar S, Behari J. · 2011

Researchers exposed 35-day old Wistar rats to a mobile phone for 2 hours per day for 45 days at a specific absorption rate of 0.9 W/Kg. Animals were divided into a sham exposed group and an exposed group, each with 6 animals. The exposed group showed a significant decrease in glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, and a significant increase in reactive oxygen species. The researchers concluded that these findings on biomarkers are clear indications of possible health implications.

Mobile phone-induced honeybee worker piping

Favre D · 2011

Researchers placed mobile phone handsets in the close vicinity of honeybees and recorded and analyzed the sounds the bees made. The audiograms and spectrograms revealed that active mobile phone handsets have a dramatic impact on the behavior of the bees, namely by inducing the worker piping signal. In natural conditions, worker piping either announces the swarming process of the bee colony or is a signal of a disturbed bee colony.

Long-term electromagnetic field treatment enhances brain mitochondrial function of both Alzheimer's transgenic mice and normal mice: a mechanism for electromagnetic field-induced cognitive benefit?

Dragicevic N et al. · 2011

Researchers evaluated brain mitochondrial function in aged Alzheimer's transgenic mice and normal littermates following one month of daily EMF exposure. In the transgenic mice, EMF treatment enhanced brain mitochondrial function by 50-150% across six established measures, with the greatest effects in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. EMF treatment also increased brain mitochondrial function in normal aged mice, though the enhancement was not as robust or widespread as in the transgenic mice. The researchers suggested that brain mitochondrial enhancement may be a primary mechanism through which EMF treatment provides cognitive benefit to both transgenic and normal mice.

A study of neurotoxic biomarkers, c-fos and GFAP after acute exposure to GSM radiation at 900 MHz in the picrotoxin model of rat brains

Carballo-Quintás M et al. · 2011

Researchers studied the effects of acute 900 MHz GSM radiation exposure on neurotoxic biomarkers c-fos and GFAP in rats also treated with picrotoxin, a seizure-promoting agent. Seventy-two adult male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent immunochemical testing to measure c-fos induction after 90 minutes and 24 hours, and GFAP 72 hours after acute exposure to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field. The results indicated that c-fos and glial markers were triggered by the combined stress of non-thermal irradiation and the toxic effect of picrotoxin on brain tissue.

Effect of electromagnetic radiofrequency radiation on the rats' brain, liver and kidney cells measured by comet assay.

Trosić I et al. · 2011

Researchers exposed male Wistar rats to 915 MHz radiofrequency radiation with GSM modulation at a whole-body average SAR of 0.6 W/kg for one hour per day, seven days per week over two weeks. A comet assay was used to assess DNA damage, measuring tail length and tail intensity. Tail length notably differed in liver and kidney homogenates of exposed animals compared to sham controls, and the tail was slightly elongated in irradiated animals' brain cells. The results suggest that repeated 915 MHz irradiation could be a cause of DNA breaks in renal and liver cells, but did not affect the cell genome at a higher extent compared to basal damage.

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