Of 1,950 studies examining brain & nervous system, 83% found measurable biological effects from EMF exposure.
Research found effects on brain & nervous system at exposures as low as:
When you review the peer-reviewed literature on electromagnetic field exposure and brain function, the numbers tell a compelling story: 84% of the 2,753 studies examining this relationship have documented measurable effects. This isn't a fringe concern or preliminary finding. This is the dominant scientific picture, and it deserves your attention. The documented effects span multiple systems within your nervous system.
Of 2,753 studies examining EMF effects on the brain and nervous system, approximately 84 percent found measurable biological effects.
The scientific evidence demonstrates that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from mobile phones and wireless devices produce measurable effects on nervous system function and cellular processes in the brain.
Source: BioInitiative Working Group. BioInitiative Report: A Rationale for Biologically-based Public Exposure Standards for Electromagnetic Radiation. Edited by Cindy Sage and David O. Carpenter, BioInitiative, 2012, updated 2020. www.bioinitiative.org
| EMF Type | Studies | Showing Effects | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELF | 229 | 208 | 91.00% |
| RF | 305 | 222 | 72.00% |
Source: Dr. Henry Lai research database
Showing 2,030 studies
Jeong JH, Kum C, Choi HJ, Park ES, Sohn UD. · 2006
Researchers investigated the effect of 60 Hz ELF-MF on hyperalgesia in mice using a hot plate test. Exposure to ELF-MF lowered pain threshold and elevated NO synthesis in brain and spinal cord. The hyperalgesic effects were blocked by an NOS inhibitor and a Ca2+ channel blocker but not by an NMDA receptor antagonist.
Bediz CS, Baltaci AK, Mogulkoc R, Oztekin E. · 2006
Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to three groups: control, EMF-exposed (50 Hz, 5 minutes every other day for 6 months), and EMF-exposed with zinc sulfate (3 mg/kg/day intraperitoneally). Researchers measured plasma zinc and TBARS, and GSH in erythrocytes; TBARS and GSH were also determined in brain tissues. TBARS levels in plasma and brain were higher in EMF-exposed rats than controls, and lower in zinc-supplemented rats than EMF-exposed rats. GSH levels decreased in brain and erythrocytes of EMF-exposed rats and were highest in zinc-supplemented rats. Plasma zinc was lower in EMF-exposed rats than controls and highest in zinc-supplemented rats.
Zhao R, Zhang SZ, Yao GD, Lu DQ, Jiang H, Xu ZP · 2006
Xu S, Ning W, Xu Z, Zhou S, Chiang H, Luo J. · 2006
The study assessed the effects of microwave exposure on cultured rat hippocampal neurons using whole cell patch-clamp analysis combined with immunocytochemistry. Chronic exposure for 15 minutes per day over 8 days to GSM 1800-MHz microwaves at a SAR of 2.4 W/kg selectively reduced the amplitude of AMPA miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents, while the frequency of AMPA mEPSCs and the amplitude of NMDA mEPSCs did not change. The same exposure decreased the expression of postsynaptic density 95 (PSD95) in the cultured neurons.
Paulraj R, Behari J · 2006
The control group was sham irradiated. The study revealed a statistically significant decrease in PKC activity in the hippocampus compared to the rest of the brain and controls. Electron microscopy showed an increase in glial cell population in the exposed group.
Hutter HP, Moshammer H, Wallner P, Kundi M. · 2006
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study of 365 randomly selected inhabitants living near 10 mobile phone base stations in urban and rural areas. High-frequency electromagnetic field strength was measured in the bedrooms of 336 households, and several cognitive tests, wellbeing, and sleep quality were also assessed. Total HF-EMF exposure was far below recommended levels, with a maximum of 4.1 mW/m2, and average power density was 0.05 mW/m2 in the rural area and 0.02 mW/m2 in the urban area. Some symptoms showed a significant relation to measured power density, headaches most strongly, while sleep quality showed no significant effect.
Espinosa JM, Liberti M, Lagroye I, Veyret B. · 2006
Researchers studied the binding properties of the serotonin 5-HT1B receptor in rat brain membranes under exposure to AC and DC magnetic fields. One-hour exposures at 1.1 mT at 50 Hz caused statistically significant increases in both the K(D) and B(max) binding parameters, from 1.74 to 4.51 nM and from 1428 to 2137 CPM, respectively. DC fields had a lesser effect compared to AC fields at low values of K(Dsham), but decreased the affinity at higher values of K(Dsham). The researchers described these findings as one of the few documented pieces of evidence for cell-free effects of DC and extremely low frequency AC magnetic fields in the mT range.
Bachmann M et al. · 2006
Researchers applied three different EEG analysis methods to detect changes caused by microwave exposure in healthy volunteers. Volunteers were exposed to 450 MHz microwave radiation modulated at several different frequencies, with a field power density of 0.16 mW/cm2 at the scalp. Statistically significant changes in EEG rhythms energy and dynamics were found in between 12% and 30% of subjects.
Wilen J, Johansson A, Kalezic N, Lyskov E, Sandstrom M · 2006
Researchers investigated the effect of a mobile phone-like radiofrequency electromagnetic field on people who reported subjective symptoms when using mobile phones. Twenty subjects with mobile phone-related symptoms were matched with 20 controls without such symptoms, and each person took part in one true exposure session and one sham exposure session in random order. No significant differences related to radiofrequency exposure conditions were detected. The symptomatic group displayed a shift in low/high frequency ratio towards sympathetic dominance in the autonomous nervous system during tests, regardless of exposure condition.
Jelenković A et al. · 2006
Researchers exposed adult male Wistar rats to a 50 Hz, 0.5 mT extremely low-frequency magnetic field for 7 days, while control rats were sham-exposed. Superoxide dismutase activities and production of superoxide radicals, lipid peroxidation, and nitric oxide were examined in the frontal cortex, striatum, basal forebrain, hippocampus, brainstem, and cerebellum. Superoxide radicals were significantly increased in all regions examined, and lipid peroxidation was significantly increased in the basal forebrain and frontal cortex. The researchers indicated that the 7-day exposure can be harmful to the brain, especially to the basal forebrain and frontal cortex due to development of lipid peroxidation.
Belyaev IY et al. · 2006
Researchers exposed rats to 915 MHz GSM microwaves for 2 hours at a SAR of 0.4 mW/g and then examined brain cells for DNA damage and gene expression changes. In the cerebellum, 11 genes were upregulated in a range of 1.34 to 2.74 fold and one gene was downregulated 0.48-fold (P < .0025). The exposure did not induce detectable DNA double strand breaks or changes in chromatin conformation.
Paulraj R, Behari J. · 2006
Researchers exposed 35-day-old male Wistar rats to microwave radiation at 2.45 GHz and 16.5 GHz for 35 days to study effects on developing rat brain. After exposure, the researchers measured DNA single strand breaks in brain tissue using micro gel electrophoresis (comet assay), with fifty cells from each slide and two slides per animal observed. The study found a statistically significant increase (p < 0.001) in DNA single strand breaks in the brain cells of exposed rats.
Unknown authors · 2005
Researchers exposed pregnant mice to millimeter waves at 37.4, 42.2, 53.0, and 60.0 GHz with power densities of 1, 3, 5, and 8 mW/cm(2) for two hours daily from gestation day 6 to 15. Offspring learning and memory were tested using a Y-type electric maze, and hippocampal c-Fos protein expression was measured at multiple time points after training. The lowest power density that decreased both learning and memory and c-Fos expression was 5 and 3 mW/cm(2). Injury severity increased with power density, and no rise in maternal body temperature was observed.
Unknown authors · 2005
Researchers conducted a systematic review of provocation studies. Thirty-one experiments testing 725 "electromagnetically hypersensitive" participants were identified. Twenty-four experiments found no evidence of biophysical hypersensitivity, while seven reported some supporting evidence. Meta-analyses found no evidence of an improved ability to detect EMF in hypersensitive participants.
Unknown authors · 2005
Three talks covered cellular, animal, and epidemiological studies of static magnetic fields. The overall conclusion was that scientific evidence is weak with large gaps due to poor study quality or lack of research. Rapid technological development is increasing human exposure to stronger static magnetic fields. Knowledge about health effects lags far behind this technological development.
Swanson J et al et al. · 2005
Unknown authors · 2005
Researchers studied the effect of 900MHz low-intensity microwave fields on AMPA GluR2 protein and intracellular calcium in postnatal rat cerebral cortical neurons. Neurons were exposed to continuous 900MHz microwaves at SAR values of 3.22, 2.23, and 1.15 W/kg for 2 hours per day over 4 or 6 consecutive days, and also for 12 hours at 3.22 W/kg. Compared with sham exposure, GluR2 protein was significantly down-regulated and intracellular calcium was significantly up-regulated in the exposed neurons.
Tornros JE, Bolling AK. · 2005
The study examined effects of handheld and handsfree mobile phone dialling and conversation on simulated driving performance. Dialling and conversation both impaired peripheral detection, but dialling increased lateral position deviation while conversation decreased it for both phone modes. Dialling reduced speed most with handsfree, conversation reduced speed only with handheld, and mental workload remained markedly increased despite compensatory speed reductions.
Sievert U, Eggert S, Pau HW · 2005
Researchers tested 12 healthy people with normal hearing by recording auditory brain stem reflexes before, during, and after exposure to electromagnetic emissions from standardized mobile phone devices. Two modes of electromagnetic emissions fields were used: pulsed and continuous. No impact on auditory brain stem reflexes recordings in terms of absolute and interpeak latencies was found, and the authors concluded no adverse short-term effects on ear function.
Shirai T et al. · 2005
A 1.439 GHz TDMA signal was used for exposure of the rat head starting from 5 weeks of age, 90 min a day, 5 days a week, for 104 weeks. Brain tumorigenesis was initiated by an intrauterine exposure to N-ethylnitrosourea (ENU) on gestational day 18. No increase in the incidences or numbers per group of brain and/or spinal cord tumors, either in the males or females, was detected in the EMF exposed groups. There were no inter-group differences in body weights, food consumption, and survival rates.
Schoemaker MJ et al. · 2005
Researchers conducted six population-based case-control studies in four Nordic countries and the UK to assess acoustic neuroma risk in relation to mobile phone use. Data were collected by personal interview from 678 cases of acoustic neuroma and 3553 controls. The risk of acoustic neuroma in relation to regular mobile phone use was not raised (OR=0.9, 95% CI 0.7-1.1). Risk of a tumour on the same side of the head as reported phone use was raised for use for 10 years or longer (OR=1.8, 95% CI 1.1-3.1).
Schmid G, Sauter C, Stepansky R, Lobentanz IS, Zeitlhofer J · 2005
Researchers exposed 58 healthy volunteers to a generic 1.97 GHz UMTS-like signal in a double-blinded crossover design. Each subject completed four clinical visual perception tests under high exposure, low exposure, and sham conditions. High exposure produced an average SAR of 0.63 W/kg (1 g) and 0.37 W/kg (10 g) in the left temporal cortex. No statistically significant differences in visual perception parameters were found between any exposure condition and sham.
Preece AW et al. · 2005
Researchers tested 18 children aged 10 to 12 years using a randomized three-way crossover design with exposures of 0, 0.025, or 0.25 W from a Nokia 3110 handset. Baseline reaction times were considerably slower than in adults. There was a tendency for shorter reaction times during exposure, most marked for simple reaction time, but no effects reached statistical significance after Bonferroni correction.
Pau HW, Sievert U, Eggert S, Wild W · 2005
Researchers applied a simulated GSM signal to one ear at a time while recording video nystagmography in 13 volunteers. No EM radiation-induced nystagmus was recorded in any volunteer. In human temporal bones, very weak caloric effects were only found near the antenna, while the horizontal semicircular canal seemed unaffected with temperature changes below 0.1 degree C.
Miyakoshi J et al. · 2005
Researchers exposed human glioma MO54 cells to a continuous wave 1950 MHz RF field at SARs of 1, 2, and 10 W/kg for up to 2 hours. Cell growth was assessed by counting cell numbers up to 4 days after exposure. RF exposure at 2 and 10 W/kg did not affect the growth of MO54 cells. However, exposure at 10 W/kg for 1 and 2 hours significantly decreased the protein level of phosphorylated Hsp27 at serine 78.
For a comprehensive exploration of EMF health effects including brain & nervous system, along with practical protection strategies, explore these books by R Blank and Dr. Martin Blank.
