Effects of radiofrequency radiation emitted by cellular telephones on the cognitive functions of humans

Abstract

The present study examined the effects of exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation emitted by a standard GSM phone at 890 MHz on human cognitive functions. This study attempted to establish a connection between the exposure of a specific area of the brain and the cognitive functions associated with that area. A total of 36 healthy right-handed male subjects performed four distinct cognitive tasks: spatial item recognition, verbal item recognition, and two spatial compatibility tasks. Tasks were chosen according to the brain side they are assumed to activate. All subjects performed the tasks under three exposure conditions: right side, left side, and sham exposure. The phones were controlled by a base station simulator and operated at their full power. We have recorded the reaction times (RTs) and accuracy of the responses. The experiments consisted of two sections, of 1 h each, with a 5 min break in between. The tasks and the exposure regimes were counterbalanced. The results indicated that the exposure of the left side of the brain slows down the left-hand response time, in the second-laterpart of the experiment. This effect was apparent in three of the four tasks, and was highly significant in only one of the tests. The exposure intensity and its duration exceeded the common exposure of cellular phone users.

Effects of short‐term W‐CDMA mobile phone base station exposure on women with or without mobile phone related symptoms

“…Among these are concerns about the electromagnetic field (EMF) emitted from mobile phone base stations. The type of EMF emitted by base stations is reported to affect regional cerebral blood flow [Huber et al, 2005], cognitive function [Eliyahu et al, 2006;Hutter et al, 2006], and the autonomic nervous system. In addition, some researchers have speculated about causal connections between EMF from base stations and cancer or neuropsychiatric problems [Moulder et al, 2005;Wilen et al, 2006;Abdel-Rassoul et al, 2007], while others have found no definite evidence of such connections [Regel et al, 2006].…”

Effects of GSM 1800 MHz on dendritic development of cultured hippo-campal neurons

“…Mobile phones have also been reported to induce a loss of mental regeneration and impair cognitive performance [7,8] . The exposure of the left side of the human brain to GSM microwaves was found to slow down the left-hand response time, which was apparent in 3 of the 4 distinct cognitive tasks, including spatial item recognition, verbal item recognition, and 2 spatial compatibility tasks [9] . A recent study also indicated that GSM-type radiation could induce seizures in rats following their facilitation by subconvulsive doses of picrotoxin [10] .…”

Effects of GSM signals during exposure to event related potentials (ERPs)

“…It was demonstrated that EMF exposure resulted in an increase of the P50 component evoked by the low-frequency (500 Hz) stimulus, while lowering amplitude of that component was evoked by the high-frequency (3000 Hz) stimulus. Somewhat different experiment intended to verify EMF effect on specified brain regions were performed by Eliyahu et al [19]. They subjected 36 volunteers to a procedure comprising one unilateral (right-side) and one unilateral (left-side) head exposure to EMF, and one run without EMF exposure.…”