Neurophysiological effects of mobile phone electromagnetic fields on humans: A comprehensive review

Abstract

In recent years a growing number of people have begun to use mobile phone technology. This phenomenon has raised questions and doubts about possible effects on users' brains. This literature review focuses on the human electrophysiological and neuro-metabolic effects of mobile phone (MP)-related electromagnetic fields (EMFs) published in the last 10 years. To this end, all relevant papers have been reported and, subsequently, a literature selection has been carried out by taking several criteria into account, such as: blind techniques, randomization or counter-balancing of conditions and subjects, detail of exposure characteristics and the statistical analyses used. As a result, only the studies meeting the selection criteria have been described, evaluated and discussed further. The main goal of this review is to provide a clear scenario of the most reliable experiments carried out over the last decade and to offer a critical point of view in their evaluation. It is concluded that MP-EMFs may influence normal physiology through changes in cortical excitability and that in future research particular care should be dedicated to both methodological and statistical control, the most relevant criteria in this research field.

The Heritability and Genetic Correlates of Mobile Phone Use: A Twin Study of Consumer Behavior

“…Without understanding the heritability, phenotypic correlates, and genetic correlates of mobile phone use, it is very hard to draw firm conclusions from epidemiological studies of alleged mobile phone health risks. Many studies have assessed possible health problems associated with radiofrequency field (RF) exposure generated by mobile phone antennae, including possible brain tumors and genetic damage (Ahlbom et al, 2004;Khurana et al, 2009;Hardell et al, 2008;Valentini et al, 2007;Vijayalaxmi, & Prihoda, 2008) others have focused on the increased risk of car accidents while dual tasking with driving and mobile phone use (Caird, Willness, Steel, & Scialfa, 2008; Horrey & Wickens, 2006;Redelmeier & Tibshirani, 1997;Strayer et al, 2006). However, consider the implications of the small, but significant, negative correlations we found between mobile phone use and intelligence.…”

Systematic review on the health effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from mobile phone base stations

“…headaches or changes in brain physiology) would be expected in studies of mobile phone handset ex- Martin Röösli et al Systematic review on exposure to base station radiation Research posure rather than in studies mimicking MPBS exposure. Studies on mobile phone exposure suggest effects on EEG α-band activity during sleep, 55 with some evidence for a dose-response relationship, 56 but the results are inconsistent with regard to cognitive functions 57 and mostly negative for headache. 58,59 Interestingly, persons classified as highly exposed in the epidemiological studies were actually exposed to rather low field levels.…”

Epidemiology of Glioma

“…A significant change in cell proliferation in response to radiofrequency MFs, independent of thermal activity, has been reported in a cell culture experiment involving transformed human epithelial amnion cells (Velizarov et al 1999). Effects demonstrated in other studies include up-regulation of apoptosis genes, induction of reactive oxygen species, changes in protein conformation, the creation of stress proteins, and immune system disturbances (Zhao et al 2007;Sage and Carpenter 2009;NRPB 2003;Valentini et al 2007;Ruediger 2009). Caution is advised when interpreting these effects since numerous contradictory results are present in the literature.…”