Study type: Medical/biological study (experimental study)

Acute mobile phone effects on pre-attentive operation med./bio.

Published in: Neurosci Lett 2006; 397 (1-2): 99-103

Aim of study (acc. to author)

To investigate whether the exposure to mobile phone electromagnetic field affects the patterns of the P50 component of event-related potentials elicited during a working memory test.

Background/further details

The auditory P50 component of event-related potentials reflects pre-attentive processing and working memory operation.
The P50 evoked by two warning stimuli (500 and 3000 Hz) has been assessed in 19 subjects (10 women and 9 men) both without and with exposure to a 900 MHz signal.

Endpoint

Exposure

Exposure Parameters
Exposure 1: 900 MHz
Modulation type: CW
Exposure duration: not specified

Exposure 1

Main characteristics
Frequency 900 MHz
Type
Exposure duration not specified
Modulation
Modulation type CW
Exposure setup
Exposure source
Distance between exposed object and exposure source 20 cm
Chamber Faraday room
Setup Subjects sat in an anatomical chair, and the antenna was fixed near their right ear.
Sham exposure A sham exposure was conducted.
Additional info The subjects attended two sessions, with and without radiation, in random order and with an interval of two weeks.
Parameters
Measurand Value Type Method Mass Remarks
power 64 mW mean - - -
electric field strength 3 V/m - - - -

Reference articles

Exposed system:

Methods Endpoint/measurement parameters/methodology

Investigated system:
Investigated organ system:
Time of investigation:
  • during exposure

Main outcome of study (acc. to author)

The data showed that the presence of mobile phone electromagnetic fields induced statistically significant increase in the amplitude of P50 evoked by the lower frequency stimuli. In contrast the exposure revealed statistically significant decrease of the amplitude of P50 evoked by the higher frequency stimuli.
Memory performance did not differ between the frequency modalities (lower frequency/higher frequency tone).
These results provide evidence that the electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phone affect pre-attentive information processing as it is reflected in P50 evoked event-related potential.

Study character:

Study funded by

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