Effects of 902 MHz electromagnetic field emitted by cellular telephones on response times in humans.

Koivisto M, Revonsuo A, Krause C, Haarala C, Sillanmaki L, Laine M, Hamalainen H

Neuroreport 11(2):413-415, 2000

The present study examined possible influences of a 902 MHz electromagnetic field emitted by cellular telephones on cognitive functioning in 48 healthy humans. A battery of 12 reaction time tasks was performed twice by each participant in a counterbalanced order: once with and once without the exposure to the field.

The results showed that the exposure to the electromagnetic field speeded up response times in simple reaction time and vigilance tasks and that the cognitive time needed in a mental arithmetics task was decreased. The results suggest that exposure to the electromagnetic field emitted by cellular telephones may have a facilitatory effect on brain functioning, especially in tasks requiring attention and manipulation of information in working memory.