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Cell Phone Emissions Excite Brain Cortex: Study

By Sophia Mayengbam

The debate on whether cell phones emit radiation that cause adverse health effects or not has been going on for years. Till now several studies have been conducted that support both the arguments. Amidst this ongoing controversy a recent study has revealed that electromagnetic fields from cell phones excite the brain cortex adjacent to it, with potential implications for individual with epilepsy, or other neurological conditions.

The findings published in Annals of Neurology, a journal by John Wiley & Sons said they are not sure whether these effects are harmful.

About 730 million cell phones are expected to be sold this year, according to industry estimates, and nearly 2 billion people around the world already use them.

Of these, more than 500 million people in the world use cell phones which emit electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Though many studies have looked at the effects of EMFs on the body, few have focused on their effects on the brain. Such effects could be harmful, neutral, or beneficial and might be particularly important for individuals with conditions involving cortical excitability, such as epilepsy.

Researchers in Italy, led by Paolo Rossini, M.D., Ph.D. of Fatebenefratelli, used Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to investigate brain function under exposure to electromagnetic fields from a common type of cell phone. Their study reports the effects of EMF exposure on brain physiology for the first time.

The researchers developed a double-blind study in which 15 young male volunteers were exposed to EMF signals from a GSM 900 cell phone for 45 minutes. They measured Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) during motor cortex TMS before, and immediately after EMF exposure, and also one hour later.
In 12 of the 15 subjects, the data showed an excitability change in the motor cortex adjacent to the cell phone. "Intracortical excitability was significantly modified, short intracortical inhibition was reduced and facilitation enhanced," the authors report.

They found that the effects of the EMF were transient and the subjects’ brains tended to return toward baseline conditions one hour after the exposure.

The study said that it would be premature to presume that this work implies that using a cell phone is bad for the brain in any way.

"It should be argued that long-lasting and repeated exposure to EMFs linked with intense use of cellular phones in daily life might be harmful or beneficial in brain-diseased subjects," they conclude. "Further studies are needed to better circumstantiate these conditions and to provide safe rules for the use of this increasingly more widespread device."

Last year Swedish researchers found that using cell phones over time can raise the risk of brain tumors. However, studies conducted by Japan’s four mobile telephone operators found no evidence that radio waves from phones harmed cells or DNA.

The Dutch Health Council analyzed several studies and found no evidence that radiation from mobile phones was harmful.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its website states that the available scientific evidence does not demonstrate any adverse health effects associated with the use of mobile phones.

However, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) argues that radiation can expose human tissues if it is exposed to high levels of RF radiation.


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