ID Number		1191
Study Type		Human / Provocation
Model		900, 1800 MHz (GSM), 2 GHz (UMTS) exposure to humans and analysis of hearing, auditory response, evoked emissions and EEG.
Details		In initial studies, human volunteers (n = 15) were exposed to 900 or 1800 MHz (GSM) RF for 10 minutes using a mobile phone handset at full transmit power (SAR of 0.41 W/kg or 0.19 W/kg, respectively) held to the ear in a normal user position and assessed for distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and auditory performance. Two different stimulus tones (F1 and F2) were delivered to the subject's ear using an earphone and distortion products were measured over a series of frequency ranges. Self control recordings were obtained by using a 50 ohm or open circuit dummy load on the handset. Both wave- and place-fixed components of distortion products were examined for amplitude and phase gradient. The authors report no statistically significant effect of RF exposure. In a subsequent study pooling data from several European labs and funded by the EU and GUARD programs, 169 subjects were exposed to 900 or 1800 MHz GSM RF (corresponding to 0.41 or 0.19 W/kg, respectively) for 10 minutes during an auditory function battery of tests as well as ABR. While there were sporadic decreases in hearing threshold level with pure tone audiomitry, as well as with and DPOAE, these were not interpreted as physiologically relevant, and were not statistically consistent across all subjects. The authors report no consistent effects on hearing due to RF exposure. In one of the site studies, Paglialonga et al recruited volunteers (n = 29) with normal hearing and exposed to 900 or 1800 MHz GSM at 2 or 1 W/kg, respectively. Exposures were performed during measurement of otoacoustic emissions. The authors report no effects of RF exposure on OAEs and other parameters of hearing. In a related study from the Hungarian authors, 30 volunteers were evaluated for auditory brainstem responses using clicks and other types of acoustic stimuli during sham or 900 MHz (GSM) exposure for 10 minutes using a mobile phone as an RF source with an SAR at the cochlea of 0.41 W/kg (based upon phantom measurements). The authors report no effects of exposure. In a multi-lab study (EMFNEAR) funded by the EU to evaluate the effects of 2 GHz (UMTS) exposure on hearing and effects on auditory function, subjects (n = 134) were exposed to 2 GHz UMTS signals (SAR 0.069 W/kg using a phone handset as well as 1.75 W/kg using a patch antenna) for 20 minutes. The authors again report no effects on pure tone audiometry, DPOAE, oracoustic stimulation of transiently evoked OAEs (TEOAE), late cognitive potentials (P300), or event related potentials. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Trunk et al. 2013 (IEEE #5369): Potential effects of a 30 min exposure to third generation (3G) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone-like electromagnetic fields (EMFs) were investigated on human brain electrical activity in two experiments. In the first experiment, spontaneous electroencephalography (sEEG) was analyzed (n = 17); in the second experiment, auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) and automatic deviance detection processes reflected by mismatch negativity (MMN) were investigated in a passive oddball paradigm (n = 26). Both sEEG and ERP experiments followed a double-blind protocol where subjects were exposed to either genuine or sham irradiation in two separate sessions. In both experiments, electroencephalograms (EEG) were recorded at midline electrode sites before and after exposure while subjects were watching a silent documentary. Spectral power of sEEG data was analyzed in the delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands. In the ERP experiment, subjects were presented with a random series of standard (90%) and frequency-deviant (10%) tones in a passive binaural oddball paradigm. The amplitude and latency of the P50, N100, P200, MMN, and P3a components were analyzed. We found no measurable effects of a 30 min 3G mobile phone irradiation on the EEG spectral power in any frequency band studied. Also, we found no significant effects of EMF irradiation on the amplitude and latency of any of the ERP components. In summary, the present results do not support the notion that a 30 min unilateral 3G EMF exposure interferes with human sEEG activity, auditory evoked potentials or automatic deviance detection indexed by MMN. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Trunk et al. 2014 (IEEE #5696): BACKGROUND: Caffeine affects information processing by acting predominantly on cortical activation, arousal and attention. Millions consume caffeine and simultaneously use their mobile phone (MP) during everyday activities. However, it is not known whether and how MP-emitted electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can modulate known psychoactive effects of caffeine. Here we investigated behavioral and neural correlates of caffeine and simultaneous MP exposure in a third generation (3G) Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) signal modulation scheme. METHODS: We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and event related potentials (ERP) in an oddball paradigm to frequent standard (p=0.8) and rare target (p=0.2) stimuli in a placebo controlled, double blind, within-subject protocol in four experimental sessions: 1) no caffeine and no MP, 2) caffeine only, 3) MP only, and 4) caffeine and MP. The subjects' task was to discriminate between standard and target stimuli and respond to the latter by pressing a button while reaction time (RT) and EEG were recorded. To provide a complete analysis of any possible caffeine and/or MP treatment effects that may have occurred, we analyzed the P300 ERP wave using four different ERP measures: 1) peak latency, 2) peak amplitude, 3) 50% fractional area latency (FAL) and 4) area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: Caffeine significantly shortened RT and decreased AUC of the P300 component compared to the control or the UMTS MP alone conditions. However, no effects were observed on RT or P300 in the UMTS MP exposure sessions, neither alone nor in combination with caffeine. CONCLUSION: Overall, the present results did not demonstrate any interactive or synergistic effects of caffeine and UMTS MP like EMF exposure on basic neural or cognitive measures. However, we found that caffeine consistently enhanced behavioral and ERP measures of visual target detection, showing that present results were obtained using a pharmacologically validated, consistent and replicable methodology.
Findings		No Effects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		Instituto di Ingegneria Biomedica, Milan Italy
Funding Agency		EU, Elettra 2000, Italy, Agency Tech, Energy, Environ, Italy, GUARD, EU 5th Framework, Europe
Country		ITALY
References		Parazzini, M et al. Radiat Res, (2010) 173:91-97 Parazzini, M et al. Radiat Res, (2009) 172:244-251 Stefanics, G et al. Neuroscience., (2009) 157:453-462 Paglialonga, A et al. J Acoust Soc Am, (2007) 123:3855-3856 Moulin , AM et al. J Acoust Soc Am., (2008) 123:3856- Parazzini, M et al. Radiat Res, (2007) 168:608-613 Stefanics, G et al. BMC Public Health., (2007) 7:325-342 Paglialonga, A et al. J Acoust Soc Am, (2007) 122:2174-2182 Parazzini, M et al. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, (2007) 54:39-48 Parazzini, M et al. Hearing Research, (2005) 208:68-78 Trunk, A et al. Bioelectromagnetics., (2013) 34:31-42 Trunk , A et al. Pharmacol Biochem Behav., (2014) 124:412-420 Zentai, N et al. Radiation Research., (2015) 184:568-577 Trunk, A et al. Scientific reports., (2015) 5:14434-
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