ID Number		1569
Study Type		Human / Provocation
Model		900 MHz (GSM) exposure to human volunteers and analysis of cognitive function.
Details		Human volunteers (male, n = 36), all right handed, were exposed from either the right or the left side of the head with 900 MHz (GSM) using two mobile phones, both with a reported output power of 2 watts peak (no SAR provided). Functional assessment included spatial recognition (involving the right hemisphere), verbal recognition (involving the left hemisphere), and two different spatial compatibility tasks (with left compatible stimuli activating the right hemisphere and vice versa). Testing on each volunteer was performed 3 times: once with exposure to the right side of the head, once with exposure to the left side of the head, and once with sham exposure, with the order randomized. The authors report that exposure of the left side of the brain slowed left-hand response in one of the four tests (i.e., resulted in a lengthening of response time), although no other effects were reported. They conclude that more work is needed. In a follow-up study, the authors evaluated additional right-handed male subjects (n = 48), one-third of whom (n = 16) were exposed to the right side of the head and one-third (n = 16) exposed to the left side of the head with 900 MHz (GSM) using two mobile phones both operating at 2 watt output power (no SAR provided). The remaining 16 subjects served as sham controls. During the 1 hour exposure, the subjects performed a spatial working memory test. The authors report that exposure to the left side of the head not only lengthened response time with the left hand but also with the right hand. The authors conclude replication of prior observations. AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Hareuveny et al. 2011 (#5086): Some studies found that cognitive functions of human beings may be altered while exposed to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) emitted by cellular phones. In two recent studies, we have found that experiment duration and exposure side (i.e., phone's location-right or left) may have a major influence on the detection of such effects. In this brief follow-up experiment, 29 right-handed male subjects were divided into two groups. Each subject had two standard cellular phones attached to both sides of his head. The subjects performed a spatial working memory task that required either a left-hand or a right-hand response under one of the two exposure conditions: left side of the head or right side. Contrary to our previous studies, in this work external antennas located far away from the subjects were connected to the cellular phones. This setup prevents any emission of RFR from the internal antenna, thus drastically reducing RFR exposure. Despite that, the results remain similar to those obtained in our previous work. These results indicate that some of the effects previously attributed to RFR can be the result of some confounders.
Findings		Effects
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator		Rad Safety Div. Soreq NRC, Ben-Gurion Univ, Israel
Funding Agency		Private/Instit.
Country		ISRAEL
References		Luria, R et al. Bioelectromagnetics, (2009) 30:198-204 Eliyahu, i et al. Bioelectromagnetics, (2006) 27:119-126 Hareuveny, R et al. Bioelectromagnetics., (2011) 32:585-588
Comments		No SAR. When Bonferroni corrections were used in the follow-up study, no statistically significant effects were observed. The authors, however, suggested that such analysis is not appropriate in a follow up study to validate prior observations because while it decreases type 1 errors (detecting effects that do not exist) it increases type 2 errors (missing a real effect).