Preattentive auditory information processing under exposure to the 902 MHz GSM mobile phone electromagnetic field: a mismatch negativity (MMN) study.

Bioelectromagnetics · 2009 · No effect · Low evidence

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No effectLow evidencePaper 4975

Study snapshot

PublicationBioelectromagnetics · 2009

Study typeother

Reported directionNo effect

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Previous studies on the effects of the mobile phone electromagnetic field (EMF) on various event-related potential (ERP) components have yielded inconsistent and even contradictory results, and often failed in replication. The mismatch negativity (MMN) is an auditory ERP component elicited by infrequent (deviant) stimuli differing in some physical features from the repetitive frequent (standard) stimuli in a sound sequence. The MMN provides a sensitive measure for cortical auditory stimulus feature discrimination, regardless of attention and other contaminating factors. In this study, MMN responses to duration, intensity, frequency, and gap changes were recorded in healthy young adults (n = 17), using a multifeature paradigm including several types of auditory change in the same stimulus sequence, while a GSM mobile phone was placed on either ear with the EMF (902 MHz pulsed at 217 Hz; SAR(1g) = 1.14 W/kg, SAR(10g) = 0.82 W/kg, peak value = 1.21 W/kg, measured with an SAM phantom) on or off. An MMN was elicited by all deviant types, while its amplitude and latency showed no significant differences due to EMF exposure for any deviant types. In the present study, we found no conclusive evidence that acute exposure to GSM mobile phone EMF affects cortical auditory change detection processing reflected by the MMN.

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother

Effect directionno_effect

PopulationHealthy young adults

Sample size17

ExposureRF · 902 MHz · 1.14 W/kg · acute

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In 17 healthy young adults, MMN responses to multiple auditory deviant types were recorded with a GSM mobile phone placed on either ear with EMF on versus off (902 MHz, pulsed at 217 Hz; SAR(1g)=1.14 W/kg). MMN was elicited by all deviant types, and MMN amplitude and latency showed no significant differences due to EMF exposure for any deviant type; authors report no conclusive evidence of an acute effect on MMN.

Outcomes measured

Mismatch negativity (MMN) amplitude
Mismatch negativity (MMN) latency
Cortical auditory change detection (duration, intensity, frequency, gap deviants)

Limitations

Small sample size (n=17)
Acute exposure only
Authors note prior literature is inconsistent and replication has often failed

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": 902,
    "sar_wkg": 1.14,
    "duration": "acute"
  },
  "population": "Healthy young adults",
  "sample_size": 17,
  "outcomes": [
    "Mismatch negativity (MMN) amplitude",
    "Mismatch negativity (MMN) latency",
    "Cortical auditory change detection (duration, intensity, frequency, gap deviants)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In 17 healthy young adults, MMN responses to multiple auditory deviant types were recorded with a GSM mobile phone placed on either ear with EMF on versus off (902 MHz, pulsed at 217 Hz; SAR(1g)=1.14 W/kg). MMN was elicited by all deviant types, and MMN amplitude and latency showed no significant differences due to EMF exposure for any deviant type; authors report no conclusive evidence of an acute effect on MMN.",
  "effect_direction": "no_effect",
  "limitations": [
    "Small sample size (n=17)",
    "Acute exposure only",
    "Authors note prior literature is inconsistent and replication has often failed"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "GSM",
    "902 MHz",
    "217 Hz pulsed",
    "mobile phone",
    "RF EMF",
    "event-related potentials",
    "ERP",
    "mismatch negativity",
    "MMN",
    "auditory processing",
    "SAM phantom",
    "SAR"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phones-rf",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Study tests GSM mobile phone RF exposure (902 MHz) with phone placed on the ear and EMF on/off while measuring ERPs/MMN."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1002/bem.20470
PubMed: 19140136

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