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The current findings suggest that EMF emitted by mobile phones has effects on brain oscillatory responses during cognitive processing in children.

The aim of the current double-blind studies was to partially replicate the studies by Krause et al. [2000ab, 2004] and to further investigate the possible effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by mobile phones (MP) on the event-related desynchronisation/synchronisation (ERD/ERS) EEG (electroencephalogram) responses during cognitive processing. Two groups, both consisting of 36 male participants, were recruited. One group performed an auditory memory task and the other performed a visual working memory task in six exposure conditions: SHAM (no EMF), CW (continuous wave EMF) and PM (pulse modulated EMF) during both left- and right-side exposure, while the EEG was recorded. In line with our previous studies, we observed that the exposure to EMF had modest effects on brain oscillatory responses in the alpha frequency range ( approximately 8-12 Hz) and had no effects on the behavioural measures. The effects on the EEG were, however, varying, unsystematic and inconsistent with previous reports. We conclude that the effects of EMF on brain oscillatory responses may be subtle, variable and difficult to replicate for unknown reasons.

Brain oscillatory responses of the 4-30 Hz electroencephalogram frequencies were assessed in 12 adolescents (mean age 14 years) during a visual N-back task with four memory load conditions (0-back, 1-back, 2-back, and 3-back). Theta frequency range (approximately 4-6 Hz) responses were elicited in all memory load conditions. The magnitude and duration of alpha frequency range (approximately 8-12 Hz) responses varied as a function of memory load. Beta frequency range (approximately 15-20 Hz) responses were modulated by both task difficulty and cognitive strategy. The differences between the memory load conditions were most prominent between the 0-back and 1-back conditions in the approximately 10 and 20 Hz electroencephalogram frequencies. Dynamic alpha and beta rhythm brain oscillatory responses are related to the cognitive processes in adolescence.