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The aim of this study was to assess possible effects of EMF on episodic memory encoding. Twelve healthy subjects participated. Each subject was presented with a list of 200 words on a computer screen while they were exposed to an EMF from a GSM-like field (1.87 GHz, pulsed at 217 Hz, average peak power 0.25/1 W, SAR 0.61 W/kg), or a sham exposure. After a 15-minute break, they were presented with a new list of 200 words and 200 that were in the original list. They were asked to identify which were old and which were new. During this time a magnetoencephalogram recording of the left hemisphere (the same side as the phone exposure) was done. Each subject did the experiment twice on separate days, once with EMF exposure and once with sham. The type of exposure was counterbalanced and the exposure status was double blind. Reaction times, the rate of correctly detected new and correctly detected old words, and the ratio of correctly and erroneously identified old words, did not show statistically significant differences between sham and GSM exposure. Exposure to EMF changed an early task-specific component of event-related magnetic fields from the brain. The authors concluded that this indicated an interference of EMF and item encoding.
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