www.scientificamerican.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.130.49 Public Scan

Back to summary

URL:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mind-control-by-cell/
Submission: On May 11 via api (May 11th 2023, 2:48:13 pm UTC) from US — Scanned from DE

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

icon-captions-offCCicon-captions-onCCicon-enter-fullscreenicon-exit-fullscreenicon-fast-forwardicon-mutedicon-pauseicon-playicon-restartCreated
with Sketch.rewindCreated with Sketch.icon-volume

Skip to main content
SubscribeLatest IssuesMenu
Scientific American
* Sign In
* |Newsletters

SearchSubscribe
Close
* COVID
* Health
* Mind & Brain
* Environment
* Technology
* Space & Physics
* Video
* Podcasts
* Opinion

* Subscribe
* Current Issue
* Sign In
* Newsletters

* Share
* Latest

*
*
*
*

Support Our Mission

Subscribe
Neurology

MIND CONTROL BY CELL PHONE

Electromagnetic signals from cell phones can change your brainwaves and
behavior. But don't break out the aluminum foil head shield just yet.

* By R. Douglas Fields on May 7, 2008

* Share on Facebook
* Share on Twitter
* Share on Reddit
* Share on LinkedIn
* Share via Email
* Print

Credit: Chris Gould Getty Images

Hospitals and airplanes ban the use of cell phones, because their
electromagnetic transmissions can interfere with sensitive electrical devices.
Could the brain also fall into that category? Of course, all our thoughts,
sensations and actions arise from bioelectricity generated by neurons and
transmitted through complex neural circuits inside our skull. Electrical signals
between neurons generate electric fields that radiate out of brain tissue as
electrical waves that can be picked up by electrodes touching a person's scalp.
Measurements of such brainwaves in EEGs provide powerful insight into brain
function and a valuable diagnostic tool for doctors. Indeed, so fundamental are
brainwaves to the internal workings of the mind, they have become the ultimate,
legal definition drawing the line between life and death.

Brainwaves change with a healthy person's conscious and unconscious mental
activity and state of arousal. But scientists can do more with brainwaves than
just listen in on the brain at work-they can selectively control brain function
by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This technique uses powerful pulses
of electromagnetic radiation beamed into a person's brain to jam or excite
particular brain circuits.

Although a cell phone is much less powerful than TMS, the question still
remains: Could the electrical signals coming from a phone affect certain
brainwaves operating in resonance with cell phone transmission frequencies?
After all, the caller's cerebral cortex is just centimeters away from radiation
broadcast from the phone's antenna. Two studies provide some revealing news.

The first, led by Rodney Croft, of the Brain Science Institute, Swinburne
University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, tested whether cell phone
transmissions could alter a person's brainwaves. The researchers monitored the
brainwaves of 120 healthy men and women while a Nokia 6110 cell phone—one of the
most popular cell phones in the world—was strapped to their head. A computer
controlled the phone's transmissions in a double-blind experimental design,
which meant that neither the test subject nor researchers knew whether the cell
phone was transmitting or idle while EEG data were collected. The data showed
that when the cell phone was transmitting, the power of a characteristic
brain-wave pattern called alpha waves in the person's brain was boosted
significantly. The increased alpha wave activity was greatest in brain tissue
directly beneath to the cell phone, strengthening the case that the phone was
responsible for the observed effect.

Alpha Waves of Brain
Alpha waves fluctuate at a rate of eight to 12 cycles per second (Hertz). These
brainwaves reflect a person's state of arousal and attention. Alpha waves are
generally regarded as an indicator of reduced mental effort, "cortical idling"
or mind wandering. But this conventional view is perhaps an oversimplification.
Croft, for example, argues that the alpha wave is really regulating the shift of
attention between external and internal inputs. Alpha waves increase in power
when a person shifts his or her consciousness of the external world to internal
thoughts; they also are the key brainwave signatures of sleep.
Cell Phone Insomnia
If cell phone signals boost a person's alpha waves, does this nudge them
subliminally into an altered state of consciousness or have any effect at all on
the workings of their mind that can be observed in a person's behavior? In the
second study, James Horne and colleagues at the Loughborough University Sleep
Research Centre in England devised an experiment to test this question. The
result was surprising. Not only could the cell phone signals alter a person's
behavior during the call, the effects of the disrupted brain-wave patterns
continued long after the phone was switched off.

"This was a completely unexpected finding," Horne told me. "We didn't suspect
any effect on EEG [after switching off the phone]. We were interested in
studying the effect of mobile phone signals on sleep itself." But it quickly
became obvious to Horne and colleagues in preparing for the sleep-research
experiments that some of the test subjects had difficulty falling asleep.

Horne and his colleagues controlled a Nokia 6310e cell phone—another popular and
basic phone—attached to the head of 10 healthy but sleep-deprived men in their
sleep research lab. (Their sleep had been restricted to six hours the previous
night.) The researchers then monitored the men's brainwaves by EEG while the
phone was switched on and off by remote computer, and also switched between
"standby," "listen" and "talk" modes of operation for 30 minute intervals on
different nights. The experiment revealed that after the phone was switched to
"talk" mode a different brain-wave pattern, called delta waves (in the range of
one to four Hertz), remained dampened for nearly one hour after the phone was
shut off. These brainwaves are the most reliable and sensitive marker of stage
two sleep—approximately 50 percent of total sleep consists of this stage—and the
subjects remained awake twice as long after the phone transmitting in talk mode
was shut off. Although the test subjects had been sleep-deprived the night
before, they could not fall asleep for nearly one hour after the phone had been
operating without their knowledge.

Although this research shows that cell phone transmissions can affect a person's
brainwaves with persistent effects on behavior, Horne does not feel there is any
need for concern that cell phones are damaging. The arousal effects the
researchers measured are equivalent to about half a cup of coffee, and many
other factors in a person's surroundings will affect a night's sleep as much or
more than cell phone transmissions.

"The significance of the research," he explained, is that although the cell
phone power is low, "electromagnetic radiation can nevertheless have an effect
on mental behavior when transmitting at the proper frequency." He finds this
fact especially remarkable when considering that everyone is surrounded by
electromagnetic clutter radiating from all kinds of electronic devices in our
modern world. Cell phones in talk mode seem to be particularly well-tuned to
frequencies that affect brainwave activity. "The results show sensitivity to
low-level radiation to a subtle degree. These findings open the door by a crack
for more research to follow. One only wonders if with different doses,
durations, or other devices, would there be greater effects?"

Croft of Swinburne emphasizes that there are no health worries from these new
findings. "The exciting thing about this research is that it allows us to have a
look at how you might modulate brain function and this [look] tells us something
about how the brain works on a fundamental level." In other words, the
importance of this work is in illuminating the fundamental workings of the
brain-scientists can now splash away with their own self-generated
electromagnetic waves and learn a great deal about how brainwaves respond and
what they do.

Mind Matters is edited by Jonah Lehrer, the science writer behind the blog The
Frontal Cortex and the book Proust was a Neuroscientist.

Rights & Permissions

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Doug Fields is a developmental neuroscientist and Editor-in-Chief of Neuron Glia
Biology.

READ THIS NEXT

Extraterrestrial Life

JWST'S EXOPLANET IMAGES ARE JUST THE BEGINNING OF ASTROBIOLOGY'S FUTURE

Briley Lewis | Opinion

Weather

WATCH OUT: TORNADO ALLEY IS MIGRATING EASTWARD

Mark Fischetti, Matthew Twombly and Daniel P. Huffman

Astronomy

DID JWST JUST FIND WATER ON A ROCKY EXOPLANET?

Allison Gasparini

Quantum Physics

PHYSICISTS CREATE LONG-SOUGHT TOPOLOGICAL QUANTUM STATES

Davide Castelvecchi and Nature magazine

Oceans

SOME CRABS ARE LOSING THEIR SENSE OF SMELL AS OCEANS ACIDIFY

Chelsea Harvey and E&E News

Climate Change

MORE FREQUENT DUST STORMS COULD BE IN OUR FUTURE

Christian Elliott

NEWSLETTER

GET SMART. SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER.

SUPPORT SCIENCE JOURNALISM

Discover world-changing science. Explore our digital archive back to 1845,
including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners.

Subscribe Now!

* instagram
* soundcloud
* youtube
* twitter
* facebook
* rss

Scientific american arabic

العربية
* Return & Refund Policy
* About
* Press Room

* FAQs
* Contact Us
* Site Map

* Advertise
* SA Custom Media
* Terms of Use

* Privacy Policy
* California Consumer Privacy Statement
* Use of cookies/Do not sell my data
* International Editions

Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial
relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found
at www.springernature.com/us). Scientific American maintains a strict policy of
editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

Scroll To Top

Support science journalism.

Thanks for reading Scientific American. Knowledge awaits.

See Subscription Options

Already a subscriber? Sign in.

Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to
continue.

Create Account

See Subscription Options

Continue reading with a Scientific American subscription.

Subscribe Now

You may cancel at any time.

WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY

We use cookies to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage & personalize
content to provide social media features and to improve our marketing efforts.
We also share information about your use of our site with our social media,
advertising and analytics partners. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree
to the storing of cookies on your device for the described purposes. View Our
Privacy Policy

Cookies Settings Reject All Accept All Cookies

PRIVACY PREFERENCE CENTER

* YOUR PRIVACY

* PERFORMANCE COOKIES

* SOCIAL MEDIA COOKIES

* TARGETING COOKIES

* STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES

* FUNCTIONAL COOKIES

* TARGETING (1ST PARTY)

* GOOGLE & IAB TCF 2 PURPOSES OF PROCESSING

* TARGETING (3RD PARTY)

YOUR PRIVACY

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your
browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you,
your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you
expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can
give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to
privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the
different category headings to find out more and change our default settings.
However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site
and the services we are able to offer.

PERFORMANCE COOKIES

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and
improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the
most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All
information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you
do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and
will not be able to monitor its performance.

View Vendor Details‎

SOCIAL MEDIA COOKIES

Social Media Cookies

These cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to
the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They
are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a
profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on
other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able
to use or see these sharing tools.

View Vendor Details‎

TARGETING COOKIES

Targeting Cookies

These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may
be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you
relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal
information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet
device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted
advertising.

View Vendor Details‎

STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES

Always Active

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched
off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you
which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy
preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block
or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

View Vendor Details‎

FUNCTIONAL COOKIES

Functional Cookies

These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and
personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose
services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some
or all of these services may not function properly.

View Vendor Details‎

TARGETING (1ST PARTY)

Targeting (1st Party)

These cookies may be set through our site by ourselves. They may be used by
ourselves to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant content or
adverts on our sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are
based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not
allow these cookies, you may experience less personalised content and/or
advertising.

View Vendor Details‎

GOOGLE & IAB TCF 2 PURPOSES OF PROCESSING

Google & IAB TCF 2 Purposes of Processing

Allowing third-party ad tracking and third-party ad serving through Google and
other vendors to occur. Please see more information on Google Ads

View Vendor Details‎

TARGETING (3RD PARTY)

Targeting (3rd Party)

View Vendor Details‎
Back Button

BACK

Filter Button
Consent Leg.Interest
checkbox label label
checkbox label label
checkbox label label

* View Third Party Cookies
* Name
cookie name

Clear
checkbox label label
Apply Cancel
Confirm My Choices
Reject All Allow All

www.scientificamerican.com Open in urlscan Pro 151.101.130.49 Public Scan

Form analysis 0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

www.scientificamerican.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.130.49 Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM