title: GSM mobile phone radiation suppresses brain glucose metabolism.
abstract: We investigated the effects of mobile phone radiation on cerebral glucose metabolism using high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) with the (18)F-deoxyglucose (FDG) tracer. A long half-life (109 minutes) of the (18)F isotope allowed a long, natural exposure condition outside the PET scanner. Thirteen young right-handed male subjects were exposed to a pulse-modulated 902.4 MHz Global System for Mobile Communications signal for 33 minutes, while performing a simple visual vigilance task. Temperature was also measured in the head region (forehead, eyes, cheeks, ear canals) during exposure. (18)F-deoxyglucose PET images acquired after the exposure showed that relative cerebral metabolic rate of glucose was significantly reduced in the temporoparietal junction and anterior temporal lobe of the right hemisphere ipsilateral to the exposure. Temperature rise was also observed on the exposed side of the head, but the magnitude was very small. The exposure did not affect task performance (reaction time, error rate). Our results show that short-term mobile phone exposure can locally suppress brain energy metabolism in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. mskwon@utu.fi
authors.forename: Myoung Soo
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vorobyev
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kännälä
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laine
authors.forename: Juha O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Rinne
authors.forename: Tommi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toivonen
authors.forename: Jarkko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Teräs
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lindholm
authors.forename: Tommi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alanko
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hämäläinen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000528:radiation effects; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects*; D040421:Cell Phone; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008872:Microwaves; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005947:Glucose