Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr 26;25(9):2749.
doi: 10.3390/s25092749.

Effects of Mobile Electromagnetic Exposure on Brain Oscillations and Cortical Excitability: Scoping Review

Azadeh Torkan  1 , Maryam Zoghi  2 , Negin Foroughimehr  3 , Ali Yavari  4 , Shapour Jaberzadeh  1
Affiliations

Effects of Mobile Electromagnetic Exposure on Brain Oscillations and Cortical Excitability: Scoping Review

Azadeh Torkan et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

With the widespread adoption of smartphones, concerns about increased exposure to non-ionizing radiofrequency have emerged. This scoping review examines the effects of mobile phone exposure on neural oscillations and cortical excitability, focusing on both motor and non-motor regions of the cerebral cortex. A scoping review identified seventy-eight studies that involved healthy individuals and employed electroencephalography and only two studies that investigated transcranial magnetic stimulation as primary technical tools. The findings suggest that mobile phone exposure may affect brain oscillations and cortical excitability. However, inconsistencies in experimental methods across studies make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Additionally, research on fifth-generation technology, particularly mmWave exposure from next-generation mobile networks, remains limited and needs further exploration. These gaps highlight the need for more in-depth studies on how mobile phone exposure impacts brain function.

Keywords: 5G; EME; brain oscillations; corticospinal excitability; electroencephalography; electromagnetic exposure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram showing the selection process of articles following PRISMA guidelines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Shafique K., Khawaja B.A., Sabir F., Qazi S., Mustaqim M. Internet of things (IoT) for next-generation smart systems: A review of current challenges, future trends and prospects for emerging 5G-IoT scenarios. IEEE Access. 2020;8:23022–23040. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2970118. - DOI
    1. Korala H., Georgakopoulos D., Yavari A., Jayaraman P.P. A time-sensitive IoT data analysis framework; Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences; Kauai, HI, USA. 5 January 2021; New York, NY, USA: IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; 2021. pp. 7185–7194.
    1. Yavari A. Internet of Things Data Contextualisation for Scalable Information Processing, Security, and Privacy. RMIT; Melbourne, VIC, Australia: 2019. College of Science, Engineering and Health.
    1. Foroughimehr N., Wood A., McKenzie R., Karipidis K., Yavari A. Design and Implementation of a Specialised Millimetre-Wave Exposure System for Investigating the Radiation Effects of 5G and Future Technologies. Sensors. 2024;24:1516. doi: 10.3390/s24051516. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Joshi A., Kumar A. What can we Learn from the Electromagnetic Spectrum? Resonance. 2003;8:8–25. doi: 10.1007/BF02835801. - DOI

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources