Impact of expectancy on fatigue by exposure to the fifth generation of mobile communication signals

There is a long-standing debate about the relationship between Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) exposure and fatigue. Past studies primarily rely on self-report scales to assess fatigue, but these methods are often susceptible to personal biases. Notably, the role of psychological factors in the fatigue response induce by RF-EMF exposure remains unclear. Therefore, our study focuses on exploring the impact of 5 G signal exposure on human fatigue, particularly considering the influence of expectancy induced by psychological priming on the outcomes. In this study, we recruited 21 healthy subjects who were tested in three sessions. Each session included two 30-min exposures to either real or sham 5 G signals, with the order randomized. The experiment was conducted under varying informational conditions: subjects were provided with correct, false, or no information about the order of exposure. Additionally, subjects completed a fatigue scoring questionnaire and underwent Electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements during the experiment. The statistical comparison indicates that 5 G RF-EMF exposure at routine levels does not lead to changes in EEG power. The finding reveals that the report of fatigue can be altered by the conveyed information of being exposed by 5 G signals although there is no real exposure and no detectable electrophysiological indicator. Our findings suggest that it is necessary to prevent psychological priming in any kind or to take its possible consequence into consideration, to reveal this effect of RF-EMF exposure. This study looked into whether exposure to 5 G signals causes fatigue. Previous research typically gathered data on how tired people felt through questionnaire, but responses could be biased by personal expectations. Our study aimed to get a clearer understanding of the potential effects of 5 G signal exposure on fatigue by not only asking people about their tiredness but also by measuring brain electrical activity. We enrolled 21 healthy volunteers for a study involving three experimental sessions, each involving two 30-min exposures to 5 G signals. The actual sequence of real or sham signals was randomized, with subjects uninformed of the order. To understand how information affects perceived tiredness, we varied the information given: ’Correct Information’ provided accurate details about real or sham exposure; ’False Information’ gave misleading information, opposite to the actual exposure; ’No Information’ meant no exposure details were provided. After the exposure, subjects completed a questionnaire to report their levels of tiredness, while their brain electrical activity was continuously monitored throughout the exposure. Our findings showed that being exposed to normal levels of 5 G signals did not change their brain activity. Interestingly, we found that what we told subjects about the 5 G exposure could make them think they were more or less tired, regardless of whether the signal was real. This suggests that the feeling of tiredness after being exposed to 5 G signals might be more about what people think or expect than about the actual signals themselves. Our findings emphasized the role of psychological factors in experimental design.

学术界长期围绕射频电磁场（Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field, RF-EMF）暴露与疲劳的关联存在争议。过往研究多采用自评量表评估疲劳，但此类方法极易受个体主观偏差影响。值得关注的是，RF-EMF暴露诱发的疲劳反应中，心理因素所发挥的作用仍不明确。因此，本研究聚焦于探究5G信号暴露对人类疲劳的影响，尤其关注心理启动诱发的预期效应对实验结果的调控作用。本研究招募21名健康受试者，共开展三次实验阶段。每个实验阶段包含两次时长30分钟的暴露处理，分别为真实5G信号暴露与假5G信号暴露，暴露顺序采用随机化设置。本实验设置三种不同的信息披露条件：向受试者提供真实暴露顺序的准确信息、与真实顺序相悖的虚假信息，以及不提供任何暴露相关信息。此外，实验过程中受试者需完成疲劳评分问卷，并接受脑电图（Electroencephalogram, EEG）检测。统计分析结果表明，常规暴露剂量的5G RF-EMF暴露未引发脑电图功率的显著改变。本研究发现，即便未实施真实暴露且未检测到电生理指标变化，受试者报告的疲劳程度仍可因被告知接受了5G信号暴露而发生改变。我们的研究结果提示，在各类相关研究中，有必要规避心理启动效应的干扰，或在研究分析中充分考量其潜在影响，以准确揭示RF-EMF暴露的真实效应。本研究旨在探究5G信号暴露是否会诱发疲劳。既往研究多通过问卷收集受试者的疲劳感知数据，但此类反馈极易受个体主观预期的影响而出现偏差。本研究不仅通过问卷收集受试者的疲劳自评结果，同时同步监测其脑电活动，以期更清晰地阐明5G信号暴露对疲劳的潜在影响。本研究招募21名健康志愿者参与实验，共设置三个实验阶段，每个阶段包含两次时长30分钟的5G信号暴露处理。真实5G信号暴露与假5G信号暴露的实际顺序采用随机化设置，受试者并不知悉具体的暴露顺序。为探究信息披露对疲劳感知的影响，本研究设置了差异化的信息披露方案：“准确信息组”向受试者提供真实的暴露顺序细节；“虚假信息组”提供与真实顺序相悖的误导性信息；“无信息组”则不提供任何暴露相关信息。暴露处理结束后，受试者需完成问卷以报告自身疲劳程度，且实验全程持续监测其脑电活动。研究结果表明，常规暴露剂量的5G信号暴露并未改变受试者的脑电活动。有趣的是，本研究发现，无论真实暴露情况如何，向受试者告知的5G暴露相关信息均可影响其疲劳感知程度。这提示，受试者在5G信号暴露后报告的疲劳感，可能更多源于个体的认知与预期，而非实际的信号暴露本身。本研究结果凸显了心理因素在实验设计中的重要作用。