Category: Effects and Impacts Copyright © 2015, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. 694 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8239-9.ch057 Mobile Phones-Like Electromagnetic Fields Effects on Human Psychomotor Performance INTRODUCTION Over the last 20 years the exponential increase in mobile phone (MP) availability has given rise to questions about possible effects on users. Indeed, since a discrete amount of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by mobile phones is transmitted through the skull and reaches the brain, it is possible to hypothesize a physi- ological influence of these low level RF EMFs on human cerebral activity, and a consequent potential influence on cognitive performance. A number of studies have assessed several aspects of human cognitive and behavioural performance, such as: short-term and working memory, atten- tion (divided, selective, and focused), spatial and verbal recognition, vigilance, learning, decision making or perception (for a recent metanalysis see Valentini Ferrera, & Presaghi, 2010). The entry will focus on volunteer studies, that is experimental studies with volunteer human individuals. Most experimental studies with RF exposure were conducted as laboratory studies. Within each labo- ratory study, the entry will report only cognitive and psychomotor effects of MP-like EMFs. Each of these effects were tested by means of different tests and tasks, administered by a computer or in a paper-and-pencil fashion. Usually dependent variables were measures of speed (i.e., the time needed to accomplish the requested activity) or accuracy (i.e., the number of correct responses to the task or, conversely, the number of errors or absence of response to a task). OVERVIEW Whether there is an effect of MP-like EMFs expo- sure on human psychomotor performance is still matter of debate. Most of these studies entails MP-like signals or base station-like signals as well as other types of EM signals. This entry will focus on experimental provo- cation studies with human volunteers. Most ex- perimental studies with RF exposure have been conducted as laboratory studies. These laboratory studies will only be centred on cognitive and psychomotor effects of MP-like EMFs emissions. Here we will cover studies already reviewed and even recently metanalysed, published in the last 15 years and focusing on MP-like emissions. To this respect, we will also provide a qualitative overview of the most recent studies published up to 2013. Pioneer attempt to study human psychomotor performance was undertaken by Koivisto et al. (2000) and Krause et al. (2000) at the University of Turku (Finland). Most current relevant contributions originate from several scholars distributed across different continents. Particular methodological improvements have been proposed by Curcio et al. (2004, 2008) at the Sapienza University of Rome (Italy) and by Regel et al. (2007 a,b) at the University of Zurich (Switzerland), while enlarged sample sizes were recently studied by Keetley et al. (2006) and Hamblin et al. (2006) at Swinburne University (Australia). In addition, important attempts of replications were performed by Russo et al. (2006) Elia Valentini Sapienza University of Rome, Italy Giuseppe Curcio University of L’Aquila, Italy