While there has been consistent evidence that symptoms reported by individuals who suffer from Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance attributed to Electromagnetic Fields (IEI-EMF) are not caused by EMF and are more closely associated with a nocebo effect, whether this response is specific to IEI-EMF sufferers and what triggers it, remains unclear. The present experiment tested whether perceived EMF exposure could elicit symptoms in healthy participants, and whether viewing an ‘alarmist’ video could exacerbate a nocebo response. Participants were randomly assigned to watch either an alarmist (N = 22) or control video (N = 22) before completing a series of sham and active radiofrequency (RF) EMF exposure provocation trials (2 open-label, followed by 12 randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced trials). Pre- and post-video state anxiety and risk perception, as well as belief of exposure and symptom ratings during the open-label and double-blind provocation trials, were assessed. Symptoms were higher in the open-label RF-ON than RF-OFF trial (p < .001). No difference in either symptoms (p = .183) or belief of exposure (p = .144) was observed in the double-blind trials. Participants who viewed the alarmist video had a significant increase in symptoms (p = .041), state anxiety (p < .01) and risk perception (p < .001) relative to the control group. These results reveal the crucial role of awareness and belief in the presentation of symptoms during perceived exposure to EMF, showing that healthy participants exhibit a nocebo response, and that alarmist media reports emphasizing adverse effects of EMF also contribute to a nocebo response.

尽管有一致的证据表明由电磁场（IEI-EMF）引起的特发性环境不耐受的患者所报告的症状不是由EMF引起的，而是与Nocebo效应密切相关，但是此响应是否特定于IEI-EMF受害者及其原因尚不清楚。本实验测试了感知到的EMF暴露是否可以引起健康参与者的症状，以及观看“警报”视频是否可以加剧Nocebo反应。随机分配参与者观看报警器（N  = 22）或控制视频（N = 22），然后再进行一系列假手术和主动射频（RF）EMF暴露激发试验（2项开放标签试验，然后进行12项随机，双盲，平衡试验）。在开放标签和双盲挑衅试验期间，评估了视频前后的状态焦虑和风险感知，以及对暴露和症状等级的看法。开放标签RF-ON的症状高于RF-OFF试验（p  <.001）。在任一症状无差异（p  = 0.183）或暴露的信念（p 在双盲试验中观察= 0.144）。观看警报器视频的参与者的症状（p =  .041），状态焦虑（p <  .01）和风险感知（p <.001）。这些结果揭示了认知和信念在感知到的暴露于EMF期间的症状表现中的关键作用，表明健康的参与者表现出Nocebo反应，而危言耸听的媒体报道强调EMF的不良反应也有助于Nocebo反应。