Prospective study of nocebo effects related to symptoms of idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF)

The exact causes of Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance Attributed to Electromagnetic Fields (IEI-EMF, i.e., experience of somatic symptoms attributed to low-level electromagnetic fields) are still unknown. Psychological causation such as nocebo effects seem plausible. This study aimed to experimentally induce a nocebo effect for somatic symptom perception and examined whether it was reproducible after one week. We also examined whether these effects were associated with increased sympathetic activity and whether interoceptive accuracy (IAcc) moderated these relationships. Participants were recruited from the general population and instructed that electromagnetic exposure can enhance somatosensory perception. They participated twice in a cued exposure experiment with tactile stimulation and sham WiFi exposure in 50% of trials. The two sessions were scheduled one week apart (session 1: N = 65, session 2: N = 63). Before session 1, participants watched either a 6-min film on adverse health effects of EMF or a neutral film on trade of mobile phones. IAcc was assessed with the heartbeat detection paradigm. Electrodermal activity served as a measure of sympathetic activation. Evidence for a nocebo effect (i.e., increased self-reported intensity and aversiveness and electrodermal activity) during sham WiFi exposure was observed in both sessions. IAcc moderated the nocebo effect, depending on stimulus intensity. Contrary to previous findings, no difference emerged between the health-related EMF and the neutral films. Based on negative instructions, somatic perception and physiological responding can be altered. This is consistent with the assumption that IEI-EMF could be due to nocebo effects, suggesting an important role for psychological interventions.