Technology and Neurology - March 2026

MAPS Parent Conference - 2026

Medical Academy of Pediatrics & Special Needs
Charlotte, North Carolina
March 15th, 2026

Date: Sunday March 15, 2026
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

This presentation delves into the most current and credible scientific research on the biological effects of technology, with a focus on neurology and neurodevelopment. We will explore mechanisms of cellular dysfunction, including intracellular calcium influx, excitotoxicity, and oxidative stress, which can contribute to a wide spectrum of clinical symptoms. The talk will also provide high level guidelines for reduction of exposures to screens, light and electromagnetic fields (EMF).

References

D.C. Circuit decision - Environmental Health Trust v. FCC

American Academy of Pediatrics - Screen Time Guidelines (2025)

Building Biology Guidelines (2024)

Chen YY, Yim H, Lee TH. Negative impact of daily screen use on inhibitory control network in preadolescence: A two-year follow-up study. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 2023 Apr 1;60:101218.

Ra CK, Cho J, Stone MD, De La Cerda J, Goldenson NI, Moroney E, Tung I, Lee SS, Leventhal AM. Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among adolescents. Jama. 2018 Jul 17;320(3):255-63.

Hutton JS, Dudley J, Horowitz-Kraus T, DeWitt T, Holland SK. Associations between screen-based media use and brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children. JAMA pediatrics. 2020 Jan 1;174(1):e193869-.

Thiagarajan TC, Newson JJ, Swaminathan S. Protecting the Developing Mind in a Digital Age: A Global Policy Imperative. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. 2025 Jun 24:1-2.

Reset Your Child’s Brain - Victoria Dunckley, M.D.

Panagopoulos DJ, Yakymenko I, De Iuliis GN, Chrousos GP. A comprehensive mechanism of biological and health effects of anthropogenic extremely low frequency and wireless communication electromagnetic fields. Frontiers in Public Health. 2025 Jun 4;13:1585441.

Pall ML. Microwave frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produce widespread neuropsychiatric effects including depression. Journal of chemical neuroanatomy. 2016 Sep 1;75:43-51.

Pall ML. Central Causation of Autism/ASDs via Excessive [Ca2+] i Impacting Six Mechanisms Controlling Synaptogenesis during the Perinatal Period: The Role of Electromagnetic Fields and Chemicals and the NO/ONOO (-) Cycle, as Well as Specific Mutations. Brain Sciences. 2024 Apr 30;14(5):454.

Setia MS, Natesan R, Samant P, Mhapankar S, Kumar S, Singh IV, Nair A, Seth B. Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field Emissions and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Infants: A Prospective Cohort Study. Cureus. 2025 Jul 10;17(7).

Free Calming Protocol - Toril Jelter, M.D.

Simplifying EMF Reduction

EMF (electromagnetic field) exposure can interfere with calcium channel signaling, which is the most common genetic risk factor for autism. This talk will present a simplified process for systematically reducing EMF and wireless radiation to calm the sensory environment and reduce the known health effects, many of which match the primary symptoms of autism. The first emphasis will be on improving the sleep environment. Some of the reduction methods are free, easy to implement, and can yield significant results very quickly. A protocol for tracking exposures and symptoms will be presented, along with some recommended consumer meters for measuring magnetic fields, electric fields, dirty electricity, and wireless radiation. Professional resources to help with more complex environmental issues will also be shared.

Conference: Autism One 2019 - Chicago, IL
Date: Friday, May 24th, 2019
Time: 9:30-10:30 am
Room: Cassatt

Slides: Simplifying EMF Reduction

Autism And Why It Impacts Everyone

This is a short overview of autism science and biology designed for people in the general public who have no experience with autism.  The talk reviews many initial false assumptions about autism and where the science is now pointing. We will review genetic risk factors, with emphasis on the primary genetic risk factor: calcium channel signaling.  Environmental and biological factors that impact that pathway will be discussed, which is critical to autism, but also impacts everyone.

Slides: Autism and Why It Impacts Everyone

References

CDC increases estimate of autism’s prevalence by 15 percent, to 1 in 59 children

CDC Says Developmental Disabilities Are On The Rise

The Root Cause in the dramatic rise of Chronic Disease

The infertility crisis is beyond doubt. Now scientists must find the cause

The Rising Cost of Health Care by Year and Its Causes

Hallmayer, Joachim, et al. "Genetic heritability and shared environmental factors among twin pairs with autism." Archives of general psychiatry 68.11 (2011): 1095-1102.

Regressive Autism

The Kids Who Beat Autism

Ng, Michelle, et al. "Environmental factors associated with autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review for the years 2003-2013." Chronic Diseases and Injuries in Canada 37.1 (2017).

Rossignol, D. A., S. J. Genuis, and R. E. Frye. "Environmental toxicants and autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review." Translational psychiatry 4.2 (2014): e360.

The Environmental and Genetic Causes of Autism (2016) by James Lyons-Weiler

Faber, Scott, et al. "A clean room sleeping environment’s impact on markers of oxidative stress, immune dysregulation, and behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders." BMC complementary and alternative medicine 15.1 (2015): 71.

Neurotribes: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Autism

NIH: Autism Spectrum Disorder: Genetics

[9] Wen, Ya, Mohamad J. Alshikho, and Martha R. Herbert. “Pathway Network Analyses for Autism Reveal Multisystem Involvement, Major Overlaps with Other Diseases and Convergence upon MAPK and Calcium Signaling.” Plus one 11.4 (2016): e0153329.

De Novo Mutations - account for 50% of autism cases

Martin Pall “EMFs and Chemicals as the Two Main Drivers of the Autism Epidemic: Mechanisms of Action”

Wu, Jianping, et al. "Structure of the voltage-gated calcium channel Cav1. 1 complex." Science 350.6267 (2015): aad2395.

Büsselberg, Dietrich. "Calcium channels as target sites of heavy metals."Toxicology letters 82 (1995): 255-261.

Lozac, N. B. S. "Central role of voltage gated calcium channels and intercellular calcium homeostasis in autism." (2010)

Feske, Stefan. "Ca2+ influx in T cells: How many Ca2+ channels?." Frontiers in immunology 4 (2013): 99.

Naviaux, Robert K. "Metabolic features of the cell danger response." Mitochondrion 16 (2014): 7-17.

The Environmental and Genetic Causes of Autism (2016) by James Lyons-Weiler

Ng, Michelle, et al. "Environmental factors associated with autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review for the years 2003-2013." Chronic Diseases and Injuries in Canada 37.1 (2017).

Rossignol, D. A., S. J. Genuis, and R. E. Frye. "Environmental toxicants and autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review." Translational psychiatry 4.2 (2014): e360.

Landrigan, Philip J., Luca Lambertini, and Linda S. Birnbaum. "A research strategy to discover the environmental causes of autism and neurodevelopmental disabilities." (2001).

Raz, Raanan, et al. "Autism spectrum disorder and particulate matter air pollution before, during, and after pregnancy: a nested case–control analysis within the Nurses’ Health Study II cohort." (2014).

Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian, et al. "Air pollution and detrimental effects on children’s brain. The need for a multidisciplinary approach to the issue complexity and challenges." Frontiers in human neuroscience 8 (2014).

Cavalli, Vera Lúcia de Liz Oliveira, et al. "Roundup disrupts male reproductive functions by triggering calcium-mediated cell death in rat testis and Sertoli cells." Free Radical Biology and Medicine 65 (2013): 335-346.

Fluegge, Keith. "Autism in 2016: additional discovery." Jornal de Pediatria (2016).

Faber, Scott, et al. "A cleanroom sleeping environment’s impact on markers of oxidative stress, immune dysregulation, and behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders." BMC complementary and alternative medicine 15.1 (2015): 1.

Adams, James B., et al. "Mercury, lead, and zinc in baby teeth of children with autism versus controls." Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A 70.12 (2007): 1046-1051.

Geier, David A., Janet K. Kern, and Mark R. Geier. "A prospective study of prenatal mercury exposure from maternal dental amalgams and autism severity." Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars) 69.2 (2009): 189-97.

Mohamed, Farida El Baz, et al. "Assessment of hair aluminum, lead, and mercury in a sample of autistic Egyptian children: environmental risk factors of heavy metals in autism." Behavioural neurology 2015 (2015).

Carrascosa-Romero, Maria Carmen, and Carlos De Cabo-De La Vega. "The Genetic and Epigenetic Basis Involved in the Pathophysiology of ASD: Therapeutic Implications." Autism-Paradigms, Recent Research and Clinical Applications. InTech, 2017.

Karimi, Padideh, et al. "Environmental factors influencing the risk of autism." Journal of Research in Medical Sciences: The Official Journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences 22 (2017).

Modabbernia, Amirhossein, Eva Velthorst, and Abraham Reichenberg. "Environmental risk factors for autism: an evidence-based review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses." Molecular Autism 8.1 (2017): 13.

Ng, Michelle, et al. "Environmental factors associated with autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review for the years 2003-2013." Chronic Diseases and Injuries in Canada 37.1 (2017).

Mark Zylka, “Exploiting genetics to identify environmental risks for autism”

Rossignol, D. A., S. J. Genuis, and R. E. Frye. "Environmental toxicants and autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review." Translational psychiatry 4.2 (2014): e360.

Samsel A, Seneff S. Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases III: Manganese, neurological diseases, and associated pathologies. Surg Neurol Int 24-Mar-2015;6:45

Herbert, Martha R., and Cindy Sage. "Autism and EMF? Plausibility of a pathophysiological link–Part I." Pathophysiology 20.3 (2013): 191-209.

Herbert, Martha R., and Cindy Sage. "Autism and EMF? Plausibility of a pathophysiological link Part II." Pathophysiology 20.3 (2013): 211-234.

Pall, M.L., Microwave frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produce widespread neuropsychiatric effects including depression, Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy (2015).

Pall, M.L., The Autism Epidemic Is Caused by EMFs, Acting via Calcium Channels and Chemicals Acting via NMDA-Rs: Downstream Effects Cause Autism (Conference Presentation). 2015.

Pall, Martin L. "Electromagnetic fields act via activation of voltage‐gated calcium channels to produce beneficial or adverse effects." Journal of cellular and molecular medicine 17.8 (2013): 958-965.

Waldman, Michael, Sean Nicholson, and Nodir Adilov. Does Television Cause Autism?. No. w12632. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2006.

Victoria L. Dunckley MD  “Reset Your Child's Brain: A Four-Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades, and Boost Social Skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen” (2015)

Jia, Feiyong, et al. "Core symptoms of autism improved after vitamin D supplementation." Pediatrics 135.1 (2015): e196-e198.

Corbett, Blythe A., et al. "Cortisol circadian rhythms and response to stress in children with autism." Psychoneuroendocrinology 31.1 (2006): 59-68.

Bauer, Ann Z., and David Kriebel. "Prenatal and perinatal analgesic exposure and autism: an ecological link." Environ Health 12.1 (2013): 41.

Jane Webb, Sara, et al. "Severity of ASD symptoms and their correlation with the presence of copy number variations and exposure to first trimester ultrasound." Autism Research (2016).

Wireless: A Key Piece of the Autism Puzzle (2018)

Click on the slide image to view the slides.

Click on the slide image to view the slides.

Description

This presentation includes key concepts for understanding autism as a state of overload from multiple factors (total load theory) and how wireless radiation and EMF fit into that context.  Additionally, I explain what you can do to immediately reduce your child’s exposure to wireless radiation and EMF (electromagnetic fields) and how to be more resilient to its effects. Finally, I discuss the role of fight or flight mode in the context of EMF and detox, as well as other emerging solutions to reduce wireless and EMF exposure.

Wireless: A Key Piece of the Autism Puzzle - Slides (pdf format)

Simplifying Autism Improvement and Recovery

Summary

Autism appears to be a highly complex condition. Researchers looking for a single genetic mutation have now found more than 1000 genes that increase the risk of autism. Researchers also looked for a single rising environmental factor, but they found a large number of diverse factors that all increase the risk of autism. The symptoms of autism vary dramatically and there are so many biological symptoms that it's hard to know which areas to focus on.

Despite all this complexity, people are improving and even recovering from autism. And there are new ways of looking at autism that may dramatically simplify our understanding of the condition. When researchers look at the genetic risk factors for autism, the largest cluster of genes are associated with calcium channel signaling. There are some key environmental factors which impact calcium channel signaling. This is relevant because all of the major symptoms of autism are also all impacted by calcium channel signaling.

Calcium channel signaling is used to excite cells. For a neuron, the more excited it is, the higher the probability that it will fire. In autism there is too much excitement (an imbalance of excitement and inhibition--the ability to calm down). Overexcitement, over the long-term, can actually damage cells and interfere with learning and brain development. Viewing autism as a long-term overload of excitement and excitatory environmental factors simplifies this complex condition and allows us to take action to reduce environmental exposures, calm the body, and restore functioning. This clearer understanding of autism may help simplify how we treat the condition and make it easier to improve and even recover.


Simplifying Autism Improvement and Recovery - Slides (pdf format)

Simplifying Autism Improvement and Recovery - Audio (mp3 format)

Simplifying Autism Improvement and Recovery Booklet - (Pending further edits and copywriting)

IMG_9360.jpg


Talk and Booklet References
 

[1] What Is Autism?

[2] Ng, Michelle, et al. "Environmental factors associated with autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review for the years 2003-2013." Chronic Diseases and Injuries in Canada 37.1 (2017).

[3] Rossignol, D. A., S. J. Genuis, and R. E. Frye. "Environmental toxicants and autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review." Translational psychiatry 4.2 (2014): e360.

[4] The Environmental and Genetic Causes of Autism (2016) by James Lyons-Weiler

[5] Hallmayer, Joachim, et al. "Genetic heritability and shared environmental factors among twin pairs with autism." Archives of general psychiatry 68.11 (2011): 1095-1102.

[6] Regressive Autism

[7] Herbert, Martha, and Karen Weintraub. The Autism Revolution: whole-body strategies for making life all it can be. Ballantine Books, 2013.

[8] NIH: Autism Spectrum Disorder: Genetics

[9] Wen, Ya, Mohamad J. Alshikho, and Martha R. Herbert. “Pathway Network Analyses for Autism Reveal Multisystem Involvement, Major Overlaps with Other Diseases and Convergence upon MAPK and Calcium Signaling.” Plus one 11.4 (2016): e0153329.

[10 ] Martin Pall “EMFs and Chemicals as the Two Main Drivers of the Autism Epidemic: Mechanisms of Action”

[11] Wu, Jianping, et al. "Structure of the voltage-gated calcium channel Cav1. 1 complex." Science 350.6267 (2015): aad2395.

[12] Büsselberg, Dietrich. "Calcium channels as target sites of heavy metals."Toxicology letters 82 (1995): 255-261.

[13] De Novo Mutations - account for 50% of autism cases

[14] Does autism arise because the brain is continually surprised?

[15] Lozac, N. B. S. "Central role of voltage gated calcium channels and intercellular calcium homeostasis in autism." (2010)

[16] ARI: Treatment ratings for autism

[17] Feske, Stefan. "Ca2+ influx in T cells: How many Ca2+ channels?." Frontiers in immunology 4 (2013): 99.

[18] Herbert, Martha R., and Cindy Sage. "Autism and EMF? Plausibility of a pathophysiological link–Part I."Pathophysiology 20.3 (2013): 191-209.

[19] Herbert, Martha R., and Cindy Sage. "Autism and EMF? Plausibility of a pathophysiological link Part II."Pathophysiology 20.3 (2013): 211-234.

[20] Faber, Scott, et al. "A clean room sleeping environment’s impact on markers of oxidative stress, immune dysregulation, and behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders." BMC complementary and alternative medicine 15.1 (2015): 71.

[21] Naviaux, Robert K. "Metabolic features of the cell danger response." Mitochondrion 16 (2014): 7-17.

[22] “Wired for Healing” by Annie Hopper

[23] How To Do The 4-Part Breath/Square Breathing

[24] Tru-Align Body System

[25] Brain State

[26] Treating Autism – MAPS Doctors & DAN! Doctors

[27] Thomas, David. "A study on the mineral depletion of the foods available to us as a nation over the period 1940 to 1991." Nutrition and Health 17.2 (2003): 85-115.

[28] Mayer, Anne-Marie. "Historical changes in the mineral content of fruits and vegetables." British Food Journal 99.6 (1997): 207-211.

 

To: California Representatives Voting on SB 649

California SB 649 is a litmus test for industry influence. Are you going to serve California, its cities, and your constitutions, or are you going to be manipulated by AT&T and other telecom companies?

If you are inclined to vote yes, I want to make sure you are fully aware of several key factors:

The California Department of Health wrote cell phone safety guidelines for the public in 2010, but those guidelines were suppressed for 7 years until a lawsuit forced their release this year. Have you asked the California Department of Health or Cal EPA about the public health and environmental impacts of SB 649?

The largest class action lawsuit in the history of the United States is scheduled to start trial this fall in Washington D.C. The lawsuit is a collection of claims about cell phones and brain cancer. A recent similar trial in Italy found sufficient scientific evidence of harm and ruled against the wireless industry.

The final results of the National Institutes of Health’s 25 million dollar study on 2G cellular technology will be released in early 2018. The partial results, pre-released in May 2016, already demonstrated that 2G technology damages DNA and fails safety testing. Does 5G technology cause more or less DNA damage? Is it legal to roll out the network without safety testing and without disclosure and consent?

The weight of the scientific evidence shows wireless exposure causes sperm damage, including DNA damage. Scientists have found that 50% of autism cases have non-inherited mutations, mostly from the father’s side (sperm damage).  

In 2011, the World Health Organization listed radio frequency radiation (wireless) as a group 2B carcinogen (possible carcinogen). Researchers believe we now have sufficient evidence to move that categorization to group 1 (known carcinogen), the same level as smoking.  How would your yes vote be viewed when this happens? What are the ramifications for California’s Proposition 65?

The documentary film Generation Zapped will be released this fall. Just watching the 2-minute trailer is enough to create grave doubts about the safety of wireless in the majority of people who view it.

Have proponents of SB 649 made any disclosure of the health and safety implications of the bill? If not, how can you trust them?

Thank you for serving the people of California.

Peter Sullivan
Los Altos, California