Study suggests mobile phone radiation could affect teen memory performance

According to a new study, the radiation emitted by smartphones could affect the performance of memory in adolescents.

Scientists at the Swiss Institute of Tropical Health and Public Health (Swiss TPH) found increased exposure to mobile phones over the course of a year. negatively affects figurative memory – which refers to the human capacity to understand images, shapes, patterns and objects – of adolescents.

According to researchers, young people who hold their phone near their right ear are more likely the memory is located in the right brain hemisphere

The Swiss TPH team has studied nearly 700 adolescents aged 12 to 17, seeking to know whether there was a link between regular exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) – which are produced by mobile phone technologies and other devices without wire – and memory performance.

[19659002] They found that RF-EMF absorbed by the brain to be associated with a negative effect on memory performance. 19659002] Sending text messages, playing mobile games and surfing the Internet proved to be "Only result in marginal exposure to RF-EMF and were not associated with the development of memory performance," according to researchers

a 2015 report and more recent information on the uptake of RF-EMF in the brains of adolescents during different types of use of wireless communication devices.

Martin Roosli, Head of Environmental Exposures and Health at Swiss TPH to exclude d & # 39; a Other factors.

He said : "For example, the results of the study may have been affected by puberty, affecting both the use of the mobile phone and the cognitive and behavioral state of the participant. "

Although the potential effects of RF exposure at the CEM are relatively new, Roosli advises to use a headset or turn on the speakerphone of the phone to reduce exposure to RF-EMF

He stated: "It is not yet known how RF-EMF could affect brain processes or the relevance of our findings. long-term

"Potential risks to the brain can be minimized by using a headset or speaker during the call, especially when the network quality is low and the mobile phone is operating at maximum power. "

in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

– Press Association