Between the iPhone 4 coming to Verizon, a new Android phone coming out seemingly every week, and the 4G revolution, cell phones seem to be on everyones mind. But how do cell phones, which emit electromagnetic radiation, affect you mind?
For years now, scientists have been conducting study after study attempting to prove whether or not extended cell phone use has an effect on the human brain. Many people believe that the radiation emitted from cell phones is too weak to have an effect on the brain.
However, in a year long study recently published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, acute cell phone exposure does, in fact, affect your brain.
The lead researcher of the study, Nora Volkow, who is the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and one of the world’s leading brain scientists, took brain scans of 47 healthy participants after they held a cell phone to their ears for 50 minutes.
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“50-minute cell phone exposure was associated with increased brain glucose metabolism in the region closest to the antenna,” the study’s conclusion read.
To neutralize the any effect a conversation would have on the brain, the researchers placed the phone on mute.
There were two groups in the study– one whose cellphones were on, one whose cellphones weren’t. Scientists observed that the group with the active cellphones showed a 7% increase in brain glucose metabolism, which is how neuroscientists track brain regions responsible for everyday activities, like talking, moving, and listening to music.
Scientists are unsure of the repercussions of these findings as of now, but are on their way to understanding the overall effect cellphones have on our brains.
To read the entire case study from JAMA, click here.
