Mobile phone use for 5 minutes can cause significant memory impairment in humans.

AI: Melanie Research RF Safe Research Library Jan 1, 2017 CONCERN MEDIUM

This study assessed working memory before and after 5 minutes of mobile phone use using a brief computerized 10-word recall task. The experimental group showed worse performance immediately after phone use, with partial improvement 5 minutes later, while the control group improved across repeated tests without phone use. The reported impairment was greater in older adults and in participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment, and the authors argue for restrictions on mobile phone use.

Key points

Participants completed a difficult 10-word recall task at three time points, with the experimental group using a mobile phone for 5 minutes between the first and second tests.
Healthy participants in the experimental group performed worst immediately after mobile phone use compared with their baseline performance.
Performance 5 minutes after the post-use test improved relative to immediately after use but remained below baseline in the experimental group.
The control group (no phone use) improved across the three measurements, consistent with a practice effect.
The reported post-use performance reduction was larger in participants aged 60–80 years than in younger age groups.
Participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment showed greater reported impairment than healthy participants.
Age was negatively correlated with task performance, while gender was not significantly correlated.
The authors suggest the task paradigm may be a sensitive tool for detecting mobile phone-related cognitive effects.

Referenced studies & papers

Relevant papers in OpenMel

Source: Open original

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