Mobile (cell) phones do interfere with the brain, new research from Finland has discovered. The researchers noted that the changes – which could affect concentration and memory – happened after just 33 minutes of use.
Researchers from Turku have discovered that the electromagnetic field from the phones suppressed glucose metabolism in the brain. This suggests that brain cells are being deprived of sugar that it needs in order to carry out standard cognitive functions, such as an ability to concentrate, learn and recall events.
The research team, funded by the Finnish Technology Agency, stress that their findings do not yet demonstrate that mobile phones cause any long-lasting effects, such as glioma, or brain tumours.
However, their discoveries that the changes occur after just 33 minutes demolish earlier research that had suggested brain functioning would be affected only after years of regular mobile phone use.
(Source: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 2011; doi: 10.1038/jcbfm.2011.128).
