Cellphones cause temporary brain changes [telecom]

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HEALTH NEWS, PREVENTIVE CARE

Cellphones cause temporary brain changes

Posted by Deborah Kotz February 22, 2011

Using a cellphone while driving can be a distracting hazard, but it turns out that simply pressing a cellphone to your ear can cause temporary changes in the brain, according to new research published today by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study suggests that cellphones have a subtle effect on brain cells, but does not shed further light on whether cellphones increase the risk of brain cancer, a subject of fierce debate among researchers. Nor does it link cellphone use to any other brain abnormality.

What it does show, however, is that cellphones lead to a temporary increase in brain cells' metabolism of sugar, or glucose, in whatever part of the brain that's closest to the cellphone antenna. The research is the first of its kind to look at that particular area of brain function with regard to cellphone use.

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Effects of Cell Phone Radiofrequency Signal Exposure on Brain Glucose Metabolism Nora D. Volkow, Dardo Tomasi, Gene-Jack Wang, Paul Vaska, Joanna S. Fowler, Frank Telang, Dave Alexoff, Jean Logan, Christopher Wong JAMA. 2011;305(8):808-813. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.186

Cell Phone Radiofrequency Radiation Exposure and Brain Glucose Metabolism Henry Lai, Lennart Hardell JAMA. 2011;305(8):828-829. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.201