Study: Cell phones stimulate brain activity

Researchers found that the brain showed activity when exposed to a muted cell phone for 50 minutes

The debate over cell phone use and brain cancer has waged on for years. At times, the assertion that cell phones cause brain tumors has sounded like the old warnings of yesteryear that a pregnant woman shouldn't stand too close to a microwave. But a new study released Wednesday on the effects of cell phone radiofrequency signals on brain activity is shedding new light on the debate. Specifically, the study's findings reveal that brain activity increases in the area that is closest to the antenna.

The study, which was conducted by researchers from the National Institutes of Health, recruited 47 healthy participants and placed a cell phone on each ear. The researchers then measured brain glucose metabolism (an indicator of brain activity) when the cell phone on the right ear was activated but muted, and again when both phones were turned off.

The study found that after 50 minutes of exposure to the muted cell phone, there was a marked increase in activity in the area of the brain closest to the cell phone antenna, while the brain showed no increase in activity when both phones were turned off. 

Specifically, the brain showed a 7% increase, which the researchers noted was a significant difference between that and the deactivated cell phones. Furthermore, the fact that the activity was in the part of the brain where the antenna was shows that the scans were not measuring regular brain activity or activity stimulated by the pressure or heat of the cell phone on the ear. 

Lead researcher Dr. Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse noted, however, that the findings should not be interpreted as proof of a correlation between cell phones and cancer. Dr. Volkow told reporters that while the study is important because it clearly shows that the brain is sensitive to electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phones, it doesn't show that the radiation that stimulates the brain is, in fact, harmful. Indeed, Dr. Volkow told the New York Times that we might some day find that the kind of stimulation that cell phones effect on the brain could have therapeutic uses. 

CTIA--The Wireless Association released a statement on the study, insisting that other studies have shown no link between cell phone use and negative health effects:

“The peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices, within the limits established by the F.C.C., do not pose a public health risk or cause any adverse health effects,” said John Walls, CTIA's VP of public affairs.

Image source: Nytimes.com