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902 MHz mobile phone does not affect short term memory in humans.

No Effects Found

Haarala C, Ek M, Bjornberg L, Laine M, Revonsuo A, Koivisto M, Hamalainen H. · 2004

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This study found no memory effects from 902 MHz phone radiation, but researchers noted effects might be too small to detect reliably.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Finnish researchers tested whether 902 MHz mobile phone radiation affects short-term memory by having 64 people perform memory tasks while exposed to either real phone radiation or fake exposure. They found no differences in reaction time or accuracy between the two conditions, failing to replicate their earlier study that suggested memory effects. This suggests that mobile phone radiation at this frequency may not significantly impair the type of working memory needed for everyday tasks.

Study Details

We studied the effects of an electromagnetic field (EMF) as emitted by a 902 MHz mobile phone on human short term memory. This study was a replication with methodological improvements to our previous study. The improvements included multi-centre testing and a double blind design.

A total of 64 subjects (32 men) in two independent laboratories performed a short term memory task (...

There were no statistically significant differences in performance between the two laboratories. We ...

Cite This Study
Haarala C, Ek M, Bjornberg L, Laine M, Revonsuo A, Koivisto M, Hamalainen H. (2004). 902 MHz mobile phone does not affect short term memory in humans. Bioelectromagnetics. 25(6):452-456, 2004.
Show BibTeX
@article{c_2004_902_mhz_mobile_phone_3058,
  author = {Haarala C and Ek M and Bjornberg L and Laine M and Revonsuo A and Koivisto M and Hamalainen H.},
  title = {902 MHz mobile phone does not affect short term memory in humans.},
  year = {2004},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15300731/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Finnish researchers tested whether 902 MHz mobile phone radiation affects short-term memory by having 64 people perform memory tasks while exposed to either real phone radiation or fake exposure. They found no differences in reaction time or accuracy between the two conditions, failing to replicate their earlier study that suggested memory effects. This suggests that mobile phone radiation at this frequency may not significantly impair the type of working memory needed for everyday tasks.