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Brain & Nervous System151 citations

Mobile telephone use is associated with changes in cognitive function in young adolescents.

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Abramson MJ, Benke GP, Dimitriadis C, Inyang IO, Sim MR, Wolfe RS, Croft RJ. · 2009

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Heavy mobile phone use in adolescents correlates with faster but less accurate cognitive responses, suggesting behavioral rather than biological effects.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Australian researchers tested cognitive function in 317 seventh-grade students and found that those who made more mobile phone calls performed differently on thinking tasks. Students with higher phone use showed faster but less accurate responses on complex cognitive tests, along with poorer working memory. However, since texting showed similar patterns, the researchers concluded these changes likely resulted from behavioral adaptations to frequent phone use rather than radiofrequency radiation exposure.

Why This Matters

This study offers valuable insights into how mobile phone use affects developing minds, though perhaps not in the way you might expect. The researchers found cognitive changes in heavy phone users, but their analysis suggests these stem from behavioral conditioning rather than RF exposure itself. What this means for you: the 'faster but less accurate' response pattern mirrors the rapid-fire, multitasking nature of mobile phone interactions. The reality is that our devices may be training our brains to prioritize speed over accuracy, particularly concerning given that these were 13-year-olds whose cognitive development is still in progress. While this study doesn't demonstrate direct RF health effects, it highlights how our relationship with mobile technology shapes fundamental thinking patterns during critical developmental years.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

The aim of this study is to observe Mobile telephone use is associated with changes in cognitive function in young adolescents.

We recruited 317, 7th grade students (144 boys, 173 girls, median age 13 years) from 20 schools arou...

The accuracy of working memory was poorer, reaction time for a simple learning task shorter, associa...

The findings were similar for total short message service (SMS, also known as text) messages per week, suggesting these cognitive changes were unlikely due to radiofrequency (RF) exposure. Overall, mobile phone use was associated with faster and less accurate responding to higher level cognitive tasks. These behaviours may have been learned through frequent use of a mobile phone.

Cite This Study
Abramson MJ, Benke GP, Dimitriadis C, Inyang IO, Sim MR, Wolfe RS, Croft RJ. (2009). Mobile telephone use is associated with changes in cognitive function in young adolescents. Bioelectromagnetics. 30(8):678-686, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{mj_2009_mobile_telephone_use_is_1801,
  author = {Abramson MJ and Benke GP and Dimitriadis C and Inyang IO and Sim MR and Wolfe RS and Croft RJ.},
  title = {Mobile telephone use is associated with changes in cognitive function in young adolescents.},
  year = {2009},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19644978/},
}
PubMed: 19644978

Cited By (151 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, Australian researchers found that seventh-grade students who made more mobile phone calls showed poorer working memory accuracy. However, since texting produced similar effects, the study concluded these changes likely resulted from behavioral adaptations to frequent phone use rather than radiation exposure itself.
Yes, a 2009 study of 317 seventh-graders found that students with higher mobile phone voice call usage showed faster but less accurate responses on complex cognitive tests. The researchers attributed this pattern to learned behaviors from frequent phone use rather than radiofrequency effects.
Yes, researchers found that both voice calls and text messaging produced similar cognitive changes in adolescents, including faster but less accurate responses. This similarity led scientists to conclude the effects came from behavioral adaptations to mobile technology rather than radiation exposure.
Students who made more mobile phone calls showed shorter reaction times on simple learning tasks and associative learning tests, but with poorer accuracy. The 2009 Australian study suggested these changes reflected behavioral adaptations from frequent mobile device interaction.
Yes, seventh-grade students who made more mobile phone calls took longer to complete Stroop word naming tasks, which test cognitive flexibility. However, researchers concluded this reflected learned response patterns from frequent phone use rather than biological effects of radiation.