Cell phone use and brain activity

By contributing author Paul Li, a neuroscience graduate student at Columbia.
Ever since the advent of cellular phones, horror stories have been circulating on issues about its safety, particularly the effects it has on the human brain. Some have become increasingly worried and resort to using an ear piece whenever they are on the phone. While others, like myself included, make sure that their cell phones are no where close to their heads when sleeping. I’ve met people who become agitated when a cell phone antenna is pointing in their direction. Amongst the public’s concern, I was soon caught up in buying a “Safe Guard,” a round sticker that fits nicely on top of the receiving end of the phone, to reduce Electromagnetic Waves, or so the company claimed.

Although no studies have shown a correlation between cell phone use and brain damage, the International Journal of Neuroscience published a study that found a slower EEG brain wave pattern during cell phone use. This difference in brain activity was subtle – within the normal range – but may reflect a
different state of awareness. In fact, they also discovered that frequent cell phone users performed better in selective attention tasks. It’s possible that talking on the phone in the midst of the bustling world’s distractions requires a level of concentration that effectively works as cognitive training of attention.