Study type: Medical/biological study (experimental study)

Mobile phone use facilitates memory in male, but not female, subjects med./bio.

By: Smythe JW, Costall B
Published in: NeuroReport 2003; 14 (2): 243-246
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Aim of study (acc. to author)

To examine how acute exposure to mobile phones affects short and long-term memory in a simple word recall task, and also how such exposure affects a subject's ability to locate words in a spatial configuration.

Endpoint

Exposure

Exposure Parameters
Exposure 1: 1,800 MHz
Modulation type: pulsed
Exposure duration: continuous for 15 min
  • SAR: 0.79 W/kg

Exposure 1

Main characteristics
Frequency 1,800 MHz
Type
Exposure duration continuous for 15 min
Modulation
Modulation type pulsed
Exposure setup
Exposure source
Setup Subjects held the phone to their left ears. The displays on the phones were covered.
Sham exposure A sham exposure was conducted.
Additional info Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three test conditions: no phone, inactive phone and active phone. They were not informed about the condition of the phone.
Parameters
Measurand Value Type Method Mass Remarks
SAR 0.79 W/kg - - - -

Exposed system:

Methods Endpoint/measurement parameters/methodology

Investigated system:
Time of investigation:
  • during exposure
  • after exposure

Main outcome of study (acc. to author)

Males exposed to an active phone made fewer semantic and spatial errors than those exposed to an inactive phone, while females were largely unaffected. The results indicate that mobile phone exposure has functional consequences for human subjects, and these effects appear to be sex-dependent.

Study character:

Study funded by

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