Smartphone radiation may adversely affect memory in adolescents: Study

Long-term exposure to radiation from mobile phones may adversely affect memory performance of certain brain regions in adolescents, a study has found.

The study, appearing in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, involved nearly 700 adolescents in Switzerland.

Scientists at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) looked at the relationship between exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from wireless communication devices and memory performance in adolescents.

The study found that cumulative RF-EMF brain exposure from mobile phone use over one year may have a negative effect on the development of figural memory performance in adolescents, confirming prior results published in 2015.

Figural memory is mainly located in the right brain hemisphere and association with RF-EMF was more pronounced in adolescents using the mobile phone on the right side of the head.