Mobile phone use makes you retarded – but more focused

That’s it. How many mobile phone studies are we going to have to read about? Seriously, our mobile phones are starting to scare the beejeebus out of us. The latest study indicates that prolonged mobile phone use can lead to “slowed brain function,” but will also interestingly lead to “better focused attention.”

The study, published in the International Journal of Neuroscience, was conducted using 300 people – 100 were ‘frequent mobile phone users’, 100 ‘non-mobile phone users’ and an ‘intermediate group’ of 100 people. Researchers from Brainclinics Diagnostics and the Radboud University department of Biological Psychology measured differences in brain activity (measured using QEEG or quantative EEG), neuropsychological functions (like attention, memory and executive function) and personality traits.

Apparently, frequent mobile phone users were shown to have slower brain function that could not be explained by differences in personality and focused attention.

More troubling, the study seemed to indicate that the results could become more pronounced with even longer-term mobile phone use. The average mobile phone user had only used their phones for about 2.4 years – people that have had their mobile phone pasted to the side of their heads for a longer period may exhibit more serious slowing of brain function. But at least you get better focused attention, right?

Get yourself a wireless or wired headset, will ya?

[Via: The Raw Feed]