Effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM phones on working memory: a meta-analysis

Article

Zubko, O., Gould, R., Gay, H., Cox, H., Coulson, M. and Howard, R. 2017. Effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM phones on working memory: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 32 (2), pp. 125-135. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4581
TypeArticle
TitleEffects of electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM phones on working memory: a meta-analysis
AuthorsZubko, O., Gould, R., Gay, H., Cox, H., Coulson, M. and Howard, R.
Abstract

Background and Objective: Current treatments for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) do not affect the course of the illness and brain stimulation techniques are increasingly promoted as potential therapeutic inter-ventions for AD. This study reviews the effects of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure versus sham exposure on working memory (WM) performance of healthy human participants.
Method: Online literature databases and previous systematic reviews were searched for studies of EMF and WM in participants without reported memory problems. Two thousand eight hundred and fifty seven studies were identified, and 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. An assessment of study quality was completed, and separate, random effects meta-analyses were conducted for each of the three WM tasks included: n-back, substitution and digit span forward.
Results: No differences were found between participants exposed to active EMF versus sham conditions in any of the three working memory tasks examined.
Conclusion: Results indicate that EMF does not affect WM during the n-back, substitution and digit-span tasks. Future studies should focus on the possible effects of chronic exposure to EMF in older adults with AD using a battery of comparable WM and attention tasks, before EMF can be seriously considered as a potential modulator of WM in AD.

Keywordsworking memory; electromagnetic fields; brain stimulation
PublisherWiley
JournalInternational Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
ISSN0885-6230
Electronic1099-1166
Publication dates
Online20 Sep 2016
Print17 Jan 2017
Publication process dates
Deposited11 Jan 2017
Accepted23 Aug 2016
Accepted author manuscript
Copyright Statement

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Zubko, O., Gould, R. L., Gay, H. C., Cox, H. J., Coulson, M. C., and Howard, R. J. (2017) Effects of electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM phones on working memory: a meta-analysis. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 32: 125–135. doi: 10.1002/gps.4581, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4581. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4581
LanguageEnglish
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