[June 27, 2006] Study: Cell phones excite brain Tweet (UPI Science News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Italian researchers have found that electromagnetic impulses from cell phones excite the brain on the side shared by the phone. Dr. Paolo Maria Rossini, a neurologist and research director at Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Rome, and his colleagues tested 15 young men, WebMD reported. They used helmets that held cell phones about 2 inches from the subjects' ears. After the cell phones were turned on for 45 minutes, the men's brains showed increased electrical activity on the side the phone was on. The increase was not measurable on the other side or when the phone had been turned off. We still do not know whether this effect is neutral, or potentially dangerous or beneficial, Rossini said. He called for more research both in health subjects and in those suffering from epilepsy and other neurological diseases in which excitability is affected. The research was reported in the August issue of Annals of Neurology. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]