英国展开手机射频与未成年人大脑发展是否有关研究

数以万计的英国儿童即将参加一个为期三年的研究活动，来看看手机和WIFI是否会损伤他们的大脑。

这项研究由英国卫生部发起，帝国理工大学和伦敦大学被委派执行。在研究中，它们将检测这些技术产品是否会影响11-14岁儿童的认知发展状况。

这些年轻人将被要求在手机中安装一款可以监测通话时长以及短信和互联网使用的应用。而他们的脑功能状况则将会在初一和初三的时候被统一测量。

“我们需要进行这样的调查，因为这是一些新技术，”帝国理工大学医学研究委员会环境和健康中心的保罗·艾略特（Paul Elliot）教授表示。

“现有的科学证据可以证明，在短期内，来自手机的射频波与罹患脑癌没有联系。”

“但是关于射频波与健康在长期方面的相关性以及儿童使用状况方面的研究则非常有限，具体情况也不甚明朗。”

这项名为“关于认知、青少年和手机的研究（SCAMP）”是世界上规模最大的致力于研究儿童脑损伤的研究。

研究的重点将放在认知功能上，如记忆力、集中力，这些都是在青少年时期逐渐发展的功能。

而认知力则与我们思考、做决定、处理和回顾信息有关。

它还与智商和教育相关，并且是发挥创新和创造潜能的基石，因此对于社会来说具有十分重要的意义。

在英国，70%的11-12岁青少年拥有手机，这一数字在14岁年龄层达到了90%。

目前绝大多数关于手机的研究都专注于成人和脑癌方面的研究。

现在还没有确切证据可以证明来自手机的无线电波与健康是否有关，在这一问题上，儿童的大脑是否更容易受到影响也是科学家暂时所未知的。

外伦敦（Outer London）超过160家中学已经收到了参加这一研究的邀请函。

目前，在青少年手机使用方面，英国健康政策是这样规定的：16岁以下的儿童应该尽量只在紧急情况下使用他们的手机，平时尽量使用免提设备或者短信，在必须通话的情况下，也需要尽可能地缩短通话时间。

英国电讯报原文参考：

Wifi fears: three-year study into health risks of mobiles to children's brains

Wifi and mobile phone use to be studied for potential health risks to thousands of youngsters to determine if they damage young brains

Thousands of schoolchildren are to be enrolled in a three-year study to find out if mobiles and wi-fi are damaging their brains.

The study, which has been commissioned by the Department of Health and is being carried out by Imperial College and the University of London, will monitor the cognitive development of 11 to 14-year-olds.

Youngsters will be asked to install an app on their phones which will capture the duration of calls, texts and internet use. Their brain function will be measured in Year 7 and again in Year 9.

"We need to investigate because it is a new technology," Professor Paul Elliot, director of Medical Research Council Centre for Environment and Health at Imperial College.

"Scientific evidence available to date is reassuring and shows no association between exposure to radiofrequency waves from mobile phone use and brain cancer in adults in the short term."

"But the evidence available regarding long term heavy use and children's use is limited and less clear."

The Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP) is the largest study in the world to look at potential damage to children’s brains.

It will focus on cognitive functions such as memory and attention, which continue to develop into adolescence.

Cognition is how we think; how we make decisions; and how we process and recall information.

It is linked to intelligence and educational achievement and forms the building blocks of the innovative and creative potential of every individual and therefore society as a whole.

Seventy percent of 11-12 year olds in the UK now own a mobile phone, rising to 90 per cent by age 14.

Most research to date on mobile phones has focused on adults and risk of brain cancers.

While there is no convincing evidence that radio wave exposures from mobile phones effect health, scientists remain uncertain as to whether children's developing brains are more vulnerable.

It is feared that their developing nervous system may make them at greater risk of damage from the absorption of energy.

More than 160 secondary schools in the outer London area will today (TUES) receive invitations to take part.

Current UK health policy guidelines advise that children under 16 should be encouraged to use mobile phones for essential purposes only, where possible use a hands-free kit or text and, if calls are really necessary, to keep them short.

"As mobile phones are a new and widespread technology central to our lives, carrying out the SCAMP study is important in order to provide the evidence base with which to inform policy and through which parents and their children can make informed life choices," said Dr Mireille Toledano of Imperial College, the Principal Investigator of the study.