A new study known as SCAMP - Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones - is being launched to find out if children are affected by mobile phones and WiFi. It’s being run by Imperial College London and Birkbeck, University of London on behalf of the UK’s Department of Health.
SCAMP will focus on brain functions, including memory and attention. Around 2,500 London-based children aged 11 and 12 will install a smartphone app that monitors usage. They’ll then be tested for brain function at the beginning of the study and in three years’ time.
Dr Mireille Toledano of Imperial College, who’s been working on the UK part of the COSMOS mobile phone study, will be leading the research.
Around 70% of 11 and 12 year olds in the UK are thought to own a mobile phone.
[Sources: BBC News; Telegraph.co.uk]