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Naoto Nakagawa , Keita Odanaka , Hiroshi Ohara , Toshinori Ito , Shigeki Kisara , Kitae Ito

Abstract

Smartphone use has become ubiquitous worldwide. Despite smartphone-related convenience, smartphone use has raised concerns regarding addiction among university undergraduates. This study aimed to examine the effect of smartphone location, such as desk, bag, and another room, on attention and working memory, based on electroencephalography parameters, in pharmacy students. We also examined associations among electroencephalography variables (theta, alpha, and beta waves), working memory, correct memory, correct operation, response time, smartphone dependency questionnaire score, grade point average, average daily phone use, Line use, Instagram use, Facebook use, Google use, Yahoo use, and music application use. Partial correlation coefficients were calculated for these variables. Thirty-six students were enrolled in the study. Smartphone location did not affect electroencephalography outcomes and working memory. Partial correlation coefficients between alpha and beta and between theta and alpha values were statistically significant when the smartphone was on the desk (r = 0.869, p < 0.0001; r = 0.887, p < 0.0001; respectively); however, the correlation coefficient between alpha and beta values was not statistically significant when the smartphone was in the bag and outside the room. Smartphone location did not affect either electroencephalography or working memory findings. Although smartphone location in the bag and outside the room seemed to influence students’ concentration on the task, this effect did not affect working memory‎.

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