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Exposure to mobile phone electromagnetic field radiation, ringtone and vibration affects anxiety-like behaviour and oxidative stress biomarkers in albino wistar rats.

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Shehu A, Mohammed A, Magaji RA, Muhammad MS · 2016

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Mobile phone radiation increased anxiety and brain oxidative stress in rats after just 4 weeks of 10-minute daily exposure.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Nigerian researchers exposed rats to mobile phones for 4 weeks, testing different modes including silent, vibration, ringtone, or combined settings for 10 minutes daily. All exposed groups showed increased anxiety-like behavior compared to controls, while rats exposed to ringtones (with or without vibration) also showed reduced antioxidant enzyme activity in their brains. This suggests that mobile phone exposure affects both brain function and cellular stress responses, even when the phone isn't making noise.

Why This Matters

This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how mobile phone radiation affects brain function and cellular health. What makes this research particularly valuable is that it separated electromagnetic radiation effects from auditory stress, showing that the radiation itself produces measurable changes in anxiety behavior and oxidative stress markers. The 10-minute daily exposure used here is actually less than what many people experience with their phones, yet still produced significant effects after just 4 weeks. The finding that even silent mode exposure increased anxiety-like behavior suggests the electromagnetic fields themselves, not just the sounds or vibrations, are biologically active. This aligns with a growing body of research showing EMF exposure can trigger oxidative stress and affect neurological function at levels well below current safety guidelines.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: 4 weeks

Study Details

Research on the effects of Mobile phone radio frequency emissions on biological systems has been focused on noise and vibrations as auditory stressors. This study investigated the potential effects of exposure to mobile phone electromagnetic field radiation, ringtone and vibration on anxiety-like behaviour and oxidative stress biomarkers in albino wistar rats.

Twenty five male wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups of 5 animals each: group I: expo...

Results obtained showed a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in open arm duration in all the experiment...

In conclusion, the results of the present study indicates that 4 weeks exposure to electromagnetic radiation, vibration, ringtone or both produced a significant effect on anxiety-like behavior and oxidative stress in young wistar rats.

Cite This Study
Shehu A, Mohammed A, Magaji RA, Muhammad MS (2016). Exposure to mobile phone electromagnetic field radiation, ringtone and vibration affects anxiety-like behaviour and oxidative stress biomarkers in albino wistar rats. Metab Brain Dis.2016 Apr;31(2):355-62.
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2016_exposure_to_mobile_phone_2589,
  author = {Shehu A and Mohammed A and Magaji RA and Muhammad MS},
  title = {Exposure to mobile phone electromagnetic field radiation, ringtone and vibration affects anxiety-like behaviour and oxidative stress biomarkers in albino wistar rats. },
  year = {2016},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26546224/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Nigerian researchers exposed rats to mobile phones for 4 weeks, testing different modes including silent, vibration, ringtone, or combined settings for 10 minutes daily. All exposed groups showed increased anxiety-like behavior compared to controls, while rats exposed to ringtones (with or without vibration) also showed reduced antioxidant enzyme activity in their brains. This suggests that mobile phone exposure affects both brain function and cellular stress responses, even when the phone isn't making noise.