Glial markers and emotional memory in rats following acute cerebral radiofrequency exposures
(E) Barthélémy A, Mouchard A, Bouji M, Blazy K, Puigsegur R, Villégier AS · 2016
View Original AbstractJust 15 minutes of cell phone radiation at 6 W/kg caused 119% more brain inflammation and memory problems in rats.
Plain English Summary
French researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for 15-45 minutes and found that even brief exposures caused brain inflammation and memory problems. At exposure levels similar to what heavy cell phone users experience (6 W/kg), rats showed a 119% increase in brain inflammation markers and reduced long-term memory performance. The study demonstrates that radiofrequency radiation can trigger inflammatory responses in the brain that directly impact cognitive function.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how cell phone radiation affects brain function, particularly because it used exposure levels that mirror real-world usage patterns. The 6 W/kg exposure level tested here is within the range that heavy cell phone users can experience during extended calls, making these findings directly relevant to human health concerns. What's particularly significant is that the researchers found measurable brain inflammation and memory impairment after just 15 minutes of exposure. The science demonstrates a clear biological pathway: radiofrequency radiation triggers astrogliosis (brain cell inflammation), which then correlates with reduced memory performance. This challenges the telecommunications industry's position that current safety standards adequately protect against non-thermal biological effects. The reality is that your brain doesn't distinguish between 'thermal' and 'non-thermal' effects - it simply responds to the electromagnetic stress with inflammation that can impair cognitive function.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0, 1.5, or 6 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz RF EMF(217 Hz pulse Modulated)
- Exposure Duration
- 15 min or 45 min
Exposure Context
This study used 0, 1.5, or 6 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 3.8x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The widespread mobile phone use raises concerns on the possible cerebral effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF). Reactive astrogliosis was reported in neuroanatomical structures of adaptive behaviors after a single RF EMF exposure at high specific absorption rate (SAR, 6 W/kg). Here, we aimed to assess if neuronal injury and functional impairments were related to high SAR-induced astrogliosis. In addition, the level of beta amyloid 1–40 (Aβ 1–40) peptide was explored as a possible toxicity marker.
Sprague Dawley male rats were exposed for 15 min at 0, 1.5, or 6 W/kg or for 45 min at 6 W/kg. Memor...
According to our data, total GFAP was increased in the striatum (+114 %) at 1.5 W/kg. Long-term memo...
This study suggests that RF EMF-induced astrogliosis had functional consequences on memory but did not demonstrate that it was secondary to neuronal damage.
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2016_glial_markers_and_emotional_67,
author = {(E) Barthélémy A and Mouchard A and Bouji M and Blazy K and Puigsegur R and Villégier AS},
title = {Glial markers and emotional memory in rats following acute cerebral radiofrequency exposures},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1007/s11356-016-7758-y},
url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-016-7758-y},
}