Whole body exposure with GSM 900 MHz affects spatial memory in mice
Fragopoulou AF, Miltiadous P, Stamatakis A, Stylianopoulou F, Koussoulakos SL, Margaritis LH · 2010
View Original AbstractMice exposed to pulsed GSM 900 MHz radiation showed deficits in spatial memory consolidation and/or retrieval compared to sham-exposed animals.
Plain English Summary
Researchers tested the effects of mobile phone radiation on spatial learning and memory in mice using the Morris water maze, a hippocampal-dependent spatial memory task. The mice received a 2 h daily dose of pulsed GSM 900 MHz radiation from a commercially available mobile phone for 4 days at SAR values ranging from 0.41 to 0.98 W/kg. Exposed animals showed a deficit in transferring acquired spatial information across training days, with increased escape latency and distance swam compared to sham-exposed animals. During the memory probe trial, sham-exposed animals showed the expected preference for the target quadrant, while exposed animals showed no preference.
Why This Matters
The Morris water maze is described in the study as a hippocampal-dependent spatial memory task, used to assess a specific type of spatial memory. The researchers noted that at the time there was just one other study on mice, which used a very low SAR level of 0.05 W/kg and showed no effects. The researchers described their results as providing a basis for more thorough investigations, considering reports on non-thermal effects of electromagnetic fields.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.41 to 0.98 W/kg
- Power Density
- 0.05 and 0.2 mW/cm²
- Electric Field
- 23 and 36 V/m
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz GSM mobile phone
- Exposure Duration
- 2 h daily for 4 days
Exposure Context
This study used 0.05 and 0.2 mW/cm² for radio frequency:
- 5Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 83.3Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
This study used 23 and 36 V/m for electric fields:
- 76.7x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m
This study used 0.41 to 0.98 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 1x 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 present work has been designed in order to test the effects of mobile phone radiation on spatial learning and memory in mice Mus musculus Balb/c using the Morris water maze (a hippocampal-dependent spatial memory task), since there is just one other study on mice with very low SAR level (0.05 W/kg) showing no effects.
We have applied a 2 h daily dose of pulsed GSM 900 MHz radiation from commercially available mobile ...
Statistical analysis revealed that during learning, exposed animals showed a deficit in transferring...
Our results provide a basis for more thorough investigations considering reports on non-thermal effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs).
Show BibTeX
@article{af_2010_whole_body_exposure_with_99,
author = {Fragopoulou AF and Miltiadous P and Stamatakis A and Stylianopoulou F and Koussoulakos SL and Margaritis LH},
title = {Whole body exposure with GSM 900 MHz affects spatial memory in mice},
year = {2010},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0928468009001217},
}