Effects of long-term electromagnetic field exposure on spatial learning and memory in rats.
Hao D, Yang L, Chen S, Tong J, Tian Y, Su B, Wu S, Zeng Y. · 2012
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation temporarily impaired rats' learning and memory while disrupting brain cell firing patterns in the hippocampus.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation (916 MHz) for six hours daily over ten weeks. During weeks 4-5, exposed rats showed impaired learning and memory, taking longer to navigate mazes and making more errors than unexposed rats, indicating potential cognitive effects.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that radiofrequency radiation can disrupt cognitive function, even at power levels similar to those emitted by cell phones. The 10 watts per square meter exposure used here falls within the range of emissions from mobile devices during calls. What's particularly significant is that the researchers documented both behavioral changes and direct neurological effects in the hippocampus, the brain's memory center. The temporary nature of the impairment during weeks 4-5, followed by apparent adaptation, raises important questions about whether the brain truly adapts or simply develops compensatory mechanisms while underlying damage persists. This research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that chronic EMF exposure may affect cognitive performance, particularly concerning given our increasing reliance on wireless devices.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 1 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 916 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 6 h a day, 5 days a week, 10 weeks.
Exposure Context
This study used 1 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 100Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 1.7Mx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
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
This paper investigated the effect of electromagnetic field on spatial learning and memory in rats.
32 trained Wistar rats were divided into two groups: exposure group and control group. The exposure ...
It can be seen that during the weeks 4-5 of the experiment, the average completion time and error ra...
It indicates that the 916 MHz EMF influence learning and memory in rats to some extent in a period during exposure, and the rats can adapt to long-term EMF exposure.
Show BibTeX
@article{d_2012_effects_of_longterm_electromagnetic_1014,
author = {Hao D and Yang L and Chen S and Tong J and Tian Y and Su B and Wu S and Zeng Y.},
title = {Effects of long-term electromagnetic field exposure on spatial learning and memory in rats.},
year = {2012},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22362331/},
}