In-vitro exposure of neuronal networks to the GSM-1800 signal.
Moretti D, Garenne A, Haro E, Poulletier de Gannes F, Lagroye I, Lévêque P, Veyret B, Lewis N · 2013
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation reduced brain cell electrical activity by 30% in just 3 minutes at levels similar to peak phone use.
Plain English Summary
French researchers exposed lab-grown brain cells to cell phone radiation at 1800 MHz (the frequency used by GSM cell phones) for just 3 minutes. They found that the radiation caused a 30% decrease in the neurons' electrical activity - essentially making the brain cells less active. This effect was reversible, meaning the neurons returned to normal activity levels after the exposure ended.
Why This Matters
This study provides direct evidence that cell phone radiation can alter brain cell function in real-time. The researchers used a SAR level of 3.2 W/kg, which is higher than typical phone use (around 1-2 W/kg) but within the range that can occur during peak transmission or poor signal conditions. What makes this research particularly compelling is that the effects were immediate and measurable - not subtle changes that require statistical analysis to detect. The 30% reduction in neuronal firing rate represents a significant disruption to normal brain cell communication. While this was a pilot study with a small sample size, it adds to the growing body of evidence showing that RF radiation can directly influence nervous system function. The reversible nature of the effect doesn't diminish its importance - it simply shows that acute exposures produce acute responses.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 3.2 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 1,800 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 3 minutes
Exposure Context
This study used 3.2 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 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
To test the feasibility of studying the electrical activity of neuronal networks under radio frequency-exposure at 1800 MHz in vitro.
Our research group has developed a dedicated experimental setup in the GHz range for the simultaneou...
This work provides the proof of feasibility and preliminary results of the integrated investigation ...
Additional experiments are needed to further characterize this effect.
Show BibTeX
@article{d_2013_invitro_exposure_of_neuronal_147,
author = {Moretti D and Garenne A and Haro E and Poulletier de Gannes F and Lagroye I and Lévêque P and Veyret B and Lewis N},
title = {In-vitro exposure of neuronal networks to the GSM-1800 signal.},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1002/bem.21805},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.21805},
}