Cognitive impairment in rats after long-term exposure to GSM-900 mobile phone radiation
Nittby H, Grafström G, Tian DP, Malmgren L, Brun A, Persson BR, Salford LG, Eberhardt J · 2008
View Original AbstractRats exposed to cell phone radiation at typical usage levels showed significant memory problems after 55 weeks of exposure.
Plain English Summary
Swedish researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation for 55 weeks and found significant memory problems compared to unexposed rats. The exposed animals had trouble remembering objects and when they encountered them, suggesting chronic mobile phone radiation may impair specific memory functions.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that long-term exposure to cell phone radiation can impair cognitive function, specifically episodic memory - the type of memory we use to recall what happened when. What makes this research particularly significant is the exposure levels used: 0.6 and 60 mW/kg SAR values are well within the range of typical cell phone use. The 0.6 mW/kg level is actually lower than many phones produce during calls. The fact that memory deficits appeared after relatively modest weekly exposures over just over a year raises important questions about cumulative effects from daily phone use over decades. While this is animal research, the biological mechanisms of memory formation are remarkably similar between rats and humans, making these findings highly relevant to human health concerns.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.0006, 0.06 W/kg
- Source/Device
- GSM 900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 2 h each week for 55 weeks
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
In this study we investigated in a rat model the long-term effects of protracted exposure to Global System for Mobile Communication-900 MHz (GSM-900) radiation.
Out of a total of 56 rats, 32 were exposed for 2 h each week for 55 weeks to radio-frequency electro...
Effects on exploratory behaviour were evaluated in the open-field test, in which no difference was s...
Our results suggest significantly reduced memory functions in rats after GSM microwave exposure (P = 0.02).
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2008_cognitive_impairment_in_rats_1229,
author = {Nittby H and Grafström G and Tian DP and Malmgren L and Brun A and Persson BR and Salford LG and Eberhardt J},
title = {Cognitive impairment in rats after long-term exposure to GSM-900 mobile phone radiation},
year = {2008},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18044737/},
}