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 levels similar to human use showed significant memory impairment after chronic exposure.
Plain English Summary
Swedish researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation (GSM-900) for 2 hours weekly over more than a year, using power levels similar to what your phone emits. The exposed rats showed significantly impaired memory, specifically struggling to remember objects and when they encountered them compared to unexposed control rats. This suggests that chronic low-level cell phone radiation exposure may affect cognitive function and memory formation.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to growing concerns about cell phone radiation's effects on brain function. What makes this research particularly relevant is the exposure level - the rats received SAR values of 0.6 and 60 milliwatts per kilogram, which overlap with typical cell phone emissions during calls (SAR limits are 1.6 W/kg in the US). The cognitive impairment occurred after protracted, low-level exposure rather than acute high doses, which better reflects how we actually use these devices. The reality is that this Swedish research team has consistently found neurological effects from mobile phone radiation across multiple studies, contributing to a body of evidence that regulatory agencies have been slow to acknowledge. What this means for you is that the 'safety' standards governing your phone were set based on heating effects alone, not the biological effects this study demonstrates at exposure levels your brain regularly experiences.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.0006 and 0.06 W/kg
- Power Density
- 0.0033 and 0.00033 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- GSM‐900
- Exposure Duration
- 2 hr/wk, 55 wk
Exposure Context
This study used 0.0033 and 0.00033 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 33Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 550x 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
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...
In our study, GSM exposed rats had impaired memory for objects and their temporal order of presentat...
Our results suggest significantly reduced memory functions in rats after GSM microwave exposure.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2008_cognitive_impairment_in_rats_158,
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},
doi = {10.1002/bem.20386},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.20386},
}