Local exposure of the rat cortex to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields increases local cerebral blood flow along with temperature.
Masuda H, Hirata A, Kawai H, Wake K, Watanabe S, Arima T, Poulletier de Gannes F, Lagroye I, Veyret B · 2011
View Original AbstractRF radiation at 2-GHz increases brain blood flow and temperature in rats, showing the brain actively responds to wireless radiation exposure.
Plain English Summary
Japanese researchers exposed rat brain tissue to 2-GHz radiofrequency radiation at various intensities and measured changes in blood flow and temperature. They found that RF exposure significantly increased both local brain blood flow and temperature in a dose-dependent manner - the higher the exposure, the greater the response. This demonstrates that RF radiation directly affects brain physiology by triggering the body's natural response to increased heat in brain tissue.
Why This Matters
This study provides clear evidence that RF exposure causes measurable physiological changes in brain tissue, even at relatively short exposure durations of just 18 minutes. The researchers used 2-GHz frequency, which is close to what your WiFi router and many wireless devices emit. What makes this particularly significant is that the blood flow changes occurred at the lowest exposure level tested (10.5 W/kg), suggesting the brain responds to RF even at moderate intensities. The science demonstrates that your brain doesn't just passively absorb RF energy - it actively responds by increasing blood flow to manage the thermal load. While the study focused on thermal effects, this vascular response indicates your brain tissue is working harder when exposed to RF radiation, which raises important questions about long-term consequences of chronic wireless device use near your head.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 10.5, 40.3, 130, and 263 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 2-GHz
- Exposure Duration
- 18 min
Exposure Context
This study used 10.5, 40.3, 130, and 263 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 26.3x 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 aim of the present study was to detect reproducible responses to local RF exposure in the parietal cortex of anesthetized rats and to determine their dependence on RF intensity.
The target cortex tissue was locally exposed to 2-GHz RF using a figure-eight loop antenna within a ...
All parameters except for the calf hypodermis temperature increased significantly in exposed animals...
These findings suggest that local RF exposure of the rat cortex drives a regulation of CBF accompanied by a local temperature rise, and our findings may be helpful for discussing physiological changes in the local cortex region, which is locally exposed to RF.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2011_local_exposure_of_the_1192,
author = {Masuda H and Hirata A and Kawai H and Wake K and Watanabe S and Arima T and Poulletier de Gannes F and Lagroye I and Veyret B},
title = {Local exposure of the rat cortex to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields increases local cerebral blood flow along with temperature.},
year = {2011},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21030669/},
}