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 increases brain blood flow and temperature in a dose-dependent manner, even at levels just above current safety limits.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rat brains to cell phone-frequency radiation and found it increased both brain temperature and blood flow. Higher radiation levels caused greater effects. This shows radiofrequency radiation triggers measurable biological changes in brain tissue, including the brain's natural response to heating.
Why This Matters
This study provides clear evidence that radiofrequency radiation causes measurable physiological changes in brain tissue, specifically increased blood flow and temperature. The researchers used SAR levels ranging from 10.5 to 263 W/kg - with even the lowest level showing effects. To put this in perspective, current SAR limits for cell phones are 1.6 W/kg in the US and 2 W/kg in Europe, yet this study found biological responses at levels just 5-6 times higher than these regulatory limits. The dose-response relationship is particularly significant, showing that the brain's vascular system responds proportionally to RF intensity. What this means for you is that your brain tissue demonstrably reacts to RF exposure by increasing blood flow, likely as a protective mechanism against heating. While this study used laboratory conditions and higher exposures than typical phone use, it contradicts claims that RF radiation below heating thresholds is biologically inert.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 10.5, 40.3, 130, and 263 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 1,950 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- continuous for 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_141,
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},
doi = {10.1152/japplphysiol.01035.2010},
url = {https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.01035.2010},
}