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Analgetic effects of non-thermal GSM-1900 radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in the land snail Helix pomatia.

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Nittby H, Moghadam MK, Sun W, Malmgren L, Eberhardt J, Persson BR, Salford LG · 2012

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GSM-exposed land snails were less sensitive to thermal pain than sham controls, indicating a significant analgesia.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed 29 land snails of the strain Helix pomatia to GSM electromagnetic fields at 1900 MHz at 48 mW/kg for 1 hour each, while 29 snails served as sham controls. Before and after exposure, snails were placed on a hot plate and the time until they retracted was measured by two blinded observers. GSM-exposed snails were less sensitive to thermal pain compared to sham controls, indicating a significant analgesia (Mann-Whitney p < 0.001).

Why This Matters

The study aimed to investigate whether radiofrequency electromagnetic fields might affect nociception in a snail model, which the researchers noted had not previously been studied. The exposure was described as non-thermal, at a level of 48 mW/kg. Each snail's reaction pattern was compared before and after exposure, so each animal served as its own baseline. The researchers noted that exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields had been shown to significantly affect nociceptive responses. The authors suggested this study might support earlier findings describing beneficial effects of EMF exposure upon nociception.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field
0.000 2 mT
SAR
0.048 W/kg
Power Density
0.068 mW/cm²
Electric Field
16 V/m
Source/Device
1900 MHz
Exposure Duration
1 h

Exposure Context

This study used 0.068 mW/cm² for radio frequency:

This study used 16 V/m for electric fields:

This study used 0.000 2 mT for magnetic fields:

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.068 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 15 times higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 1.90 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 1.90 GHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

To investigate whether mobile phone radiation might affect snail nociception, employing radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) which, to our knowledge, have hitherto not been studied in a snail model. Exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields has however been shown to significantly affect nociceptive responses.

In the present study, we exposed 29 land snails of the strain Helix pomatia to global system for mob...

Comparing the reaction pattern of each snail before and after exposure, the GSM-exposed snails were ...

This study might support earlier findings, describing beneficial effects of EMF exposure upon nociception.

Cite This Study
Nittby H, Moghadam MK, Sun W, Malmgren L, Eberhardt J, Persson BR, Salford LG (2012). Analgetic effects of non-thermal GSM-1900 radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in the land snail Helix pomatia. Int J Radiat Biol. 88(3):245-252, 2012.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2012_analgetic_effects_of_nonthermal_160,
  author = {Nittby H and Moghadam MK and Sun W and Malmgren L and Eberhardt J and Persson BR and Salford LG},
  title = {Analgetic effects of non-thermal GSM-1900 radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in the land snail Helix pomatia.},
  year = {2012},
  doi = {10.3109/09553002.2012.644257},
  url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09553002.2012.644257},
}
DOI: 10.3109/09553002.2012.644257

Cited By (12 papers)

View all 12 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used 29 land snails of the strain Helix pomatia as exposed animals and 29 snails as sham controls.
Snails were placed on a hot plate and the time until they retracted was measured by two blinded observers.
GSM-exposed snails were less sensitive to thermal pain than sham controls, with the difference reaching statistical significance (Mann-Whitney p < 0.001).
Snails were exposed to GSM electromagnetic fields at 1900 MHz at a non-thermal level of 48 mW/kg for 1 hour.
The researchers noted that radiofrequency EMF had not previously been studied in a snail model, though extremely low frequency magnetic fields had been shown to significantly affect nociceptive responses.