6,486 Studies Reviewed. 85.2% of Original Studies Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body
Brain & Nervous System

Postnatal development and behavior effects of in-utero exposure of rats to radiofrequency waves emitted from conventional WiFi devices.

Bioeffects Seen

Othman H, Ammari M, Rtibi K, Bensaid N, Sakly M, Abdelmelek H. · 2017

View Original Abstract
Share:

Prenatal WiFi exposure impaired early neurodevelopment and caused oxidative stress at 28 days but not at 43 days in rat offspring.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed pregnant rats to a 2.45 GHz WiFi signal for two hours daily throughout gestation. Offspring were assessed for physical and neurodevelopment during the first 17 postnatal days, anxiety at 28 days, motor behavior at 40-43 days, and cerebral oxidative stress and cholinesterase activity at 28 and 43 days. Prenatal WiFi exposure impaired early neurodevelopment but did not alter emotional or motor behavior in adulthood. It also increased oxidative stress markers and decreased antioxidant enzyme activities at 28 days but not at 43 days, and affected acetylcholinesterase activity in brain and serum.

Why This Matters

The study aimed to investigate how prenatal WiFi exposure affects postnatal development and behavior in rats. The authors concluded that maternal WiFi exposure leads to adverse neurological effects by disrupting neurodevelopment, oxidative stress balance, and cholinesterase activity.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 2.45 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 2.45 GHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 2.45GHz WiFi signal Duration: 2h a day

Study Details

The present work investigated the effects of prenatal exposure to radiofrequency waves of conventional WiFi devices on postnatal development and behavior of rat offspring.

Ten Wistar albino pregnant rats were randomly assigned to two groups (n=5). The experimental group w...

Our main results showed that the in-utero WiFi exposure impaired offspring neurodevelopment during t...

The current study revealed that maternal exposure to WiFi radiofrequencies led to various adverse neurological effects in the offspring by affecting neurodevelopment, cerebral stress equilibrium and cholinesterase activity.

Cite This Study
Othman H, Ammari M, Rtibi K, Bensaid N, Sakly M, Abdelmelek H. (2017). Postnatal development and behavior effects of in-utero exposure of rats to radiofrequency waves emitted from conventional WiFi devices. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 52:239-247, 2017.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2017_postnatal_development_and_behavior_1687,
  author = {Othman H and Ammari M and Rtibi K and Bensaid N and Sakly M and Abdelmelek H.},
  title = {Postnatal development and behavior effects of in-utero exposure of rats to radiofrequency waves emitted from conventional WiFi devices.},
  year = {2017},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28458069/},
}
PubMed: 28458069

Cited By (39 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

Pregnant rats were exposed to a 2.45 GHz WiFi signal for two hours daily throughout gestation.
Offspring showed impaired neurodevelopment during the first 17 postnatal days.
Emotional and motor behavior at adult age were not altered by prenatal WiFi exposure.
At 28 days, oxidative stress markers increased and antioxidant enzyme activities decreased, but these changes were not present at 43 days.
Acetylcholinesterase activity was affected in both brain and serum.