The effect of pulsed electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone on the levels of monoamine neurotransmitters in four different areas of rat brain
Aboul Ezz HS, Khadrawy YA, Ahmed NA, Radwan NM, El Bakry MM · 2013
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation disrupted brain chemicals controlling mood and memory in rats at exposure levels similar to typical phone use.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to cell phone radiation (1800 MHz) for 24 hours daily over 1-4 months and measured key brain chemicals called neurotransmitters in four brain regions. The radiation significantly altered levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin - chemicals that control mood, memory, learning, and stress responses. These changes persisted even after radiation exposure stopped, suggesting that chronic cell phone use may disrupt normal brain chemistry.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that cell phone radiation can alter fundamental brain chemistry at the cellular level. The researchers used an SAR of 0.843 W/kg, which is well within current safety limits and comparable to typical cell phone use. What makes this research particularly significant is that the neurotransmitter disruptions occurred across multiple brain regions and persisted even after exposure ended, suggesting these aren't temporary effects that simply resolve when you put your phone down. The affected neurotransmitters - dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin - are critical for cognitive function, mood regulation, and stress response. This offers a biological mechanism that could explain the memory problems, learning difficulties, and increased stress many people report with heavy cell phone use. The science demonstrates that EMF exposure can reach into the most fundamental aspects of brain function, affecting the chemical messengers that govern how we think and feel.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.843 W/kg
- Power Density
- 0.02 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 1800 MHz EMR
- Exposure Duration
- 24h for 1,2 and 4 months
Exposure Context
This study used 0.02 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 2Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 33.3Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
This study used 0.843 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 2.1x 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 investigate the effect of EMR on the concentrations of dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, midbrain and medulla oblongata of adult rats.
Adult rats were exposed daily to EMR (frequency 1800 MHz, specific absorption rate 0.843 W/kg, power...
The exposure to EMR resulted in significant changes in DA, NE and 5-HT in the four selected areas of...
The exposure of adult rats to EMR may cause disturbances in monoamine neurotransmitters and this may underlie many of the adverse effects reported after EMR including memory, learning, and stress
Show BibTeX
@article{hs_2013_the_effect_of_pulsed_58,
author = {Aboul Ezz HS and Khadrawy YA and Ahmed NA and Radwan NM and El Bakry MM},
title = {The effect of pulsed electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone on the levels of monoamine neurotransmitters in four different areas of rat brain},
year = {2013},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23852905},
}