Effect of electromagnetic radiation on discharge activity of neurons in the hippocampus CA1 in rats
Tong J, Chen S, Liu XM, Hao DM · 2013
View Original AbstractCell phone frequency radiation altered brain cell firing patterns in the memory center within 10 minutes of exposure.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to 900 MHz cell phone radiation and measured brain activity in the hippocampus, which controls learning and memory. After just 10 minutes, normal brain cell firing decreased while abnormal electrical bursts increased, potentially impairing cognitive function.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how cell phone radiation affects brain function at the cellular level. The 900 MHz frequency and power density of 10 W/m² used here is directly relevant to mobile phone exposure, though higher than typical phone use generates. What makes this research particularly significant is that measurable changes to brain cell activity occurred within just 10 minutes of exposure. The hippocampus is critical for forming new memories and spatial navigation, so disruptions to its normal electrical patterns could have real-world implications for cognitive function. While this was an animal study, the findings align with growing research suggesting EMF exposure can alter brain activity patterns in ways that may affect learning and memory performance.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 1 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 900 MHZ
- Exposure Duration
- 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min
Exposure Context
This study used 1 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 100Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 1.7Mx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
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
In order to explore effect of electromagnetic radiation on learning and memory ability of hippocampus neuron in rats, the changes in discharge patterns and overall electrical activity of hippocampus neuron after electromagnetic radiation were observed
Rat neurons discharge was recorded with glass electrode extracellular recording technology and a pol...
Electromagnetic radiation had an inhibitory role on discharge frequency of the hippocampus CA1 regio...
Electromagnetic radiation may cause structure and function changes of transfer synaptic in global, make hippocampal CA1 area neurons change in the overall discharge characteristic and discharge patterns, thus lead to decrease in the ability of learning and memory.
Show BibTeX
@article{j_2013_effect_of_electromagnetic_radiation_193,
author = {Tong J and Chen S and Liu XM and Hao DM},
title = {Effect of electromagnetic radiation on discharge activity of neurons in the hippocampus CA1 in rats},
year = {2013},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/med/24386818},
}