Short-term memory in mice is affected by mobile phone radiation.
Ntzouni MP, Stamatakis A, Stylianopoulou F, Margaritis LH · 2011
View Original AbstractMobile phone radiation at 0.22 W/kg impaired short-term memory formation in mice, particularly during the critical memory consolidation phase.
Plain English Summary
Greek researchers exposed mice to mobile phone radiation at levels similar to what humans experience during phone calls (SAR 0.22 W/kg) and tested their ability to recognize objects they had seen before. The study found that chronic exposure for 17 days significantly impaired the mice's short-term memory, particularly during the critical period when memories are being consolidated and stored in the brain. This suggests that mobile phone radiation may interfere with the brain's ability to form and retain new memories.
Why This Matters
This study adds to a growing body of research showing that mobile phone radiation can affect brain function at exposure levels well within current safety guidelines. The SAR level used (0.22 W/kg) is actually lower than the maximum allowed for mobile phones in many countries, making these findings particularly relevant for everyday phone users. What makes this research especially compelling is its focus on memory consolidation - the critical process by which short-term memories become long-term memories. The researchers identified that EMF exposure specifically disrupted this consolidation phase, suggesting that the timing of exposure matters as much as the intensity. This aligns with other studies showing cognitive effects from mobile phone radiation and challenges the industry's position that current exposure limits are adequate to protect brain function.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.22 W/kg
- Exposure Duration
- 90min/per day for 17 days or 31 days
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The effects of mobile phone electromagnetic fields (EMFs) were studied on a non-spatial memory task (Object Recognition Task - ORT) that requires entorhinal cortex function.
The task was applied to three groups of mice Mus musculus C57BL/6 (exposed, sham-exposed and contro...
The ORT-derived discrimination indices in all three exposure protocols revealed a major effect on t...
This may imply that the primary EMF target may be the information transfer pathway connecting the entorhinal-parahippocampal regions which participate in the ORT memory task.
Show BibTeX
@article{mp_2011_shortterm_memory_in_mice_1237,
author = {Ntzouni MP and Stamatakis A and Stylianopoulou F and Margaritis LH},
title = {Short-term memory in mice is affected by mobile phone radiation.},
year = {2011},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21112192/},
}