Short-term memory in mice is affected by mobile phone radiation
Ntzouni MP, Stamatakis A, Stylianopoulou F, Margaritis LH. · 2011
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at typical usage levels impaired memory formation in mice, particularly during critical brain consolidation periods.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed mice to cell phone radiation at human-level intensities and tested their memory recognition abilities. Mice showed significant memory problems, especially when exposed during the 17-day period when memories form. This suggests mobile phone radiation may interfere with the brain's memory formation processes.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that mobile phone radiation can disrupt memory formation at exposure levels well within current safety limits. The SAR level of 0.22 W/kg is actually lower than the maximum allowed for cell phones in many countries (2.0 W/kg), meaning the effects occurred at radiation levels people regularly experience during phone calls. What makes this research particularly significant is the timing-dependent effect the researchers discovered. The most severe memory impairment occurred when mice were exposed during the consolidation phase, when the brain transfers information from short-term to long-term storage. This suggests EMF radiation may specifically target the neural pathways between brain regions critical for memory processing. The science demonstrates that even brief daily exposures can accumulate into measurable cognitive effects, raising important questions about the long-term impact of our constant connectivity on brain function.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.22 W/kg
- Electric Field
- 17 V/m
- Source/Device
- 1,800 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 90 min/day for 3 days (acute exposure), 17 days (chronic exposure-I) or 31 days (chronic exposure-II)
Exposure Context
This study used 17 V/m for electric fields:
- 56.7x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m
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
To study the Short-term memory in mice is affected by mobile phone radiation.
The effects of mobile phone electromagnetic fields (EMFs) were studied on a non-spatial memory task ...
One day later the ORT test was performed without irradiation present in any of the sessions. The ORT...
Show BibTeX
@article{mp_2011_shortterm_memory_in_mice_162,
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://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S092846801000060X},
}