Evaluation of oxidant stress and antioxidant defense in discrete brain regions of rats exposed to 900 MHz radiation.
Narayanan SN, Kumar RS, Kedage V, Nalini K, Nayak S, Bhat PG · 2014
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at typical exposure levels caused oxidative brain damage and behavioral changes in rats after just four weeks.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed adolescent rats to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for one hour daily over four weeks and found significant oxidative stress throughout the brain. The radiation increased harmful cellular damage markers and decreased protective antioxidants in key brain regions including the hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum. These biochemical changes coincided with altered behavioral performance, suggesting that cell phone radiation may impair brain function through oxidative damage.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to the growing body of research linking cell phone radiation to brain oxidative stress. The exposure level used (146.60 μW/cm²) is within the range of typical cell phone use, making these findings directly relevant to human exposure scenarios. What makes this research particularly compelling is that the researchers examined multiple brain regions and found region-specific effects, with the hippocampus (critical for memory) and amygdala (involved in emotion and behavior) showing the most pronounced damage. The fact that behavioral changes accompanied the biochemical markers of oxidative stress strengthens the case that these cellular effects translate into functional impairment. This research supports the position that current safety standards, which only consider thermal effects, fail to protect against the biological impacts of chronic low-level exposure.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 0.1466 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 1 h/day for four weeks
Exposure Context
This study used 0.1466 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 14.7Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 244.3Kx 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 the current study, the effects of 900 MHz radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) on levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), total antioxidants (TA), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity in discrete brain regions were studied in adolescent rats.
Thirty-six male Wistar rats (6-8 weeks old) were allotted into three groups (n = 12 in each group). ...
Altered behavioral performances were found in RF-EMR-exposed rats. Additionally, elevated TBARS leve...
RF-EMR exposure for a month induced oxidative stress in rat brain, but its magnitude was different in different regions studied. RF-EMR-induced oxidative stress could be one of the underlying causes for the behavioral deficits seen in rats after RF-EMR exposure
Show BibTeX
@article{sn_2014_evaluation_of_oxidant_stress_151,
author = {Narayanan SN and Kumar RS and Kedage V and Nalini K and Nayak S and Bhat PG},
title = {Evaluation of oxidant stress and antioxidant defense in discrete brain regions of rats exposed to 900 MHz radiation.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://manipal.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/evaluation-of-oxidant-stress-and-antioxidant-defense-in-discrete-},
}