8,700 Studies Reviewed. 87.0% Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body
Brain & Nervous System

The effect of electromagnetic radiation in the mobile phone range on the behaviour of the rat.

Bioeffects Seen

Daniels WM, Pitout IL, Afullo TJ, Mabandla MV. · 2009

View Original Abstract
Share:

Mobile phone radiation caused stress-like behaviors in rats even without visible brain damage, suggesting EMF affects brain function through subtle pathways.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed rats to electromagnetic radiation in the mobile phone frequency range and tested their behavior, brain structure, and stress hormone levels. While they found no changes in learning ability or brain structure, exposed rats showed decreased movement, increased grooming behaviors, and higher stress hormone levels. These behavioral changes suggest that mobile phone radiation may disrupt normal brain function even when obvious structural damage isn't visible.

Why This Matters

This study adds to growing evidence that EMF exposure can affect brain function through subtle mechanisms that don't show up in traditional tissue analysis. The behavioral changes observed-decreased activity, increased grooming, and elevated stress hormones-mirror symptoms of anxiety and stress in animals, suggesting the brain is responding to EMF as a stressor even at cellular levels we can't easily detect. What makes this research particularly relevant is that these effects occurred at mobile phone frequencies that millions of people are exposed to daily. The reality is that our brains may be responding to EMF exposure in ways that current safety standards don't account for, since these standards only consider thermal effects and ignore biological responses like stress hormone disruption.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Study Details

The aim of our study was to further investigate the effects of EMR. Since the hippocampus is involved in learning and memory and emotional states, we hypothesised that EMR will have a negative impact on the subject's mood and ability to learn.

We subsequently performed behavioural, histological and biochemical tests on exposed and unexposed m...

We found no significant differences in the spatial memory test, and morphological assessment of the ...

These findings suggested that EMR exposure may lead to abnormal brain functioning.

Cite This Study
Daniels WM, Pitout IL, Afullo TJ, Mabandla MV. (2009). The effect of electromagnetic radiation in the mobile phone range on the behaviour of the rat. Metab Brain Dis. 24(4):629-641, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{wm_2009_the_effect_of_electromagnetic_2010,
  author = {Daniels WM and Pitout IL and Afullo TJ and Mabandla MV.},
  title = {The effect of electromagnetic radiation in the mobile phone range on the behaviour of the rat.},
  year = {2009},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19823925/},
}
PubMed: 19823925

Cited By (70 papers)

View all 70 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, a 2009 study by Daniels found that rats exposed to mobile phone frequency radiation showed decreased movement and increased grooming behaviors. While their learning ability remained normal, these behavioral changes suggest the radiation may disrupt normal brain function even without visible structural damage.
Research by Daniels in 2009 found that rats exposed to mobile phone frequency electromagnetic radiation showed a tendency toward increased basal corticosterone levels. This stress hormone elevation occurred alongside behavioral changes like reduced movement and increased grooming, suggesting EMF impacts on stress response systems.
Yes, a 2009 rat study found that mobile phone frequency electromagnetic radiation exposure decreased locomotor activity in some animals. The researchers observed this reduced movement alongside increased grooming behaviors, while spatial memory and brain structure remained unchanged in the exposed rats.
According to 2009 research by Daniels, electromagnetic radiation in the mobile phone range can lead to abnormal brain functioning even when brain structure appears normal. Exposed rats showed behavioral changes and stress hormone elevation despite no detectable morphological differences in brain tissue.
No, a 2009 study found that electromagnetic radiation in the mobile phone frequency range did not significantly affect spatial memory performance in rats. However, the same exposure did cause behavioral changes like decreased movement and increased grooming, suggesting selective effects on brain function.