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

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

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Mobile phone-level EMF exposure during early development caused behavioral changes and elevated stress hormones in rats, suggesting potential developmental impacts.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Young rats exposed to cell phone radiation (840 MHz) for three hours daily showed subtle behavioral changes including reduced activity and increased grooming, despite normal memory and brain structure. This suggests early EMF exposure may affect brain function in ways not immediately apparent.

Why This Matters

This study adds to growing evidence that EMF exposure during critical developmental periods can have lasting neurological effects, even when no obvious brain damage occurs. The 840 MHz frequency and power levels used here are well within the range of everyday mobile phone emissions that children encounter regularly. What's particularly concerning is that these behavioral changes emerged from exposure during the first two weeks of life - a period of rapid brain development when neural circuits are being established. The subtle nature of these effects - increased grooming, reduced activity, elevated stress hormones - mirrors the kind of behavioral changes parents and teachers increasingly report in children today. While this study alone doesn't prove causation, it reinforces the growing body of research suggesting we should be far more cautious about EMF exposure during pregnancy and early childhood.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.000006 µW/m²
Electric Field
0.00895 V/m
Source/Device
840 MHz
Exposure Duration
continuous for 3 hr/day from day 2 to day 14 after birth

Exposure Context

This study used 0.000006 µW/m² for radio frequency:

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.000006 µW/m²Extreme Concern - 1,000 uW/m2FCC Limit - 10M uW/m2Effects observed in the No Concern rangeFCC limit is 1,666,666,666,667x higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 840 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 840 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

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

In a study by Salford et al. (Environ Health Perspect 111:881-883, 2003) the authors demonstrated th...

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_84,
  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},
  doi = {10.1007/s11011-009-9164-3},
  url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11011-009-9164-3},
}
DOI: 10.1007/s11011-009-9164-3

Cited By (70 papers)

View all 70 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, young rats exposed to 840 MHz cell phone radiation for three hours daily showed subtle behavioral changes including reduced activity and increased grooming. However, their memory and brain structure remained normal, suggesting early EMF exposure may affect brain function in ways not immediately apparent.
Research on 840 MHz radiation found that young rats exposed for three hours daily showed decreased locomotor activity and increased grooming behaviors. Despite these behavioral changes, the animals maintained normal spatial memory performance and showed no structural brain differences.
A 2009 study found that young rats exposed to 840 MHz cell phone radiation showed a tendency toward increased basal corticosterone levels, indicating potential stress response changes. This occurred alongside behavioral modifications like reduced activity and increased grooming behaviors.
No, rats exposed to 840 MHz radiation for three hours daily showed no significant differences in spatial memory tests compared to unexposed animals. However, the same exposure did cause subtle behavioral changes like reduced activity and increased grooming.
No, morphological assessment showed no significant brain structure differences in young rats exposed to 840 MHz cell phone radiation for three hours daily. However, the exposure did lead to behavioral changes and potential stress hormone alterations despite normal brain anatomy.