Exposure of the dorsal root ganglion in rats to pulsed radiofrequency currents activates dorsal horn lamina I and II neurons.
Higuchi Y, Nashold BS Jr, Sluijter M, Cosman E, Pearlstein RD. · 2002
View Original AbstractPulsed radiofrequency energy directly activated pain-processing neurons in rats without heating tissue, challenging thermal-only safety assumptions.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed nerve clusters (dorsal root ganglia) in rats to pulsed radiofrequency energy at 500 kHz for 2 minutes and found it activated pain-processing neurons in the spinal cord. Importantly, this neural activation occurred even when the RF exposure was kept at body temperature (38°C), showing the effect wasn't caused by tissue heating. This suggests that RF energy can directly stimulate nerve pathways involved in pain processing.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that radiofrequency energy can directly affect nervous system function without causing thermal damage. The researchers used 500 kHz pulsed RF at 2 Hz, which falls within the frequency range of many wireless devices and medical equipment. What makes this particularly significant is that the neural activation occurred at body temperature, ruling out heat as the mechanism. This challenges the long-held assumption that RF energy only affects biological tissue through heating. The activation of pain-processing neurons suggests RF exposure can trigger neurological responses that could potentially influence pain perception and nervous system function. While this was a controlled medical procedure study, it demonstrates that RF energy has measurable biological effects on nerve tissue at non-thermal levels, adding to the growing body of evidence that our current safety standards may not account for all biological interactions with electromagnetic fields.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 2 Hz Duration: 120 seconds
Study Details
The present study was undertaken to identify spinal cord neurons activated by exposure of the dorsal ganglion to pulsed RF currents in rats.
Left-sided hemilaminectomy was performed in adult Sprague-Dawley rats to expose the C6 dorsal root g...
Treatment with pulsed RF but not continuous RF was associated with a significant increase in the num...
Exposure of the dorsal ganglion to pulsed RF currents activates pain-processing neurons in the dorsal horn. This effect is not mediated by tissue heating.
Show BibTeX
@article{y_2002_exposure_of_the_dorsal_2193,
author = {Higuchi Y and Nashold BS Jr and Sluijter M and Cosman E and Pearlstein RD.},
title = {Exposure of the dorsal root ganglion in rats to pulsed radiofrequency currents activates dorsal horn lamina I and II neurons.},
year = {2002},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11904038/},
}