Effects of fetal microwave radiation exposure on offspring behavior in mice

Bioeffects Seen

Zhang Y, Li Z, Gao Y, Zhang C. · 2015

Mice exposed in utero to 9.417-GHz microwave radiation showed increased anxiety-related behavior, decreased depression-related behavior, and gender-dependent effects on learning and memory in male offspring.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers investigated whether in utero exposure to 9.417-GHz microwave throughout gestation affected behavior in mouse offspring. Offspring showed less movement in the center of an open field and in an open arm of the elevated-plus maze, which the researchers interpreted as increased anxiety-related behavior. Offspring also showed reduced immobility in the tail suspension test and forced swimming test, which was interpreted as decreased depression-related behavior. In the Morris water maze, male offspring showed decreased learning and memory while female offspring were not affected, suggesting gender-dependent effects.

Why This Matters

Behavioral testing used the open field test, elevated-plus maze, tail suspension test, forced swimming test, and Morris water maze. The researchers described their findings as the first experimental evidence of microwaves inducing gender-dependent effects.

Exposure Details

SAR: 2 W/kg
Electric Field: 200 V/m
Source/Device: 9.417-GHz
Exposure Duration: 12 h

Exposure Context

This study used 200 V/m for electric fields:

666.7x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m

This study used 2 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):

5x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg

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

Here we investigated whether in utero exposure to 9.417-GHz microwave throughout gestation (Days 3.5-18) affected behavior, using the open field test (OFT), elevated-plus maze (EPM), tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST) and Morris water maze (MWM).

We found that mice showed less movement in the center of an open field (using the OFT) and in an ope...

. In summary, we have provided the first experimental evidence of microwaves inducing gender-dependent effects.

Cite This Study

Zhang Y, Li Z, Gao Y, Zhang C. (2015). Effects of fetal microwave radiation exposure on offspring behavior in mice J Radiat Res 2015; 56 (2): 261-268.

Show BibTeX

@article{y_2015_effects_of_fetal_microwave_211,
  author = {Zhang Y and Li Z and Gao Y and Zhang C.},
  title = {Effects of fetal microwave radiation exposure on offspring behavior in mice},
  year = {2015},
  
  url = {https://academic.oup.com/jrr/article/56/2/261/2755474?login=true},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Exposure took place throughout gestation, from Day 3.5 to Day 18.

Offspring showed less movement in the center of an open field and in an open arm of the elevated-plus maze, suggesting increased anxiety-related behavior.

Male offspring demonstrated decreased learning and memory, while females were not affected, suggesting gender-dependent effects.

Offspring showed reduced immobility in both tests after in utero exposure, which the researchers interpreted as decreased depression-related behavior.

The researchers described their results as the first experimental evidence of microwaves inducing gender-dependent effects.