916 MHz electromagnetic field exposure affects rat behavior and hippocampal neuronal discharge

Abstract

Wistar rats were exposed to a 916 MHz, 10 W/m(2) mobile phone electromagnetic field for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Average completion times in an eight-arm radial maze were longer in the exposed rats than control rats after 4-5 weeks of exposure. Error rates in the exposed rats were greater than the control rats at 6 weeks. Hippocampal neurons from the exposed rats showed irregular firing patterns during the experiment, and they exhibited decreased spiking activity 6-9 weeks compared with that after 2-5 weeks of exposure. These results indicate that 916 MHz electromagnetic fields influence learning and memory in rats during exposure, but long-term effects are not obvious.

Keywords: Wistar rats; electromagnetic field; feeding behavior; maze learning; neural regeneration; neurons.

Figure 1

Completion times (A) and error rates (B) of control rats and exposed rats in an eight-arm radial maze experiment. The data are expressed as mean ± SEM of five rats in each group, and are analyzed using an analysis of independent samples t-test. ^aP < 0.05, vs. control rats.

Figure 2

Average discharge number per second in hippocampal neurons across the 9 weeks of electromagnetic field exposure. The data are expressed as mean ± SEM of 12 neurons at each time point, and are analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance. ^aP < 0.05, vs. that at 2–5 weeks.