Abstract

Overview

Recent research highlights potential risks linked to microwave (MW) radiation, specifically its impact on spatial memory and brain network organization in rats.

Findings

• The study focuses on the effects of acute MW radiation exposure on the topological organization of the brain network, assessed through experimental methodologies including the Morris water maze (MWM) test and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.
• Exposure to 30 mW/cm2 1.5 GHz microwave radiation resulted in noticeable declines in network efficiency, marked by a reduced normalized clustering coefficient (p = 0.002) just one day post-exposure, and increased average escape latency (p = 0.014) three days following exposure.
• Similarly adverse topological effects were observed with 10 mW/cm2 1.5 GHz MW radiation, although no discernible changes in behavioral metrics like average escape latency were reported.
• Conversely, exposure to 9.375 GHz MW radiation did not demonstrate any detrimental impacts on either spatial memory or network topology.

Conclusion

These findings suggest a significant association between specific parameters of MW radiation and early disruptions in the topological organization of brain networks, preceding behavioral symptoms. Early detection of these disruptions via topological parameters could potentially serve as sensitive indicators of neurological risks induced by MW radiation exposure.