Abstract

Abstract

Overview

Addressing public concern over the potential health risks from radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), this study focuses on the effects of RF-EMF on the central nervous system of mice.

Methods

• Experiment Setup: Two groups of C57BL/6 mice, one aged 2 months and another 12 months, were exposed to 1,950-MHz RF-EMF at a specific absorption rate of 5.0 W/kg for 8 months (2 hours/day, 5 days/week).
• Behavioral Assessments: Tests included the open-field test, the Y-maze test, and an object recognition memory task.
• Biological Analysis: Microarray gene profiling of the hippocampus and quantitative real-time PCR for validation.

Findings

• In the open-field test, mice exposed to RF-EMF spent less time in the center suggesting anxiety or reduced exploratory behavior.
• The RF-20M group (mice exposed till 20 months) showed decreased memory performance in the Y-maze test and novel object recognition test compared to control.
• Gene Alterations: Significant increase in Epha8 and Wnt6 expression in the hippocampus of RF-20M group despite 13 other genes showing no significant change post exposure.

Conclusion

Long-term RF-EMF exposure may correlate with cognitive changes and altered gene expression linked to neurogenesis in aging mice, highlighting potential EMF health risks