ID Number		2396
Study Type		In Vivo
Model		Male and female rats exposed continuously at 900 MHz (0.4 W/kg) were tested at 3 and 6 months of age for social memory.
Details		AUTHORS' ABSTRACT: Schneider and Stangassinger 2014 (IEEE # ): We are today surrounded almost constantly by high-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from mobile communications base stations. To date, however, there has been little concern regarding nonthermal effects of EMFs on cognition. In the present study, male and female rats were subjected to continuous far-field exposure to a frequency of 900-MHz (Global System for Mobile Communications [GSM]) or 1.966-GHz (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System [UMTS]) at 0.4 W/kg. Memory performance of adult EMF-exposed and sham-exposed female rats (at 6 months of age) and male rats (at 3 and 6 months of age) was tested using a social discrimination procedure. For this procedure, a target juvenile male was introduced to the subject's home cage for 4 min (Trial 1). After 30 min, the same target animal and a novel juvenile male were simultaneously presented to the subject for 4 min (Trial 2). Differences in sniffing duration to the familiar and novel target rats during Trial 2 were used to assess memory performance. EMF-exposed females exhibited no differences in sniffing duration compared with controls. In contrast, the sniffing durations of EMF-exposed males at 3 months of age were significantly affected. At 6 months of age, GSM-, but not UMTS-, exposed male adults showed a memory performance deficit. These findings provide new insight into the nonthermal effects of long-term high-frequency EMF exposure on memory.
Findings		Effects (inconsistent results)
Status		Completed With Publication
Principal Investigator
Funding Agency		BfS, Germany
Country		GERMANY
References		Schneider, J et al. Behav Neurosci., (2014) 128:633-637
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