Wetenschappelijk nieuws
Maternal mobile phone exposure adversely affects Purkinje neurons in rat offspring
- Gegevens
- Gepubliceerd: woensdag 07 augustus 2013 08:32
"In conclusion, the results of the present study show that prenatal EMF exposure results in altered electrophysiological properties of Purkinje neurons."
Haghani M, Shabani M, Moazzami K. Maternal mobile phone exposure adversely affects the electrophysiological properties of Purkinje neurons in rat offspring. Neuroscience. 2013 Jul 29. pii: S0306-4522(13)00643-X. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.
Source Department of physiology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Abstract
Electromagnetic field (EMF) radiations emitted from mobile phones may cause structural damage to neurons. With the increased usage of mobile phones worldwide, concerns about their possible effects on the nervous system are rising. In the present study, we aimed to elucidate the possible effects of prenatal EMF exposure on the cerebellum of offspring Wistar rats. Rats in EMF group were exposed to 900 MHz Pulse-EMF irradiation for six hours per day during all gestation period. Ten offspring's per each group were evaluated for behavioral and electrophysiological evaluations. Cerebellum - related behavioral dysfunctions were analyzed using motor learning and cerebellum-dependent functional tasks (Accelerated Rotarod, Hanging and Open field tests). Whole cell- patch clamp recordings were used for electrophysiological evaluations. The results of the present study failed to show any behavioral abnormalities in rats exposed to chronic EMF radiation. However, whole cell patch clamp recordings revealed decreased neuronal excitability of Purkinje cells in rats exposed to EMF. The most prominent changes included afterhyperpolarization amplitude, spike frequency, half width and first spike latency. In conclusion, the results of the present study show that prenatal EMF exposure results in altered electrophysiological properties of Purkinje neurons. However, these changes may not be severe enough to alter the cerebellum-dependent functional tasks.
Excerpts
- • EMF is able to induce a series of disruptions in Purkinje cells excitability.
- • EMF exposure did not affect Cerebellum-related behaviors of offspring rats.
- • Male and female rats were of the same sensitivity to mobile phone irradiation.
A k750 Sony Ericsson cell phone was used as the source of EMF radiation. (This is likely a test of GSM.) The measured SAR value in our data was between 0.5 – 0.9 W/kg, a value without significant thermal effects.
In conclusion, EMF is able to induce a series of disruptions in electrophysiological properties of Purkinje cells. Both male and female fetuses were sensitive to many electrophysiological effects following maternal exposure to Electromagnetic irradiation. While we did not provide sufficient evidence to support an exact mechanism of EMF interaction, the findings of the present study appear to be sufficiently robust to enable further studies to address this question in detail.