Early-life exposure to pulsed LTEe radiofrequency fields causes persistent changes in activity and behavior in C57BL/6 J mice
Author(s)
Broom, Kerry A
Findlay, Richard
Addison, Darren S
Goiceanu, Cristian
Sienkiewicz, Zenon
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Despite much research, gaps remain in knowledge about the potential health effects of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) fields. This study investigated the effects of early-life exposure to pulsed long term evolution (LTE) 1,846 MHz downlink signals on innate mouse behavior. Animals were exposed for 30 min/day, 5 days/week at a whole-body average specific energy absorption rate (SAR) of 0.5 or 1 W/kg from late pregnancy (gestation day 13.5) to weaning (postnatal day 21). A behavioral tracking system measured locomotor, drinking, and feeding behavior in the home cage from 12 to 28 weeks of age. The exposure caused significant effects on both appetitive behaviors and activity of offspring that depended on the SAR. Compared with sham-exposed controls, exposure at 0.5 W/kg significantly decreased drinking frequency (P ≤ 0.000) and significantly decreased distance moved (P ≤ 0.001). In contrast, exposure at 1 W/kg significantly increased drinking frequency (P ≤ 0.001) and significantly increased moving duration (P ≤ 0.005). In the absence of other plausible explanations, it is concluded that repeated exposure to low-level RF fields in early life may have a persistent and long-term effect on adult behavior. Bioelectromagnetics. 2019;40:498-511. © 2019 The Authors. Bioelectromagnetics Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Date Issued
2019-10-01
Date Acceptance
2019-08-22
Citation
Bioelectromagnetics, 2019, 40 (7), pp.498-511
ISSN
0197-8462
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
498
End Page
511
Journal / Book Title
Bioelectromagnetics
Volume
40
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© 2019 The Authors. Bioelectromagnetics Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31522469
Subjects
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Body Weight
Computer Simulation
Female
Learning
Male
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Pregnancy
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
Radio Waves
Time Factors
Whole-Body Irradiation
activity
brain
electromagnetic fields
locomotion
rodent
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2019-09-15