Acute exposure of microwave impairs attention process by activating microglial inflammation

Cell Biosci · 2024 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 243

Study snapshot

PublicationCell Biosci · 2024

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Acute exposure of microwave impairs attention process by activating microglial inflammation Jiang S, Ma Y, Shi Y, et al. Acute exposure of microwave impairs attention process by activating microglial inflammation. Cell Biosci 14, 2 (2024). doi: 10.1186/s13578-023-01162-9. Abstract Background Attention provides the foundation for cognitions, which was shown to be affected by microwave (MW) radiation. With the ubiquitous of microwaves, public concerns regarding the impact of MW radiation on attention has hence been increased. Our study aims to investigate the potential effect and mechanism of acute microwave exposure on attention. Results We identified obvious impairment of attention in mice by the five-choice serial reaction time (5- CSRT) task. Proteomic analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) revealed neuroinflammation and microglial activation potentially due to acute MW exposure. Moreover, biochemical analysis further confirmed microglial activation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of mice subjected to acute MW exposure. Finally, minocycline, a commercially available anti-inflammatory compound, attenuated neuroinflammation, inhibited the upregulation of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) including NR2A and NR2B, and also accelerated the attentional recovery after MW exposure. Conclusions We believe that microglial activation and NMDAR upregulation likely contribute to inattention induced by acute MW exposure, and we found that minocycline may be effective in preventing such process Open access paper: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal

Effect directionharm

PopulationMice

Sample sizeNot supplied

Exposuremicrowave · acute

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Acute microwave exposure was associated with impaired attention in mice on the 5-CSRT task. CSF proteomics and biochemical analyses indicated neuroinflammation and microglial activation (including in prefrontal cortex) after exposure. Minocycline attenuated neuroinflammation, inhibited upregulation of NMDAR subunits (NR2A/NR2B), and accelerated attentional recovery after microwave exposure.

Outcomes measured

Attention performance (five-choice serial reaction time task; 5-CSRT)
CSF proteomics (neuroinflammation, microglial activation signals)
Microglial activation in prefrontal cortex (biochemical analysis)
N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) expression (NR2A, NR2B)
Effect of minocycline on neuroinflammation and attentional recovery after exposure

Limitations

Exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, SAR, duration details) not provided in the abstract
Sample size not reported in the abstract
Animal model; generalizability to humans not addressed in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "microwave",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "acute"
  },
  "population": "Mice",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Attention performance (five-choice serial reaction time task; 5-CSRT)",
    "CSF proteomics (neuroinflammation, microglial activation signals)",
    "Microglial activation in prefrontal cortex (biochemical analysis)",
    "N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) expression (NR2A, NR2B)",
    "Effect of minocycline on neuroinflammation and attentional recovery after exposure"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Acute microwave exposure was associated with impaired attention in mice on the 5-CSRT task. CSF proteomics and biochemical analyses indicated neuroinflammation and microglial activation (including in prefrontal cortex) after exposure. Minocycline attenuated neuroinflammation, inhibited upregulation of NMDAR subunits (NR2A/NR2B), and accelerated attentional recovery after microwave exposure.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, SAR, duration details) not provided in the abstract",
    "Sample size not reported in the abstract",
    "Animal model; generalizability to humans not addressed in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "microwave",
    "acute exposure",
    "attention",
    "5-CSRT",
    "microglia",
    "neuroinflammation",
    "cerebrospinal fluid",
    "prefrontal cortex",
    "NMDAR",
    "NR2A",
    "NR2B",
    "minocycline"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "Microwave radiation health effects; potential relevance to exposure guideline discussions, though no policy content is in the abstract."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1186/s13578-023-01162-9
PubMed: Not supplied

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