The effect of Wi-Fi EMF on object recognition tasks in male rats

2017 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 1335

Rats exposed to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi for 30 days (12 h/day) did not significantly discriminate between novel and familiar objects in standard SOR, tactile SOR, visual SOR, or CMOR tests. Hippocampal M1 receptor mRNA expression increased following Wi-Fi exposure.

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2017

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

The effect of Wi-Fi EMF on object recognition tasks in male rats Hassanshahi A, Shafeie SA, Fatemi I, Hassanshahi E, Allahtavakoli M, Shabani M, Roohbakhsh A, Shamsizadeh A. The effect of Wi-Fi electromagnetic waves in unimodal and multimodal object recognition tasks in male rats.Neurol Sci. 2017 Mar 22. doi: 10.1007/s10072-017-2920-y. Abstract Wireless internet (Wi-Fi) electromagnetic waves (2.45 GHz) have widespread usage almost everywhere, especially in our homes. Considering the recent reports about some hazardous effects of Wi-Fi signals on the nervous system, this study aimed to investigate the effect of 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radiation on multisensory integration in rats. This experimental study was done on 80 male Wistar rats that were allocated into exposure and sham groups. Wi-Fi exposure to 2.4 GHz microwaves [in Service Set Identifier mode (23.6 dBm and 3% for power and duty cycle, respectively)] was done for 30 days (12 h/day). Cross-modal visual-tactile object recognition (CMOR) task was performed by four variations of spontaneous object recognition (SOR) test including standard SOR, tactile SOR, visual SOR, and CMOR tests. A discrimination ratio was calculated to assess the preference of animal to the novel object. The expression levels of M1 and GAT1 mRNA in the hippocampus were assessed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Results demonstrated that rats in Wi-Fi exposure groups could not discriminate significantly between the novel and familiar objects in any of the standard SOR, tactile SOR, visual SOR, and CMOR tests. The expression of M1 receptors increased following Wi-Fi exposure. In conclusion, results of this study showed that chronic exposure to Wi-Fi electromagnetic waves might impair both unimodal and cross- modal encoding of information. 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

PopulationMale Wistar rats

Sample size80

Exposuremicrowave · 2450 MHz · 30 days (12 h/day)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Unimodal object recognition performance (standard SOR, tactile SOR, visual SOR)
Cross-modal visual-tactile object recognition (CMOR) performance
Discrimination ratio (novel vs familiar object preference)
Hippocampal M1 mRNA expression
Hippocampal GAT1 mRNA expression

Limitations

SAR not reported in abstract
Only male rats studied
Exposure parameters beyond stated mode/power/duty cycle not fully described in abstract
Functional/object recognition outcomes limited to specific SOR/CMOR paradigms

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "microwave",
    "source": "wi-fi",
    "frequency_mhz": 2450,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "30 days (12 h/day)"
  },
  "population": "Male Wistar rats",
  "sample_size": 80,
  "outcomes": [
    "Unimodal object recognition performance (standard SOR, tactile SOR, visual SOR)",
    "Cross-modal visual-tactile object recognition (CMOR) performance",
    "Discrimination ratio (novel vs familiar object preference)",
    "Hippocampal M1 mRNA expression",
    "Hippocampal GAT1 mRNA expression"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Rats exposed to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi for 30 days (12 h/day) did not significantly discriminate between novel and familiar objects in standard SOR, tactile SOR, visual SOR, or CMOR tests. Hippocampal M1 receptor mRNA expression increased following Wi-Fi exposure.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "SAR not reported in abstract",
    "Only male rats studied",
    "Exposure parameters beyond stated mode/power/duty cycle not fully described in abstract",
    "Functional/object recognition outcomes limited to specific SOR/CMOR paradigms"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "Wi-Fi",
    "2.45 GHz",
    "microwaves",
    "rats",
    "Wistar",
    "object recognition",
    "SOR",
    "CMOR",
    "multisensory integration",
    "hippocampus",
    "M1 receptor",
    "GAT1",
    "mRNA",
    "RT-PCR"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "school-wi-fi",
      "weight": 0.72,
      "reason": "Study evaluates biological/behavioral effects of Wi-Fi (2.45 GHz) exposure."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1007/s10072-017-2920-y
PubMed: Not supplied

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