Cell phones affects fetal neurodevelopment in mice

Pythagorean

Neurobehavioral disorders are increasingly prevalent in children, however their etiology is not well understood. An association between prenatal cellular telephone use and hyperactivity in children has been postulated, yet the direct effects of radiofrequency radiation exposure on neurodevelopment remain unknown. Here we used a mouse model to demonstrate that in-utero radiofrequency exposure from cellular telephones does affect adult behavior. Mice exposed in-utero were hyperactive and had impaired memory as determined using the object recognition, light/dark box and step-down assays. Whole cell patch clamp recordings of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) revealed that these behavioral changes were due to altered neuronal developmental programming. Exposed mice had dose-responsive impaired glutamatergic synaptic transmission onto layer V pyramidal neurons of the prefrontal cortex. We present the first experimental evidence of neuropathology due to in-utero cellular telephone radiation. Further experiments are needed in humans or non-human primates to determine the risk of exposure during pregnancy.

Tamir S. Aldad, Geliang Gan, Xiao-Bing Gao, Hugh S. Taylor. Fetal Radiofrequency Radiation Exposure From 800-1900 Mhz-Rated Cellular Telephones Affects Neurodevelopment and Behavior in Mice. Scientific Reports, 2012; 2 DOI: 10.1038/srep00312

Thoughts on implications for humans?

MathematicalPhysicist

Good thing I don't use cell phone.

skeptic2

Do you have a link to the report?

russ_watters

How much wattage did they use and how close was it to the fetuses?

Ryan_m_b

Quote by russ_watters

How much wattage did they use and how close was it to the fetuses?

1.6W/kg at a distance varying between ~5 and ~25cm for a continuous period of 17 days.

A full free copy of the article is available here:
http://www.nature.com/srep/2012/1203...srep00312.html

I've only skimmed through (on lunch break atm) but there are a lot of insignificant results, strangely the admit that there is no significant difference between the control and experimental group in their hyperactivity test but later they claim that overall cell phone exposure increased hyperactivity in a statistically significant manner. They do however outline many of the studies limitations at the end which is good to see. I'd be very interested to see this research continued by other groups to see if there is anything in it.

Pythagorean

It's a very skinny paper with a lot of insinuation in the introduction about ADHD, but when it gets down to it, the only real obvious trend is that with days of exposure, mEPSC frequency is reduced (figures 2 and 3). So it's like there's some kind of synaptic depression taking place, which does have implications for neurodedevelopment at the cellular level. But to try to tie it to ADHD at the organism level seems like a bit of a reach to me.

Note, they do actually show more hyperactivity in the experimental mice, according to their test which measures "transitions". Not sure if that really relates to hyperactivity or not (I can see, intuitively, how someone might come to that conclusion, but I don't know about the science behind it).

russ_watters

Lets suppose for a sec that the statistical association in humans is real. Can anyone think of a non-emr cause that might exist for humans but not lab mice?

Pythagorean

What statistical association in humans; was this something mentioned in the paper?

russ_watters

It is postulated as a reason for doing the study.

Pythagorean

What would be the significance of a non-emr cause for humans and not mice? Wouldn't it be enough to talk about a non-emr cause for both? There's a lot of genetic and chemical contributions to ADHD that could effect both mice and men without referencing emr.

Though, I do remember one particular study claiming that it's difficult to go to sleep after using mobile devices (but I think this also applies to watching TV and using your computer; there was no mechanism proposed, so it could just be a matter of stimulation before bed).

Ryan_m_b

Quote by Pythagorean

Though, I do remember one particular study claiming that it's difficult to go to sleep after using mobile devices (but I think this also applies to watching TV and using your computer; there was no mechanism proposed, so it could just be a matter of stimulation before bed).

IIRC that's more to do with sensory stimulus than anything else.

Dotini

"Neurobehavioral disorders are increasingly prevalent in children"

Does everyone agree with this much?

Respectfully submitted,
Steve

Drakkith

Quote by Dotini

"Neurobehavioral disorders are increasingly prevalent in children"

Does everyone agree with this much?

Respectfully submitted,
Steve

No. I agree that they are increasingly diagnosed with disorders though. Either through better understanding, or lack thereof.
Edit: However, I have no looked at much evidence on either side. So I could be wrong. And probably am.

skeptic2

Quote by russ_watters

Lets suppose for a sec that the statistical association in humans is real. Can anyone think of a non-emr cause that might exist for humans but not lab mice?

Yes, Jane M. Healy, PhD, in her book Endangered Minds, Why Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About It, makes a strong case that children's television (including PBS), by employing gimmicks to keep their attention, makes it more difficult for those children to concentrate in school. The gimmicks include bright colors, loud noises and constantly changing scenes. When a child becomes dependent upon those gimmicks to maintain his or her attention, how will he or she be able to concentrate in a school environment which is precisely the opposite?

Pythagorean

Quote by Ryan_m_b

IIRC that's more to do with sensory stimulus than anything else.

I think so, but there may be something special about particularly bright sensory stimulus to the eyes. Sunlight is definitely a circadian cue; I don't know what the spectral requirement is, but I know they can use artificial lights in diurnal regulation experiments; there's a whole bunch of cellular trafficking that occurs at the night-time transition including Post-Synaptic Density and fatty aid protein binder (see paper below) which have implications for synaptic plasticity.

The common advice I always hear from public experts is to not have TV in your room, and stay off your smartphones and laptops an hour before bed. They don't ever say anything about listening to the radio or engaging in dialogue (and stuff) with SWMBO being bad for sleep.

Gerstner JR, Bremer QZ, Vander Heyden WM, LaVaute TM, Yin JC, et al. (2008) Brain Fatty Acid Binding Protein (Fabp7) Is Diurnally Regulated in Astrocytes and Hippocampal Granule Cell Precursors in Adult Rodent Brain. PLoS ONE 3(2): e1631. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001631
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:...l.pone.0001631

mheslep

Quote by Ryan_m_b

1.6W/kg at a distance varying between ~5 and ~25cm for a continuous period of 17 days.

...

Yes, which doesn't make sense to me. They report 1.6W/kg as the US specific absorption rate (SAR), a measure of tissue radiation exposure, and they state they use this SAR in the trial, not cell phone emission power at distance X which is simple to measure. The absorbed power will be dependent on several factors, especially distance which they vary 4:1. I don't follow how actual absorbed power in tissue is measured aside from some kind of calorimetry on the tissue.

andras48

you are making an excellent point, mheslep. What is unbelievable is that they did not do ANY SAR measurements. They say that they used a cell phone with the SAR of 1.6. Must have been the Motorola Bravo (1.59), on top of the cage..the mice moved about freely..This does not make any sense at all, except that the referees had no understanding of electrical fields.

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russ_watters Mentor	Cell phones affects fetal neurodevelopment in mice How much wattage did they use and how close was it to the fetuses?

Pythagorean Recognitions: Gold Member	What statistical association in humans; was this something mentioned in the paper?

Dotini Recognitions: Gold Member	"Neurobehavioral disorders are increasingly prevalent in children" Does everyone agree with this much? Respectfully submitted, Steve

andras48	you are making an excellent point, mheslep. What is unbelievable is that they did not do ANY SAR measurements. They say that they used a cell phone with the SAR of 1.6. Must have been the Motorola Bravo (1.59), on top of the cage..the mice moved about freely..This does not make any sense at all, except that the referees had no understanding of electrical fields.