IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i9p1607-d229140.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Low-Level Exposure to Radiofrequency Fields Effect Cognitive Behaviour in Laboratory Animals? A Systematic Review of the Literature Related to Spatial Learning and Place Memory

Author

Listed:
  • Zenon Sienkiewicz

    (Public Health England, Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0RQ, UK)

  • Eric van Rongen

    (Health Council of the Netherlands, P.O. Box 16052, 2500 BB The Hague, The Netherlands)

Abstract

This review considers whether exposure to low-level radiofrequency (RF) fields, mostly associated with mobile phone technology, can influence cognitive behaviour of laboratory animals. Studies were nominated for inclusion using an a priori defined protocol with preselected criteria, and studies were excluded from analysis if they did not include sufficient details about the exposure, dosimetry or experimental protocol, or if they lacked a sham-exposed group. Overall, 62 studies were identified that have investigated the effects of RF fields on spatial memory and place learning and have been published since 1993. Of these, 17 studies were excluded, 20 studies reported no significant field-related effects, 21 studies reported significant impairments or deficits, and four studies reported beneficial consequences. The data do not suggest whether these outcomes are related to specific differences in exposure or testing conditions, or simply represent chance. However, some studies have suggested possible molecular mechanisms for the observed effects, but none of these has been substantiated through independent replication. Further behavioural studies could prove useful to resolve this situation, and it is suggested that these studies should use a consistent animal model with standardized exposure and testing protocols, and with detailed dosimetry provided by heterogeneous, anatomically-realistic animal models.

Suggested Citation

  • Zenon Sienkiewicz & Eric van Rongen, 2019. "Can Low-Level Exposure to Radiofrequency Fields Effect Cognitive Behaviour in Laboratory Animals? A Systematic Review of the Literature Related to Spatial Learning and Place Memory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-23, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:9:p:1607-:d:229140
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/9/1607/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/9/1607/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jun-Ping Zhang & Ke-Ying Zhang & Ling Guo & Qi-Liang Chen & Peng Gao & Tian Wang & Jing Li & Guo-Zhen Guo & Gui-Rong Ding, 2017. "Effects of 1.8 GHz Radiofrequency Fields on the Emotional Behavior and Spatial Memory of Adolescent Mice," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-14, November.
    2. Svenja Engels & Nils-Lasse Schneider & Nele Lefeldt & Christine Maira Hein & Manuela Zapka & Andreas Michalik & Dana Elbers & Achim Kittel & P. J. Hore & Henrik Mouritsen, 2014. "Anthropogenic electromagnetic noise disrupts magnetic compass orientation in a migratory bird," Nature, Nature, vol. 509(7500), pages 353-356, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maria Rosaria Scarfì & Mats-Olof Mattsson & Myrtill Simkó & Olga Zeni, 2019. "Special Issue: “Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields in Biology and Medicine: From Mechanisms to Biomedical Applications”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-3, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dan-Yang Li & Jing-Dong Song & Zhao-Yuan Liang & Kiana Oskouei & Xiang-Qian Xiao & Wen-Zhe Hou & Jin-Tao Li & Yi-Shu Yang & Ming-Lian Wang & Manuel Murbach, 2020. "Apoptotic Effect of 1800 MHz Electromagnetic Radiation on NIH/3T3 Cells," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-11, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:9:p:1607-:d:229140. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.