The present study evaluated whether short-term exposure to different doses of 2.1 GHz radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) has different effects on rats' behaviour and hippocampal levels of central cholinergic biomarkers. Animals were divided into three equal groups namely; group 1 was sham-exposed group, group 2-3 were exposed to 45 V/m and 65 V/m doses of 2.1 GHz frequency for 1 week respectively. Numerical dosimetry simulations were carried out. Object location and Y-maze were used as behavioural tasks. The protein and mRNA expression levels of AChE, ChAT, and VAChT, in the hippocampus were tested using Western Blotting and Real-Time PCR. The impairment performance of rats subjected to 65 V/m dose of 2.1 GHz RF-EMR in both object location and Y-maze tasks was observed. The hippocampal levels of AChE, ChAT, and VAChT, were significantly lower in rats exposed to 65 V/m dose of 2.1 GHz RF-EMR than others. The stronger effect of "65 V/m" dose on both rat's hippocampal-dependent behavioural performances and hippocampal levels of cholinergic biomarkers may be due to the stronger effect of "65 V/m" dose where rats' snouts were located at the nearest distance from the monopole antenna. Furthermore, the simulated SAR values were high for 65 V/m electric-field strengths. For the first time, we report the potential dose-dependent effects of short-term exposure to 2.1 GHz radiation on rat's behavioural performances as well as hippocampal levels of cholinergic biomarkers. Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms by which RF-EMR influences the function of the central cholinergic system in the brain.

中文翻译：

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不同剂量的 2.1 GHz 电磁辐射对 Wistar 大鼠学习和海马胆碱能生物标志物水平的可能影响


本研究评估短期暴露于不同剂量的 2.1 GHz 射频电磁辐射 (RF-EMR) 是否对大鼠的行为和海马中枢胆碱能生物标志物水平产生不同的影响。将动物分为三个相等的组，即：第1组为假暴露组，第2-3组分别接受2.1GHz频率的45V/m和65V/m剂量暴露1周。进行了数值剂量测定模拟。物体定位和 Y 迷宫被用作行为任务。使用蛋白质印迹和实时 PCR 测试海马中 AChE、ChAT 和 VAChT 的蛋白和 mRNA 表达水平。观察了接受 65 V/m 剂量的 2.1 GHz RF-EMR 的大鼠在物体定位和 Y 迷宫任务中的损伤表现。暴露于 65 V/m 剂量的 2.1 GHz RF-EMR 的大鼠的海马 AChE、ChAT 和 VAChT 水平显着低于其他大鼠。 “65 V/m”剂量对大鼠海马依赖性行为表现和海马胆碱能生物标志物水平的较强影响可能是由于“65 V/m”剂量对大鼠口鼻部位于最近距离的影响较强。来自单极天线。此外，在 65 V/m 电场强度下，模拟 SAR 值很高。我们首次报告了短期暴露于 2.1 GHz 辐射对大鼠行为表现以及海马胆碱能生物标志物水平的潜在剂量依赖性影响。需要进一步的研究来了解 RF-EMR 影响大脑中枢胆碱能系统功能的机制。