Effect of 2,450 MHz microwave radiation on the development of the rat brain
Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 2,450 MHz microwave radiation at an incident power density of 10 mW/cm2 daily for 3 hours from day 4 of pregnancy (in utero exposure) through day 40 postpartum, except for 2 days at the perinatal period. The animals were killed, and the brains removed, weighed, measured, and histologically examined at 15, 20, 30, and 40 days of age. The histologic parameters examined included the cortical architecture of the cerebral cortex, the decline of the germinal layer along the lateral ventricles, the myelination of the corpus callosum, and the decline of the external germinal layer of the cerebellar cortex. In 40-day-old rats, quantitative measurements of neurons were also made. The spine density of the pyramidal cells in layer III of the somatosensory cortex, and the density of basal dendritic trees of the pyramidal cells in layer V were measured in Golgi-Cox impregnated specimens. In addition, the density of Purkinje cells and the extent of the Purkinje cell layer in each lobule were measured in midsagittal sections of the cerebellum stained with thionin. There were no remarkable differences between microwave-exposed and control (sham-irradiated) groups for any of the histologic or quantitative parameters examined; however, the findings provide important information on quantitative measurements of the brain. The data from this study failed to demonstrate that there is a significant effect on rat brain development due to microwave exposure (10 mW/cm2) during the embryonic, fetal, and postnatal periods.
- Research Organization:
- National Inst. of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC
- OSTI ID:
- 6721124
- Journal Information:
- Teratology; (United States), Vol. 28:3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BRAIN
ONTOGENESIS
MICROWAVE RADIATION
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
HISTOLOGY
PRENATAL EXPOSURE
RATS
ANIMALS
BODY
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
MAMMALS
NERVOUS SYSTEM
ORGANS
RADIATIONS
RODENTS
VERTEBRATES
560400* - Other Environmental Pollutant Effects