Spatial Memory Perfomance of Wistar Rats Exposed to Mobile Phone

INTRODUCTION With the tremendous increase in number of mobile phone users world wide, the possible risks of this technology have become a serious concern. OBJECTIVE We tested the effects of mobile phone exposure on spatial memory performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS Male Wistar rats (10-12 weeks old) were exposed to 50 missed calls/day for 4 weeks from a GSM (900/1800 MHz) mobile phone in vibratory mode (no ring tone). After the experimental period, the animals were tested for spatial memory performance using the Morris water maze test. RESULTS Both phone exposed and control animals showed a significant decrease in escape time with training. Phone exposed animals had significantly (approximately 3 times) higher mean latency to reach the target quadrant and spent significantly (approximately 2 times) less time in the target quadrant than age- and sex-matched controls. CONCLUSION Mobile phone exposure affected the acquisition of learned responses in Wistar rats. This in turn points to the poor spatial navigation and the object place configurations of the phone-exposed animals.