Tissue close to the mobile phone suffers the greatest risk of exposure to non-ionising radiation from mobile communication. The cerebral effects of non-ionising radiation are therefore highly relevant and have also received attention in previous and ongoing epidemiological studies. Previous experimental studies used various cell cultivation and animal models. These studies have not yielded unambiguous results, the radiation set-up and dosing being different. The effects on the developing brain have not been systematically involved, and no studies applied human cerebral tissue.
This project uses a blinded design and controlled exposure to non-ionising radiation relevant to mobile communication, the purpose being to observe potential effects on mature and developing cerebral tissue. Cerebral tissue from rats, transgenic mice and humans will be used. We will focus on the hippocampus region and the overlying cerebral cortex (neocortex). Intact hippocampal neural stem cells are crucial to memory and learning abilities. The hippocampus is also the primary target of several dementia diseases, and the creation of neural cells in the hippocampus continues in adult brains. Since the hippocampus is located in the temporal lobe of the brain behind the ear, it is an obvious target of potential effects of non-ionising radiation from mobile phones. Brain tissue slice cultures in which the neural cells of the cultivated brain slices retain the normal intercellular location and the normal functions of the brain will be subjected to 900MHz, 1,800MHz or 2,000 MHz radiation in a design which may simulate mobile calls (varying exposure over time) and a more continuous low exposure corresponding to radiation from base station transmitters. The interdisciplinary research group comprising international scientists in non-ionising radiation exposure as well as experienced Danish neurobiologists is expected to provide well-validated results. Clear milestones have been defined, and a report of the first results is expected within the first year.
