In yet another warning about the potential-but-uncertain dangers of cell phone use, a new study of mice has linked fetal exposure to radiation from the mobile devices during pregnancy to possible brain development abnormalities that could lead to hyperactivity.
The research, conducted by scientists at Yale University School of Medicine, was published in the journal Scientific Reports, a Nature publication.
“This is the first experimental evidence that fetal exposure to radiofrequency radiation from cellular telephones does in fact affect adult behavior,” said senior researcher Dr. Hugh S. Taylor, a reproductive specialist.
Taylor and his colleagues exposed a group of pregnant mice to radiation from a cell phone positioned above their cage. They then compared them to a second group of mice kept under the same conditions but with the phone deactivated.
Researchers found the mice exposed to cell phone radiation as fetuses tended to be more hyperactive and have more memory problems as adults than the unexposed mice. Taylor tied the behavioral changes to an effect during pregnancy on the development of nerve cells in the region of the brain scientists have linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“We have shown that behavioral problems in mice that resemble ADHD are caused by cell phone exposure in the womb,” said Taylor. “The rise in behavioral disorders in human children may be in part due to fetal cellular telephone irradiation exposure.”
Researchers said more studies are needed to determine if the risks of cell phone radiation during human pregnancy are similar to those in mice and to establish safe levels. “Nevertheless,” he said, “limiting exposure of the fetus seems warranted.”
The study was funded by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, and Environment and Human Health Inc.