Refine
Keywords
- Neuronales Netz (6) (remove)
Document Type
- Conference Proceeding (4)
- Article (2)
Language
- English (6)
Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) is a worldwide common mobile communication standard, used by authorities and organizations with security tasks. Previous studies reported on health effects of TETRA, with focus on the specific pulse frequency of 17.64 Hz, which affects calcium efflux in neuronal cells. Likewise among others, it was reported that TETRA affects heart rate variability, neurophysiology and leads to headaches. In contrast, other studies conclude that TETRA does not affect calcium efflux of cells and has no effect on people's health.
In the present study we examine whether TETRA short- and long-term exposure could affect the electrophysiology of neuronal in vitro networks. Experiments were performed with a carrier frequency of 395 MHz, a pulse frequency of 17.64 Hz and a differential quaternary phase-shift keying (π/4 DQPSK) modulation. Specific absorption rates (SAR) of 1.17 W/kg and 2.21 W/kg were applied.
In conclusion, the present results do not indicate any effect of TETRA exposure on electrophysiology of neuronal in vitro networks, neither for short-term nor long-term exposure. This applies to the examined parameters spike rate, burst rate, burst duration and network synchrony.
Long‐term electromagnetic exposure of developing neuronal networks: A flexible experimental setup
(2016)
Neuronal networks in vitro are considered one of the most promising targets of research to assess potential electromagnetic field induced effects on neuronal functionality. A few exposure studies revealed there is currently no evidence of any adverse health effects caused by weak electromagnetic fields. Nevertheless, some published results are inconsistent. Particularly, doubts have been raised regarding possible athermal biological effects in the young brain during neuronal development. Therefore, we developed and characterized a flexible experimental setup based on a transverse electromagnetic waveguide, allowing controlled, reproducible exposure of developing neuronal networks in vitro. Measurement of S‐parameters confirmed very good performance of the Stripline in the band of 800–1000 MHz. Simulations suggested a flexible positioning of cell culture dishes throughout a large exposure area, as specific absorption rate values were quite independent of their position (361.7 ± 11.4 mW/kg) at 1 W, 900 MHz. During exposure, thermal drift inside cellular medium did not exceed 0.1 K. Embryonic rat cortical neurons were cultivated on microelectrode array chips to non‐invasively assess electrophysiological properties of electrogenic networks. Measurements were taken for several weeks, which attest to the experimental setup being a reliable system for long‐term studies on developing neuronal tissue.