Abstract
Two exposure systems were developed for the measurement of retinal ganglion cell responses to light under the influence of pulsed high-frequency electromagnetic fields. Exposure characteristics were determined numerically for the GSM standards (900/1,800 MHz) and the UMTS standard (1,966 MHz) with specific absorption rates, averaged over the region of interest, of 0.02, 0.2, 2 und 20 W kg−1. Extracellular multi- and single unit recordings of light responses from several retinal ganglion cells per retina could be obtained in these exposure systems on a regular basis, using two recording electrodes simultaneously. With appropriate temperature control adjustment, maximal temperature deviations at exposure onset and offset were well below the range of ±0.1°C for all SAR values.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Foster KR, Glaser R (2007) Thermal mechanisms of interaction of radiofrequency energy with biological systems with relevance to exposure guidelines. Health Phys 92:609–620
Leszczynski D, Joenvaara S, Reivinen J, Kuokka R (2002) Non-thermal activation of the hsp27/p38MAPK stress pathway by mobile phone radiation in human endothelial cells: molecular mechanism for cancer and blood–brain barrier- related effects. Differentiation 70:120–129
Peinnequin A, Piriou A, Mathieu J, Dabouis V, Sebbah C, Malabiau R, Debouzy JC (2000) Non-thermal effects of continuous 2.45 GHz microwaves on Fas-induced apoptosis in human Jurkat T-cell line. Bioelectrochem Bioenerg 51:157–161
Krause MC, Pesonen M, Björnberg CH, Hämäläinen H (2007) Effects of pulsed and continuous wave 902 MHz mobile phone exposure on brain oscillatory activity during cognitive processing. Bioelectromagnetics 28:296–308
Nittby H, Grafström G, Tian DP, Malmgren L, Brun A, Persson PRR, Salford LG, Eberhardt J (2008) Cognitive impairment in rats after long-term exposure to GSM-900 mobile phone radiation. Bioelectromagnetics 29:219–232
Tattersall JEH, Scott IR, Wood SJ, Nettell JJ, Bevir MK, Wang Z, Somasiri NP, Chen X (2001) Effects of low intensity radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on electrical activity in rat hippocampal slices. Brain Res 904:43–53
Attwell D (2003) Interaction of low frequency electric fields with the nervous system: The retina as a model system. Radiation Protection Dosimetry 106:341–348
Dowling J (1987) The retina: an approachable part of the brain. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Rodieck RW (1998) The first steps in seeing. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland
Greschner M, Thiel A, Kretzberg J, Ammermüller J (2006) Complex spike-event pattern of transient ON–OFF retinal ganglion cells. J Neurophysiol 96:2845–2856
Schuderer J, Samaras T, Oesch W, Spät D, Kuster N (2004) High peak SAR exposure unit with tight exposure and environmental control for in vitro experiments at 1,800 MHz. IEEE Trans Microw Theory Tech 52:2057–2066
Schuderer J, Samaras T, Oesch W, Spät D, Kuster N (2004) In vitro exposure system for RF exposure at 900 MHz. IEEE Trans Microw Theory Tech 52:2067–2075
Streckert J (1998) Anwendung feldtheoretischer Verfahren auf Untersuchungen zur Wirkung hochfrequenter elektromagnetischer Felder auf Mensch und Umwelt. Dissertation, Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Bitz A (2003) Numerische Feldberechnung im biologischen Gewebe: Exposition von Personen, Tieren und isolierten biologischen Systemen in elektromagnetischen Feldern. Dissertation, Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Ziegler JG, Nichols NB (1942) Optimum settings for automatic controllers. Trans ASME 64:759–768
Liptak B (1995) Instrument Engineers’ Handbook: Process Control. Radnor (Penn) Chilton Book Company, Pennsylvania
Völgyi B, Deans MR, Paul DL, Bloomfield SA (2004) Convergence and segregation of the multiple rod pathways in mammalian retina. J Neurosci 24:11182–11192
Lyubarsky AL, Falsini B, Pennesi ME, Valentini P, Pugh EN Jr (1999) UV- and midwave-sensitive cone-driven retinal responses of the mouse: a possible phenotype for coexpression of cone photopigments. J Neurosci 19:442–455
Mbonjo HNM, Streckert J, Bitz A, Hansen V, Glasmachers A, Gencol S, Rozic D (2004) Generic UMTS test signal for RF bioelectromagnetic studies. Bioelectromagnetics 25:415–425
EMPIRE™ user and reference manual. IMST GmbH, 2004
Kunz KS, Luebbers RJ (1993) The finite difference time domain method for electromagnetics. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Taflove A (1995) Computational electrodynamics: the finite difference time domain method. Artech House, Boston
Yee KS (1966) Numerical solution of initial boundary value problems involving Maxwell’s equations in isotropic media. IEEE Trans Antennas Propagat AP 14:302–307
Berenger J-P (1994) A perfectly matched layer for the absorption of electromagnetic waves. J Comput Phys 114:185–200
Gabriel S, Lau RW, Gabriel C (1996) The dielectric properties of biological tissues: III. Parametric models for the dielectric spectrum of tissues. Phys Med Biol 41:2271–2293
Lewicki MS (1998) A review of methods for spike sorting: the detection and classification of neural action potentials. Network 9:R53–R78
Heldmaier G, Neuweiler G (2004) Vergleichende Tierphysiologie, Band 2. Springer, Berlin
Geiser MH, Bonvin M, Quibel O (2004) Corneal and retinal temperatures under various ambient conditions: a model and experimental approach. Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd 221:311–314
Schellart NA, Spekreijse H, van den Berg TJ (1974) Influence of temperature on retinal ganglion cell response and ERG of goldfish. J Physiol 238:251–267
Dhingra NK, Kao YH, Sterling P, Smith RG (2003) Contrast threshold of a brisk-transient ganglion cell in vitro. J Neurophysiol 89:2360–2369
Aho AC, Donner K, Reuter T (1993) Retinal origins of the temperature effect on absolute visual sensitivity in frogs. J Physiol 463:501–521
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Germany (StSch 4429) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (FOR 701). We thank Jennifer Trümpler for critically reading the manuscript. M. T. A. would like to thank E. D. Ahlers for the technical support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ahlers, M.T., Bolz, T., Bahr, A. et al. Temperature-controlled exposure systems for investigating possible changes of retinal ganglion cell activity in response to high-frequency electromagnetic fields. Radiat Environ Biophys 48, 227–235 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-008-0207-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-008-0207-7