Exposure to radiofrequency wave (RFW) generated by a base transceiver stations (BTS) antenna model affects learning and memory in female more than male rats

Background: exposure to electromagnetic radiation may impair memory. thisstudy was conducted to evaluate the effect of radiofrequency wave (hereafterreferred to as rfw) on passive avoidance learning and memory in healthy malesand females. materials and methods: ten adult male and ten female sprague-dawley rats (230±20 gr) were randomly divided into four groups including twocontrol groups (one for males and one for females), and two experimental groups(exposed to 900 mhz radio frequency wave) each representing one gender. theexposure was performed for 30 consecutive days (4h/day). evaluation of learningand memory of the rats started on the last day of exposure by shuttle box. learningand memory of animals was recorded by the period of time they remained withinthe light area; this time was called the light time. results: results of the studyshowed that exposure to rfw significantly decreased the duration of lighttime in the rats within the experimental groups as compared to the controlgroups (p<0.05). exposure to rfw significantly decreased the light time infemales in comparison to males in the experimental group (p<0.05).histological study of brain section did not show significant changes betweengroups. conclusion: with regard to these findings, it was concluded that exposureto rfw causes disorder in memory retention of passive avoidance learning in rats.the extent of damage to the learning and memory in rats exposed to rfw wasmore for females than males.