exposure to electromagnetic field during gestation adversely affects the electrophysiological properties of purkinje cells in rat offspring

Background: prenatal adverse effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (rf-emf) exposure on nervous system are an issue of major concern. objective: thus, in this study we evaluated the membrane current flow properties of purkinje neurons after maternal exposure to 900 mhz pulsed rf-emf. material and methods: in this experimental study, during all days of pregnancy, rats in the emf-exposed group were exposed to 900 mhz pulsed-emf radiation for 6 h per day. the effects of rf-emf exposure on the electrophysiological properties of the purkinje cerebellum neurons from male pups were evaluated by whole-cell patch clamp recordings in current and voltage clamp modes. in voltageclamp experiments, the holding potential was -60 mv, and a depolarizing voltage step (1000 ms duration) was applied from -60 to +50 mv in 10 mv increments at 2s intervals. results: the exposure group demonstrated reduced spontaneous firing associated with upward and rightward shift in i/v curve compared to the control rats. moreover, the peak amplitude of the current for the exposure pups also revealed a significant decrement. the reversal potential was +40 mv and +20 mv for the control and rf-emf groups, respectively and showed significant differences between the two groups. conclusion: the decrease in ion’s conductance could be attributed to the observed decrease in the voltage onset of the inward current, peak amplitude and voltage shift.