IntroductionThe interaction of mobile phone radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) with the brain is a serious concern of our society.ObjectiveWe evaluated the effect of RF-EMR from mobile phones on passive avoidance behaviour and hippocampal morphology in rats.Materials and methodsHealthy male albino Wistar rats were exposed to RF-EMR by giving 50 missed calls (within 1 hour) per day for 4 weeks, keeping a GSM (0.9 GHz/1.8 GHz) mobile phone in vibratory mode (no ring tone) in the cage. After the experimental period, passive avoidance behaviour and hippocampal morphology were studied.ResultsPassive avoidance behaviour was significantly affected in mobile phone RF-EMR-exposed rats demonstrated as shorter entrance latency to the dark compartment when compared to the control rats. Marked morphological changes were also observed in the CA3 region of the hippocampus of the mobile phone-exposed rats in comparison to the control rats.ConclusionMobile phone RF-EMR exposure significantly altered the passive avoidance behaviour and hippocampal morphology in rats.

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From a comparative viewpoint, we have investigated the presence and neuroanatomical distribution of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-immunoreactive material in the brain of a gymnophione amphibian, Ichthyophis beddomei. Immunocytochemical analysis of the adult brain and terminal nerves in both sexes shows the presence of neurons and fibers containing mammalian GnRH (mGnRH)- and chicken GnRH-II (cGnRH-II)-like peptides. With respect to GnRH-immunoreactive material, there are two distinct neuronal systems in the brain: one containing mGnRH, which is located in the forebrain and terminal nerve, and the other containing cGnRH-II, which is restricted to the midbrain tegmentum. Basically, this distribution pattern parallels that of many species of anurans and a urodele. Whereas the presence of cGnRH-II-immunoreactive fibers in the dorsal pallium of L. beddomei is a feature in common with a urodele amphibian, the total absence of cGnRH-II-like material in the median eminence is unique to this species. It is suggested here that the distribution profile of GnRH-like material within the brain and terminal nerve of I. beddomei represents a primitive pattern.

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