Comparative effects of two aerobic training protocols on cognitive function, brain damage, and neurotransmitter levels in rats exposed to electromagnetic radiation emitted from a Wi-Fi router

Abstract

Background
Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from Wi-Fi routers has resulted in social and scientific concerns owing to several adverse effects. The objective of the current study was to compare the impact of swimming exercise (SE) and treadmill running (TR) on EMR-induced brain damage and cognitive impairment by focusing on GABA and serotonin.

Methods
36 male Wistar rats were randomly allocated to six groups, which included control (C), EMR, SE, TR, EMR + SE, and EMR + TR (n = 6/group). The rats were exposed to 4-h daily EMR emitted from a Wi-Fi2.45 GHz router at a frequency of 2400 GHz and engaged in TR (25–35 min/day, 5 days/week) or SE (30 min/day, 5 days/week) for 4 weeks. Following the last intervention, a morris water maze was conducted, and subsequently hippocampus tissues were collected to assess the expression of GABA and serotonin via western blot analysis and histopathological assessment.

Results
Exposure to EMR induced neuroinflammation, neuronal cell death, cell disruption, learning and memory impairement, significantly reduced serotonin, and significantly increased GABA compared to the C group (P < 0.05). However, the SE-EMR and TR-EMR groups markedly alleviated brain damage, and partly ameliorated learning and memory decline compared to the EMR group. No significant difference between the TR-EMR and SE-EMR was evident.

Conclusions
4-week EMR exposure induces histopathological alterations, reduces serotonin, and increases GABA. TR and SE have the potential to improve EMR-induced brain damage and cognitive impairment, while both training protocols could not alter the expression of serotonin and GABA.

Full text

Vol.:(0123456789)
Sport Sciences for Health (2025) 21:515–524
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-024-01287-5
RESEARCH
Comparative effects oftwo aerobic training protocols oncognitive
function, brain damage, andneurotransmitter levels inrats exposed
toelectromagnetic radiation emitted fromaWi‑Fi router
ShimaHoghoughizadeh1· FatemehShabkhiz1· MohammadRezaKordi1· AmirMohammadZobeydi1
Received: 12 September 2024 / Accepted: 21 October 2024 / Published online: 1 December 2024
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag Italia S.r.l., part of Springer Nature 2024
Abstract
Background Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from Wi-Fi routers has resulted in social and scientific concerns
owing to several adverse effects. The objective of the current study was to compare the impact of swimming exercise (SE)
and treadmill running (TR) on EMR-induced brain damage and cognitive impairment by focusing on GABA and serotonin.
Methods 36 male Wistar rats were randomly allocated to six groups, which included control (C), EMR, SE, TR, EMR + SE,
and EMR + TR (n = 6/group). The rats were exposed to 4-h daily EMR emitted from a Wi-Fi2.45 GHz router at a frequency of
2400 GHz and engaged in TR (25–35 min/day, 5 days/week) or SE (30 min/day, 5 days/week) for 4 weeks. Following the
last intervention, a morris water maze was conducted, and subsequently hippocampus tissues were collected to assess the
expression of GABA and serotonin via western blot analysis and histopathological assessment.
Results Exposure to EMR induced neuroinflammation, neuronal cell death, cell disruption, learning and memory impaire-
ment, significantly reduced serotonin, and significantly increased GABA compared to the C group (P < 0.05). However,
the SE-EMR and TR-EMR groups markedly alleviated brain damage, and partly ameliorated learning and memory decline
compared to the EMR group. No significant difference between the TR-EMR and SE-EMR was evident.
Conclusions 4-week EMR exposure induces histopathological alterations, reduces serotonin, and increases GABA. TR and
SE have the potential to improve EMR-induced brain damage and cognitive impairment, while both training protocols could
not alter the expression of serotonin and GABA.
Keywords Electromagnetic radiation· Aerobic training· Swimming exercise· GABA· Serotonin· Cognitive impairment
Introduction
The worldwide use of wireless internet (Wi-Fi) systems
has increased significantly during the past few decades [1].
Wi-Fi routers with a frequency of 2.4 GHz are widely used
Wi-Fi devices, which are widely utilized in a wide range of
areas such as homes, schools, universities, and public areas.
However, the impact of electromagnetic radiation (EMR)
emitted from these rooter is often ignored [2]. Although
Wi-Fi has become crucial in modern life, being exposed
to the EMR that is emitted by Wi-Fi routers has been indi-
cated to be associated with adverse effects on several vital
organs, including brain tissue [3]. Previous investigations
have documented that exposure to EMR emitted from Wi-Fi
equipment leads to oxidative stress and reduced anti-oxidant
capacity, which can cause cell membrane damage, followed
by apoptosis via several molecular pathways, including oxi-
dation of proteins, lipids, and DNA damage [3–6]. Moreo-
ver, available studies have demonstrated that EMR is char-
acterized by altering some critical neurotransmitters in the
brain tissue, including gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
and serotonin [7, 8].
Neurotransmitters are signaling molecules that play a
vital role in transmitting messages from nerve cells to tar-
get cells. Despite their crucial functions, these chemical
messengers could be a contributing factor in many neuro-
logical disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, depression,
and Alzheimer’s disease [9–11]. Serotonin, also regarded
as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), has a fundamental role in
modulating several body functions, such as mood, memory,
* Fatemeh Shabkhiz
shabkhiz@ut.ac.ir
1 Department ofExercise Physiology, Faculty ofSport
Sciences andHealth, University ofTehran, Tehran, Iran
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