What is the effect of chronic RF-EMF exposure on thermal preference in juvenile rats

Some studies have shown that people living near a mobile phone base station may report sleep disturbances and discomfort. Using a rat model, we have previously shown that chronic exposure to a low-intensity radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) was associated with paradoxical sleep fragmentation and unusually greater vasomotor tone in the tail without any difference of central temperature at air temperature (Ta) of 31°C. Thus, in the present study, we tested the hypothesis that sleep disturbances are due to thermal discomfort induced by RF-EMF, since the lower skin temperature might be accompanied by a change in thermal preference. In this study, the animal was free to choose Ta value (thermal preference), included in the rat’s thermoneutral zone. Within this range, homeothermia can be maintained by controlling changes in peripheral vasomotor tone and by modulating wakefulness and sleep stage distribution. The present study aimed at assessing the changes in thermal preference and sleep stage distribution in 18 young male Wistar rats