• 15 APR 07
    • 0

    #701: Part III: New Spanish paper on cell phone addiction

    Patricia Garcia continues to work on translating the Spanish paper and here is the third installment.

    Don

    In this brief review we will analyze the confirmed effects that these radiations have on neurotransmitters and post-synaptic receptors that could help us understand the possibly addictive effect similar to that produced by conventional drugs.
    Henry Lai, the American scientist, from the University of Washington in his investigation lab of bio-electromagnetism, discovered that microwaves increase the activity of brain endorphins or endogen opiates (the biological basis of addiction to opium and its derivates as well as alcohol) with similarities to morphine. Even Dr. Lai (in his personal communication) commented how Russian doctors used microwaves with patients with “cravings” for heroin, although with inconclusive results.
    There could also be a suggested existence of an opiate-like action, similar to actual opiates and alcohol, as being partly responsible of its pleasurable “craving” and of the positive re-enforcement observed in cell phone addicts.
    In another study by the same author, the effects of radio-frequencies on the hippocampus were blocked by a pre-treatment on rats with opiate antagonists, naloxona and naltrexona, which suggests that radio frequencies activate endogens in the brain (Lai et.al 1989a)
    He also found that the receptors for benzodiazepine (BDZ) related to anxiety responses and stress in animals, were activated after being exposed to radio frequencies, probably related to the reinforcement of those euphoric properties of opiates. (Braestrup et al. 1979; Lai et al. 1992b;Walker and Ettenberg, 2001)
    Besides, during the same conditions of irradiation, different regions of the brain can have different sensibility or vulnerability to radio frequencies and provoke different responses (Lai et al 1991)but it seems that the long term effects depend on the length of exposure (Lai 1997)
    In this way and in general, the effect of radio frequencies on addiction imply several biologic processes that are similar to other agents, such as certain psychoactive drugs: alcohol, opiats and benzodiazepines (Lai 1999)

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