Evaluation of the level of stress in rats of the species Rattus norvegicus submitted to microwave radiation

This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the behavioral effects verified in rats of the species Rattus norvegicus, submitted to microwave radiation. The analysis, based on the elevated cross form maze experiment, had as main objective to verify the stress level in adult and young rats that suffered the influence of non-ionizing radiation (Experimental Group) and to compare the answer ratio (number of entrances in the open arms/total number of entrances in the arms) with the Control Group, exempt of the influence of the radiation. Throughout the tests, a microwave generator was used operating in the frequency of 2.45 GHz during a daily period of one hour. The results obtained with the experiment showed that, for the older rats, no significant variation in the anxiety and stress levels was observed between the Experimental and Control Groups. On the other hand, for the younger rats there was a considerable increase of those levels in the Experimental Group in relation to the Control Group.