With the extensive application of low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR) in medicine, aerospace, and other fields, the potential for exposure among the general population and occupationally exposed workers has increased, raising growing public health concerns regarding its possible effects on cognitive function. Current occupational and environmental radiation protection frameworks are primarily established based on cancer risk estimates derived from epidemiological evidence under high-dose exposure and extrapolation across dose ranges, whereas evidence regarding non-cancer outcomes, including potential cognitive effects of LDIR, remains limited and inconsistent, and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. This review summarized recent advances in research on the effects of LDIR on cognitive function and the associated neural mechanisms. Existing evidence indicates that LDIR may adversely affect cognitive domains including spatial memory and object recognition memory under certain exposure conditions, with potential mechanisms involving alterations in synaptic plasticity, microglia activation, neurodevelopmental processes, epigenetic regulation, and DNA damage and repair pathways. In contrast, studies using pathological models, including stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, have reported potential protective effects of LDIR, which may be mediated by attenuation of oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and activation of endogenous repair pathways. This indicates that LDIR has both damaging and protective effects on brain function; a deeper understanding of its patterns and mechanisms can provide a scientific basis for establishing occupational and environmental radiation protection standards. Furthermore, re-examining the LDIR risk assessment system may also offer new insights into exploring the therapeutic potential of LDIR for brain diseases.

Microwave technology has been widely applied in various fields such as military affairs, communication, transportation, medical treatment, and industrial and agricultural production. Nevertheless, such technology poses potential threats to human health while bringing convenience to production and life. Previous studies have shown that the reproductive system is one of the most sensitive targets to microwave radiation, and its microwave damage effect and treatment have garnered wide concern. This paper reviews the recent domestic and foreign studies on the impacts of microwave radiation on reproductive health and its treatment, especially the damage effects, mechanisms, and treatment method, from the aspects of epidemiological investigations and animal experiments. The purpose is to provide suggestions and references for future research on the effects of microwave radiation on reproductive damage and its treatment.

With the rapid advancement and wide application of microwave technology, it enhances convenience while potentially endangering health. The immune system, as a vital shield, is an important protective barrier and also one of the sensitive targets of microwave radiation. The immune system is particularly affected by microwave radiation via innate and adaptive immune responses, which is supported by both population surveys and experimental studies; however, the precise mechanism of immunotoxicity of microwave radiation remains under investigation. In light of recent scientific advances in the correlation between microwave radiation and the immune system, the deleterious impact of microwave radiation on innate immunity was delineated. Microwave radiation can induce irregular innate immune function by damaging macrophages, neutrophils, natural killer cells, and dendritic cells. The effects of microwave radiation on adaptive immunity were also elucidated. Microwave radiation can impair cellular immune response by influencing T cell proliferation, maturation and activation, and distribution of T cell subpopulation, and also hinder humoral immune function by influencing B lymphocyte protein expression, maturation during development, and number of B cells. Disparity in the immune function of the body can precipitate the onset of various immune-associated diseases, so the immunotoxic effects of microwave radiation and associated protection need considerable attention and detailed investigation. This article reviewed the shortcomings of existing studies, and suggested that future experimental studies should use experimental parameters that are more similar to the actual scene of life and work, pay more attention to the biological effects of combined multi-frequency microwave exposure on the immune system, use standardized and unified experimental methods, and incorporate more sophisticated experimental technologies to further elucidate the laws of damage effect and exact mechanism of microwave radiation on the immune system, so as to provide a scientific basis for potent protection against the damage effect of microwave radiation on the immune system.

The central nervous system is one of the most sensitive targets of microwave radiation. Microwave radiation can affect spatial learning and memory and neural information transmission. The effects of microwave radiation on neurotransmitters in the hippocampus and the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. This paper reviews the effects of microwave radiation on learning/memory and neurotransmitters as well as the mechanisms of action on neurotransmitters. This paper aims to provide a scientific basis for future research in this area.