Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of extremely low frequency (8 mT, 50 Hz) electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) on avoidance learning in mice and compared the effect of an ELF-EMF in adult male and female mice. Learning was evaluated using a passive avoidance learning procedure in a standard wooden box, in which, despite their instinctive tendencies, mice learn to stay on a small platform to avoidant an electric shock. Before each learning session, the animals were exposed to an 8 mT, 50 Hz ELF created by a round coil. Immediately after 60 min exposure to the ELF-EMF, the mice were subjected to avoidance learning. The animals in the sham-exposed control group were placed in the coil for 60 min but were not exposed to the EMF and were subjected to the same behavioral procedures as the experimental group. The comparison of learned behaviors in the experimental and control groups showed that exposure to an 8 mT, 50 Hz ELF for 60 min significantly affected passive avoidance learning in both male (p < .023) and female (p < .015) mice.
Highlights
The advancement of new technologies has been associated with the creation of communication services and various electrical devices with electromagnetic fields of varying intensities
The present study investigated the effect of an ELF electromagnetic fields (EMFs) (8 mT, 50 Hz) on passive avoidance learning in male and female mice
The results showed no significant differences between the two groups (n = 20 male, n = 20 female) in the learning session (MannWhitney U = 47.500; p < .843)
Summary
The advancement of new technologies has been associated with the creation of communication services and various electrical devices with electromagnetic fields of varying intensities. In 1980, researchers investigated the increased risk of leukemia and brain tumors in people who were exposed to extremely low frequency EMFs (ELF EMFs). Such evidence led to increased attention to the risk of EMFs (Ahlbom, 2001). Occupational exposure to the same fields increased the risk of cardiac disorders, cardiac arrhythmia-related conditions, and acute myocardial infarction (Savitz, Liao, Sastre, Kleckner, & Kavet, 1999). Further research focused on the risk of central nervous system disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, in people who were exposed to occupational EMFs and electric shock (Ahlbom, Green, Kheifets, Savitz, & Swerdlow, 2004)
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