Maternal stress induced anxiety-like behavior exacerbated by electromagnetic fields radiation in female rats offspring

2022 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 741

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2022

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Maternal stress induced anxiety-like behavior exacerbated by electromagnetic fields radiation in female rats offspring Hosseini E, Farid Habibi M, Babri S, Mohaddes G, Abkhezr H, Heydari H. Maternal stress induced anxiety-like behavior exacerbated by electromagnetic fields radiation in female rats offspring. PLoS One. 2022 Aug 23;17(8):e0273206. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273206. Abstract There is a disagreement on whether extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) have a beneficial or harmful effect on anxiety-like behavior. Prenatal stress induces frequent disturbances in offspring physiology such as anxiety-like behavior extending to adulthood. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of prenatal stress and ELF-EMF exposure before and during pregnancy on anxiety-like behavior and some anxiety-related pathways in the hippocampus of female rat offspring. A total of 24 female rats 40 days of age were distributed into four groups of 6 rats each: control, Stress (rats whose mothers underwent chronic stress), EMF (rats whose mothers were exposed to electromagnetic fields) and EMF/S (rats whose mothers were simultaneously exposed to chronic stress and ELF-EMF). The rats were given elevated plus-maze and open field tests and then their brains were dissected and their hippocampus were subjected to analysis. ELISA was used to measure 24(S)- hydroxy cholesterol, corticosterone, and serotonin levels. Cryptochrome2, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, 3B-Hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 2(NMDAr2) and phosphorylated N- methyl-D-aspartate receptor 2(PNMDAr2) were assayed by immunoblotting. Anxiety-like behavior increased in all treatment groups at the same time EMF increased anxiety induced by maternal stress in the EMF/S group. The stress group showed decreased serotonin and increased corticosterone levels. ELF-EMF elevated the PNMDAr2/NMDAr2 ratio and 24(S)-hydroxy cholesterol compared to the control group but did not change corticosterone. EMF did not restore changes induced by stress in behavioral and molecular tests. The results of the current study, clarified that ELF-EMF can induce anxiety-like behavior which may be attributed to an increase in the PNMDAr2/NMDAr2 ratio and 24(S)-OHC in the hippocampus, and prenatal stress may contribute to anxiety via a decrease in serotonin and an increase in corticosterone in the hippocampus. We also found that anxiety-like behavior induced by maternal stress exposure is exacerbated by electromagnetic field radiation. Open access paper: journals.plos.org

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal

Effect directionharm

PopulationFemale rat offspring (mothers exposed before and during pregnancy)

Sample size24

ExposureELF · before and during pregnancy (exact duration not stated)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Anxiety-like behavior increased in all treatment groups, and ELF-EMF exposure increased anxiety induced by maternal stress in the combined EMF/stress group. Stress was associated with decreased serotonin and increased corticosterone, while ELF-EMF increased PNMDAr2/NMDAr2 ratio and 24(S)-hydroxy cholesterol versus control and did not change corticosterone; EMF did not restore stress-induced behavioral or molecular changes.

Outcomes measured

Anxiety-like behavior (elevated plus-maze, open field)
Hippocampal serotonin
Hippocampal corticosterone
Hippocampal 24(S)-hydroxy cholesterol
Hippocampal PNMDAr2/NMDAr2 ratio
Hippocampal Cryptochrome2
Hippocampal steroidogenic acute regulatory protein
Hippocampal 3B-Hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase

Limitations

Animal study; findings may not generalize to humans
Exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, field strength) not provided in the abstract
Small group sizes (6 per group)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": "prenatal/maternal exposure (before and during pregnancy)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "before and during pregnancy (exact duration not stated)"
  },
  "population": "Female rat offspring (mothers exposed before and during pregnancy)",
  "sample_size": 24,
  "outcomes": [
    "Anxiety-like behavior (elevated plus-maze, open field)",
    "Hippocampal serotonin",
    "Hippocampal corticosterone",
    "Hippocampal 24(S)-hydroxy cholesterol",
    "Hippocampal PNMDAr2/NMDAr2 ratio",
    "Hippocampal Cryptochrome2",
    "Hippocampal steroidogenic acute regulatory protein",
    "Hippocampal 3B-Hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Anxiety-like behavior increased in all treatment groups, and ELF-EMF exposure increased anxiety induced by maternal stress in the combined EMF/stress group. Stress was associated with decreased serotonin and increased corticosterone, while ELF-EMF increased PNMDAr2/NMDAr2 ratio and 24(S)-hydroxy cholesterol versus control and did not change corticosterone; EMF did not restore stress-induced behavioral or molecular changes.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Animal study; findings may not generalize to humans",
    "Exposure parameters (e.g., frequency, field strength) not provided in the abstract",
    "Small group sizes (6 per group)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "ELF-EMF",
    "prenatal stress",
    "maternal stress",
    "anxiety-like behavior",
    "female rat offspring",
    "hippocampus",
    "serotonin",
    "corticosterone",
    "NMDA receptor",
    "24(S)-hydroxy cholesterol"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "elf-emf",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Study explicitly investigates extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) exposure and neurobehavioral outcomes."
    },
    {
      "slug": "prenatal-exposure",
      "weight": 0.75,
      "reason": "Exposure occurred before and during pregnancy with outcomes assessed in offspring."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273206
PubMed: Not supplied

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