Behavioural phenotypes in mice after prenatal and early postnatal exposure to intermediate frequency magnetic fields

2017 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 2192

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2017

Study typeanimal

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Behavioural phenotypes in mice after prenatal and early postnatal exposure to intermediate frequency magnetic fields Kumari K, Koivisto H, Myles C, Jonne N, Matti V, Heikki T, Jukka J. Behavioural phenotypes in mice after prenatal and early postnatal exposure to intermediate frequency magnetic fields. Environ Res. 2017 Dec 22;162:27-34. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.12.013. Abstract Electromagnetic fields are ubiquitous in the environment. Human exposure to intermediate frequency (IF) fields is increasing due to applications like electronic article surveillance systems, wireless power transfer, and induction heating cooking hobs. However, there are limited data on possible health effects of exposure to IF magnetic fields (MF). In the present study, we set out to assess cognitive and behavioural effects of IF MF in mice exposed during prenatal and early postnatal periods. Pregnant female mice were exposed continuously to 7.5kHz MFs at 12 and 120μT, from mating until weaning of pups. Sham exposed pregnant mice were used as a control group. A behavioural teratology study was conducted on the male offspring at two months of age to detect possible effects on the developing nervous system. Body weight development did not differ between the exposure groups. The exposure did not alter spontaneous motor activity when exploring a novel cage or anxiety in novelty-suppressed feeding or marble burying tests. Improved performance in the Rotarod task was observed in the 12µT group, while the 120μT exposure group swam more slowly than the sham exposed group in the Morris swim navigation task. However, indices of learning and memory (path length and escape latency during task acquisition and search bias during the probe test) did not differ between the exposure groups. Furthermore, the passive avoidance task did not indicate any impairment of long-term memory over a 48h interval in the exposed groups. In a post-mortem histopathological analysis, there was no evidence for an effect of IF MF exposure on astroglial reactivity or hippocampal neurogenesis. The results suggest that the IF MF used did not have detrimental effects on spatial learning and memory or histological markers of tissue reaction. The two statistically significant findings that were observed (improved performance in the Rotarod task in the 12µT group and decreased swimming speed in the 120µT group) are likely to be chance findings, as they do not form an internally consistent, dose-dependent pattern indicative of specific developmental effects. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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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 directionmixed

PopulationPregnant female mice and male offspring assessed at 2 months of age

Sample sizeNot supplied

Exposureintermediate frequency · 0.0075 MHz · continuous exposure from mating until weaning (prenatal and early postnatal)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Continuous prenatal and early postnatal exposure to 7.5 kHz magnetic fields at 12 or 120 µT did not change body weight, spontaneous motor activity, anxiety-like behavior, learning and memory indices in the Morris task, or passive avoidance performance. Rotarod performance was improved in the 12 µT group and swimming speed was lower in the 120 µT group versus sham, while histopathology showed no evidence of effects on astroglial reactivity or hippocampal neurogenesis.

Outcomes measured

Body weight development
Spontaneous motor activity (novel cage exploration)
Anxiety-like behavior (novelty-suppressed feeding, marble burying)
Motor coordination/performance (Rotarod)
Spatial learning and memory (Morris swim navigation task: path length, escape latency, probe test search bias)
Long-term memory (passive avoidance over 48 h)
Histopathology: astroglial reactivity
Histopathology: hippocampal neurogenesis

Limitations

Sample size not reported in provided abstract/metadata
Only male offspring were assessed for behavioral teratology outcomes
Authors note statistically significant findings lacked an internally consistent, dose-dependent pattern

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "intermediate frequency",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": 0.0075,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "continuous exposure from mating until weaning (prenatal and early postnatal)"
  },
  "population": "Pregnant female mice and male offspring assessed at 2 months of age",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Body weight development",
    "Spontaneous motor activity (novel cage exploration)",
    "Anxiety-like behavior (novelty-suppressed feeding, marble burying)",
    "Motor coordination/performance (Rotarod)",
    "Spatial learning and memory (Morris swim navigation task: path length, escape latency, probe test search bias)",
    "Long-term memory (passive avoidance over 48 h)",
    "Histopathology: astroglial reactivity",
    "Histopathology: hippocampal neurogenesis"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Continuous prenatal and early postnatal exposure to 7.5 kHz magnetic fields at 12 or 120 µT did not change body weight, spontaneous motor activity, anxiety-like behavior, learning and memory indices in the Morris task, or passive avoidance performance. Rotarod performance was improved in the 12 µT group and swimming speed was lower in the 120 µT group versus sham, while histopathology showed no evidence of effects on astroglial reactivity or hippocampal neurogenesis.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Sample size not reported in provided abstract/metadata",
    "Only male offspring were assessed for behavioral teratology outcomes",
    "Authors note statistically significant findings lacked an internally consistent, dose-dependent pattern"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "intermediate frequency",
    "magnetic fields",
    "7.5 kHz",
    "prenatal exposure",
    "postnatal exposure",
    "behavior",
    "learning and memory",
    "Rotarod",
    "Morris water maze",
    "passive avoidance",
    "astroglial reactivity",
    "hippocampal neurogenesis"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "intermediate-frequency",
      "weight": 0.95,
      "reason": "Study evaluates health/behavioral effects of intermediate-frequency (7.5 kHz) magnetic fields."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.12.013
PubMed: Not supplied

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