Anxiety-like behavioural effects of ELF EMF in rats

2017 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 2381

Rats exposed to 50 Hz ELF-EMF for 7 days showed anxiety-like behaviour and increased hypothalamic concentrations of superoxide anion (O2·-) and nitrite (NO2-, indicator of NO), while peroxynitrite (ONOO-) concentration was not affected.

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2017

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Anxiety-like behavioural effects of ELF EMF in rats Djordjevic NZ, Paunović MG, Peulić AS.Anxiety-like behavioural effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field in rats. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2017 Jul 29. doi: 10.1007/s11356-017-9710-1. Abstract In recent years, extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) has received considerable attention for its potential biological effects. Numerous studies have shown the role of ELF-EMF in behaviour modulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of short-term ELF-EMF (50 Hz) in the development of anxiety- like behaviour in rats through change hypothalamic oxidative stress and NO. Ten adult male rats (Wistar albino) were divided in two groups: control group-without exposure to ELF-EMF and experimental group-exposed to ELF-EMF during 7 days. After the exposure, time open field test and elevated plus maze were used to evaluate the anxiety-like behaviour of rats. Upon completion of the behavioural tests, concentrations of superoxide anion (O2·-), nitrite (NO2-, as an indicator of NO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-) were determined in the hypothalamus of the animals. Obtained results show that ELF-EMF both induces anxiety-like behaviour and increases concentrations of O2·- and NO, whereas it did not effect on ONOO- concentration in hypothalamus of rats. In conclusion, the development of anxiety-like behaviour is mediated by oxidative stress and increased NO concentration in hypothalamus of rats exposed to ELF-EMF during 7 days. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Machine Enhanced Logic

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

PopulationAdult male Wistar albino rats

Sample size10

ExposureELF · 0.05 MHz · 7 days (short-term)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Anxiety-like behaviour (open field test, elevated plus maze)
Hypothalamic superoxide anion (O2·-)
Hypothalamic nitrite (NO2-; indicator of NO)
Hypothalamic peroxynitrite (ONOO-)

Limitations

Small sample size (n=10)
Animal study (rats), limiting direct generalizability to humans
Short-term exposure only (7 days)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": 0.05,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "7 days (short-term)"
  },
  "population": "Adult male Wistar albino rats",
  "sample_size": 10,
  "outcomes": [
    "Anxiety-like behaviour (open field test, elevated plus maze)",
    "Hypothalamic superoxide anion (O2·-)",
    "Hypothalamic nitrite (NO2-; indicator of NO)",
    "Hypothalamic peroxynitrite (ONOO-)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Rats exposed to 50 Hz ELF-EMF for 7 days showed anxiety-like behaviour and increased hypothalamic concentrations of superoxide anion (O2·-) and nitrite (NO2-, indicator of NO), while peroxynitrite (ONOO-) concentration was not affected.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Small sample size (n=10)",
    "Animal study (rats), limiting direct generalizability to humans",
    "Short-term exposure only (7 days)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "ELF-EMF",
    "extremely low frequency",
    "50 Hz",
    "rats",
    "anxiety-like behaviour",
    "open field test",
    "elevated plus maze",
    "hypothalamus",
    "oxidative stress",
    "nitric oxide",
    "superoxide anion",
    "nitrite",
    "peroxynitrite"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "Study involves ELF (50 Hz) exposure, which can be relevant to occupational ELF contexts, though no specific source is stated."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1007/s11356-017-9710-1
PubMed: Not supplied

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