Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (100μT) on behaviors in rats.

Neurotoxicology · 2016 · No effect · Moderate evidence

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No effectModerate evidencePaper 4730

Sixty adult male rats were assigned to sham or 50 Hz/100 μT ELF-EMF exposure for 24 weeks. Exposure did not affect food/water intake, body weight, anxiety-like or depression-like behaviors, cognitive/memory performance, or brain morphology/histology compared …

Study snapshot

PublicationNeurotoxicology · 2016

Study typeanimal

Reported directionNo effect

Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

Recently, extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) have received considerable attentions for their potential pathogenicity. In the present study, we explored the effects of ELF-EMF on behaviors of adult male rats. Sixty adult male rats were randomly divided into two groups, the sham exposure group and the 50Hz/100μT ELF-EMF exposure group. During the 24 weeks exposure, body weight, as well as food and water intake were recorded. Results showed that food and water intake and the body weight of the rats were not affected by the exposure. After 24 weeks exposure, open field test and elevated plus maze were conducted to evaluate the anxiety-like behavior, the tail suspension test and forced swim test were conducted to evaluate depression-like behavior and Morris water maze and fear conditioning tests were used to evaluate the cognitive and memory ability. Exposure to ELF-EMF did not induce any anxiety-like or depression-like behaviors compared with the sham exposure. Moreover, the cognitive and memory ability was not impaired by the ELF-EMF exposure. Furthermore, ELF-EMF exposure did not affect the morphology and histology of the brain. In conclusion, 24 weeks exposure to 50Hz/100μT ELF-EMF had no effect on the behaviors of the adult male rats.

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 directionno_effect

PopulationAdult male rats

Sample size60

ExposureELF · 0.05 MHz · 24 weeks

Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Body weight
Food intake
Water intake
Anxiety-like behavior (open field test, elevated plus maze)
Depression-like behavior (tail suspension test, forced swim test)
Cognitive and memory ability (Morris water maze, fear conditioning)
Brain morphology and histology

Limitations

Only adult male rats were studied
Only one exposure condition reported (50 Hz, 100 μT)
Details of exposure schedule (e.g., hours/day) not provided in abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": 0.05,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "24 weeks"
  },
  "population": "Adult male rats",
  "sample_size": 60,
  "outcomes": [
    "Body weight",
    "Food intake",
    "Water intake",
    "Anxiety-like behavior (open field test, elevated plus maze)",
    "Depression-like behavior (tail suspension test, forced swim test)",
    "Cognitive and memory ability (Morris water maze, fear conditioning)",
    "Brain morphology and histology"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Sixty adult male rats were assigned to sham or 50 Hz/100 μT ELF-EMF exposure for 24 weeks. Exposure did not affect food/water intake, body weight, anxiety-like or depression-like behaviors, cognitive/memory performance, or brain morphology/histology compared with sham.",
  "effect_direction": "no_effect",
  "limitations": [
    "Only adult male rats were studied",
    "Only one exposure condition reported (50 Hz, 100 μT)",
    "Details of exposure schedule (e.g., hours/day) not provided in abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "ELF-EMF",
    "50 Hz",
    "100 μT",
    "rats",
    "behavior",
    "anxiety",
    "depression",
    "cognition",
    "memory",
    "brain histology"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.25,
      "reason": "Exposure is 50 Hz ELF field at 100 μT, a level relevant to some occupational ELF contexts, though the study is in rats."
    }
  ]
}

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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.neuro.2015.11.010
PubMed: 26593281

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