Effects of extremely low-frequency magnetic field in the brain of rats
Jelenković A, Janać B, Pesić V, Jovanović DM, Vasiljević I, Prolić Z. · 2006
View Original AbstractSeven days of power-frequency magnetic field exposure caused oxidative brain damage in rats at levels commonly found near electrical infrastructure.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to magnetic fields from power lines for seven days and found increased brain damage from harmful free radicals. The damage was worst in brain areas controlling memory and decision-making, suggesting these common electromagnetic fields may harm brain cells.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that ELF magnetic fields at levels commonly encountered in our environment can cause measurable brain damage. The 0.5 mT exposure level used here is well within the range you might experience living near power lines or using certain household appliances regularly. What makes this research particularly significant is that the researchers found oxidative damage across multiple brain regions after just one week of exposure. The frontal cortex and basal forebrain showed the most severe damage - areas critical for executive function, memory, and attention. The science demonstrates that these fields trigger a cascade of cellular damage through increased free radical production, overwhelming the brain's natural antioxidant defenses. While this was an animal study, the biological mechanisms involved are fundamental to all mammalian brain tissue, making the findings highly relevant to human health concerns.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.5 mG
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 7-day
Exposure Context
This study used 0.5 mG for magnetic fields:
- 25Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 5Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
An extremely low-frequency magnetic field (50 Hz, 0.5 mT) was used to investigate its possible effect on the brain of adult male Wistar rats following a 7-day exposure.
The control rats were sham-exposed. Superoxide dismutase activities and production of superoxide rad...
Significantly increased superoxide radical contents were registered in all the structures examined. ...
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2006_effects_of_extremely_lowfrequency_391,
author = {Jelenković A and Janać B and Pesić V and Jovanović DM and Vasiljević I and Prolić Z.},
title = {Effects of extremely low-frequency magnetic field in the brain of rats},
year = {2006},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0361923005003977},
}