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Brain & Nervous SystemPart of the Glaser Archive

ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD EFFECTS IN NERVE TISSUE

No Effects Found

Sheldon S. Sandler, Glenn S. Smith, Ernest N. Albert

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Bullfrog spinal cord and brainstem tissue exposed to a pulsed electric field of 1.3 × 10⁶ V/m showed no gross histological alterations in large motor neurons.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed freshly dissected bullfrog spinal cord and brainstem tissue to a pulsed electric field of 1.3 × 10⁶ V/m for about 25 ms (six pulses). The pulse design produced a high electric-field intensity while keeping the estimated temperature rise to 0.001 °C per pulse, making thermal heating negligible. Light microscopy of thionin- and hematoxylin-and-eosin-stained sections revealed no gross histological alterations in large motor neurons of exposed tissue compared with controls. Exposed neurons showed no signs of eccentric nuclei, vacuolation, or hypochromasia of the cytoplasm.

Why This Matters

The exposure system used a free-running pulse generator delivering 550 V peaks with 3 ns pulse width at 250 Hz, switched into a coaxial chamber for about 25 ms. The authors note that earlier studies reporting neuronal swelling, vacuolation, and degeneration used exposures where appreciable thermal heating may have been a factor.

Cite This Study
Sheldon S. Sandler, Glenn S. Smith, Ernest N. Albert (n.d.). ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD EFFECTS IN NERVE TISSUE.
Show BibTeX
@article{electromagnetic_field_effects_in_nerve_tissue_g6084,
  author = {Sheldon S. Sandler and Glenn S. Smith and Ernest N. Albert},
  title = {ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD EFFECTS IN NERVE TISSUE},
  year = {n.d.},
  
  
}
No DOI on file for this study.

Quick Questions About This Study

The peak electric field in the tissue was 1.3 × 10⁶ V/m.
The exposure lasted approximately 25 ms, delivering six pulses.
The estimated temperature rise was 0.001 °C per pulse, which the authors considered negligible thermal heating.
Thionin and hematoxylin and eosin stains were used; both showed no gross histological alterations in large motor neurons of exposed tissue compared with controls.
Earlier studies reported neuronal swelling, vacuolation, and degeneration, but those exposures may have involved appreciable thermal heating, unlike the present low-heating pulse design.