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Behavioral testing of mice exposed to intermediate frequency magnetic fields indicates mild memory impairment.

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Kumari K, Koivisto H, Viluksela M, Paldanius KMA, Marttinen M, Hiltunen M, Naarala J, Tanila H, Juutilainen J. · 2017

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Mice exposed to 120 μT 7.5 kHz magnetic fields for 5 weeks showed clear memory impairment in a passive avoidance task.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed mice to 7.5 kHz magnetic fields at 12 or 120 μT for 5 weeks. No effects were seen on body weight, spontaneous activity, motor coordination, anxiety, or aggression. In the Morris swim task, the 120 μT group showed a less steep learning curve than other groups. The passive avoidance task revealed a clear memory impairment over 48 hours in the 120 μT group. Hippocampal astroglial activation and neurogenesis were unchanged, while tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA increased significantly in the 120 μT group.

Why This Matters

The authors suggested that 7.5 kHz magnetic field exposure may cause mild learning and memory impairment, possibly through an inflammatory reaction in the hippocampus. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA expression did not change with exposure.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field
0.012, 0.12 mT
Source/Device
7.5 kHz
Exposure Duration
5 weeks.

Exposure Context

This study used 0.012, 0.12 mT for magnetic fields:

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.012, 0.12 mTExtreme Concern - 5 mGFCC Limit - 2,000 mGEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 17 times higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 7.5 kHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 7.5 kHzPower lines50/60 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The aim of this study is to investigate Behavioral testing of mice exposed to intermediate frequency magnetic fields indicates mild memory impairment.

The present study assessed behavioral and histopathological consequences of exposing mice to 7.5 kHz...

No effects were observed on body weight, spontaneous activity, motor coordination, level of anxiety ...

These findings suggest that 7.5 kHz MF exposure may lead to mild learning and memory impairment, possibly through an inflammatory reaction in the hippocampus.

Cite This Study
Kumari K, Koivisto H, Viluksela M, Paldanius KMA, Marttinen M, Hiltunen M, Naarala J, Tanila H, Juutilainen J. (2017). Behavioral testing of mice exposed to intermediate frequency magnetic fields indicates mild memory impairment. PLoS One. 2017 Dec 4;12(12):e0188880.
Show BibTeX
@article{k_2017_behavioral_testing_of_mice_1123,
  author = {Kumari K and Koivisto H and Viluksela M and Paldanius KMA and Marttinen M and Hiltunen M and Naarala J and Tanila H and Juutilainen J.},
  title = {Behavioral testing of mice exposed to intermediate frequency magnetic fields indicates mild memory impairment.},
  year = {2017},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29206232/},
}
PubMed: 29206232

Cited By (12 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

Mice were exposed to 7.5 kHz magnetic fields at 12 or 120 μT for 5 weeks.
No effects were observed on body weight, spontaneous activity, motor coordination, anxiety, or aggression.
In the Morris swim task, the 120 μT group showed a less steep learning curve, and the passive avoidance task showed clear memory impairment over 48 hours in the 120 μT group.
No effects on astroglial activation or neurogenesis were seen, but tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA increased significantly in the 120 μT group while brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA did not change.
The findings suggest that 7.5 kHz magnetic field exposure may lead to mild learning and memory impairment, possibly through an inflammatory reaction in the hippocampus.