Effects of the Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields on NMDA-Receptor Gene Expression and Visual Working Memory in Male Rhesus Macaques.
Kazemi M, Sahraei H, Aliyari H, Tekieh E, Saberi M, Tavacoli H, Meftahi GH, Ghanaati H, Salehi M, Hajnasrollah M. · 2018
View Original AbstractExposure to 12 Hz ELF magnetic fields was associated with significantly increased visual working memory scores and NMDA receptor expression in male rhesus macaques.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed male rhesus macaques to extremely low frequency magnetic fields at 0.7 μT for 4 hours per day over 30 consecutive days, at either 1 Hz or 12 Hz. Visual working memory scores and plasma melatonin levels increased significantly in the animals exposed to 12 Hz, but not in those exposed to 1 Hz. NMDA receptor gene expression also increased at 12 Hz exposure, while hippocampal volume did not increase significantly at either frequency.
Why This Matters
The study measured several outcomes before and after exposure: visual working memory test scores, plasma melatonin concentration, NMDA receptor gene expression in blood lymphocytes, and hippocampal volume assessed by MRI. The 1 Hz condition served as the control group, while 12 Hz was the experimental condition. The researchers suggested that 12 Hz ELF may have a beneficial value for memory enhancement, indicated by the increase in visual working memory scores. They noted this effect may be related to an increase in plasma melatonin or NMDA glutamate receptor expression, but stated that direct involvement of the hippocampus needs more research.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.0007 mT
- Source/Device
- 1 Hz,12 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 4 h/d for 30 consecutive days.
Exposure Context
This study used 0.0007 mT for magnetic fields:
- 35x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 7x 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
The present research aimed to examine Visual Working Memory (VWM) test scores, as well as hormonal, genomic, and brain anatomic changes in the male rhesus macaques exposed to Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Field (ELF-MF).
Four monkeys were exposed to two different ELF-MF frequencies: 1 Hz (control) and 12 Hz (experiment)...
Results indicated that VWM scores in primates exposed to 12 Hz frequency ELF increased significantly...
In short, these results indicate that ELF (12 Hz) may have a beneficial value for memory enhancement (indicated by the increase in VWM scores). This may be due to an increase in plasma melatonin and or expression of NMDA glutamate receptors. However, direct involvement of the hippocampus in this process needs more research.
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2018_effects_of_the_extremely_663,
author = {Kazemi M and Sahraei H and Aliyari H and Tekieh E and Saberi M and Tavacoli H and Meftahi GH and Ghanaati H and Salehi M and Hajnasrollah M.},
title = {Effects of the Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields on NMDA-Receptor Gene Expression and Visual Working Memory in Male Rhesus Macaques.},
year = {2018},
url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6037432/},
}