Variations of Glutamate Concentration Within Synaptic Cleft in the Presence of Electromagnetic Fields: An Artificial Neural Networks Study.
Masoudian N, Riazi GH, Afrasiabi A, Modaresi SM, Dadras A, Rafiei S, Yazdankhah M, Lyaghi A, Jarah M, Ahmadian S, Seidkhani H. · 2015
View Original AbstractEMF exposure altered brain glutamate levels by up to 40% at power line frequencies, potentially disrupting critical brain chemistry.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed brain nerve cells to electromagnetic fields from power lines and appliances. EMF exposure caused glutamate, a crucial brain chemical, to fluctuate by up to 40%. This matters because glutamate disruptions are linked to neurological diseases and brain cell damage.
Why This Matters
This study provides important evidence that EMF exposure can disrupt fundamental brain chemistry at the cellular level. The researchers found that magnetic fields as low as 0.1 milliTesla - comparable to levels near household appliances and power lines - caused significant changes in glutamate concentrations within brain synapses. What makes this particularly concerning is that glutamate is the brain's primary excitatory neurotransmitter, essential for learning, memory, and cognitive function. When glutamate levels become imbalanced, it can trigger excitotoxicity, a process that kills brain cells and contributes to neurodegenerative diseases. The science demonstrates that even brief exposures of 15-55 minutes produced measurable effects, suggesting our daily EMF exposure could be chronically affecting brain chemistry in ways we're only beginning to understand.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.1 - 2 mG
- Source/Device
- 50 to 230 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 15-55 min
Exposure Context
This study used 0.1 - 2 mG for magnetic fields:
- 5Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 1Kx 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
We investigated the possibility of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) as a risk factor which is able to change Glu concentration in synaptic clef.
Synaptosomes as a model of nervous terminal were exposed to ELF-EMF for 15-55 min in flux intensity ...
The results showed the tolerance of all effects between the ranges from -35 to +40 % compared to nor...
Show BibTeX
@article{n_2015_variations_of_glutamate_concentration_685,
author = {Masoudian N and Riazi GH and Afrasiabi A and Modaresi SM and Dadras A and Rafiei S and Yazdankhah M and Lyaghi A and Jarah M and Ahmadian S and Seidkhani H.},
title = {Variations of Glutamate Concentration Within Synaptic Cleft in the Presence of Electromagnetic Fields: An Artificial Neural Networks Study.},
year = {2015},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25577979/},
}