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Comparisons of Responses by Planarian to Micromolar to Attomolar Dosages of Morphine or Naloxone and/or Weak Pulsed Magnetic Fields: Revealing Receptor Subtype Affinities and Nonspecific Effects.

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Murugan NJ, Persinger MA. · 2014

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A weak pulsed magnetic field reduced planarian activity by about 50%, similar to the dose-independent behavioral effects seen across most morphine and naloxone concentrations.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Exposure to the patterned magnetic field reduced planarian activity by about 50%, a magnitude similar to the non-specific effects of morphine and naloxone across most dosages. A specific dosage of 100 nM produced an additional marked reduction in activity for planaria exposed to either morphine or naloxone, while only 1 pM of morphine produced this effect.

Why This Matters

The study measured locomotor velocity in planarian worms after exposure to concentrations ranging from attomolar to micromolar of morphine or naloxone, a patterned magnetic field, or both together. Spring water served as the control condition, and the magnetic field used was 5 microtesla in a burst-firing pattern. At 1 attomolar, the activity of planaria did not differ from spring water controls, setting it apart from the other concentrations tested. The researchers suggest the magnetic field's effect on behavior is similar in magnitude to what they describe as the dose-independent effects of morphine.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field
0.005 mT
Exposure Duration
2h

Exposure Context

This study used 0.005 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: 0.005 mTExtreme Concern - 5 mGFCC Limit - 2,000 mGEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 40 times higher than this level

Study Details

The behavioral responses of planaria to the exposures of a range of concentrations of morphine (μM to attoM) or the μ-opiate antagonist naloxone or to either of these compounds and a burst-firing magnetic field (5 μT) were studied.

The locomotor velocity (LMV) of planaria was measured after individual worms were exposed to increas...

Compared to spring water controls, the 2-hour exposure to the patterned magnetic field before measur...

The results support the presence of at least two receptor subtypes that mediate the diminished activity effects elicited by morphine specifically and suggests that exposure to the specifically patterned magnetic field produces a behavioral suppression whose magnitude is similar to the ‘dose independent’ effects from this opiate.

Cite This Study
Murugan NJ, Persinger MA. (2014). Comparisons of Responses by Planarian to Micromolar to Attomolar Dosages of Morphine or Naloxone and/or Weak Pulsed Magnetic Fields: Revealing Receptor Subtype Affinities and Nonspecific Effects. Int J Radiat Biol. 2014 Oct;90(10):833-40.
Show BibTeX
@article{nj_2014_comparisons_of_responses_by_281,
  author = {Murugan NJ and Persinger MA.},
  title = {Comparisons of Responses by Planarian to Micromolar to Attomolar Dosages of Morphine or Naloxone and/or Weak Pulsed Magnetic Fields: Revealing Receptor Subtype Affinities and Nonspecific Effects.},
  year = {2014},
  doi = {10.3109/09553002.2014.911421},
  url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09553002.2014.911421},
}
DOI: 10.3109/09553002.2014.911421

Cited By (20 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used a burst-firing magnetic field of 5 microtesla.
Exposure to the patterned magnetic field reduced planarian activity by about 50% compared to spring water controls.
Concentrations ranging from attomolar to micromolar of morphine or naloxone were tested.
A dosage of 100 nM produced an additional marked reduction in activity for planaria exposed to either morphine or naloxone, while only 1 pM of morphine produced this same effect.
The results support the presence of at least two receptor subtypes that mediate the diminished activity effects elicited by morphine specifically.