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Exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic field restores spinal cord injury-induced tonic pain and its related neurotransmitter concentration in the brain

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Kumar S, Jain S, Velpandian T, Petrovich Gerasimenko Y, D Avelev V, Behari J, Behari M, Mathur R. · 2013

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Chronic magnetic field exposure appeared to restore tonic pain responses and related brain neurotransmitter levels altered by spinal cord injury in rats.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers studied the effect of a 50 Hz, 17.96 μT magnetic field on tonic pain behavior and brain neurotransmitters in rats with complete thoracic spinal cord injury at week 8. Adult male Wistar rats were divided into Sham, SCI, and SCI+MF groups, with pain behavior assessed using block pain rating, session pain rating, time spent in pain categories, and flinch counts. Pain ratings and flinch counts were significantly lower in SCI rats than in Sham rats, but these measures were comparable between the SCI+MF and Sham groups. Serotonin was lower in the cortex, remaining forebrain areas, and brainstem, while GABA and norepinephrine were higher in the brainstem of SCI rats, but these levels were comparable to Sham in the SCI+MF group.

Why This Matters

Pain behavior was compared using 5-minute block pain ratings, a 60-minute session pain rating, time spent in categories of increasing pain, and flinch counts. The magnetic field exposure schedule was 2 hours per day over 8 weeks at 50 Hz and 17.96 μT. Brain neurotransmitters were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in tissue samples. Dopamine, glutamate, and glycine concentrations were comparable across all groups. The researchers interpreted the results as suggesting that magnetic field exposure had a beneficial effect on tonic pain mediated by serotonin, GABA, and norepinephrine in spinal cord-injured rats.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field
0.01796 mT
Source/Device
50 Hz
Exposure Duration
2 h/day × 8 weeks)

Exposure Context

This study used 0.01796 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: 0.01796 mTExtreme Concern - 5 mGFCC Limit - 2,000 mGEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 11 times higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 50 Hz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 50 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

We report the effect of magnetic field (MF; 17.96 μT, 50 Hz) on tonic pain behavior and related neurotransmitters in the brain of complete thoracic (T13) SCI rats at week 8.

Adult male Wistar rats were divided into Sham, SCI and SCI+MF groups. Formalin-pain behavior was com...

Session-PR, block-PR and number of flinches were significantly lower, while time spent in categories...

We suggest beneficial effect of chronic (2 h/day × 8 weeks) exposure to MF (50 Hz, 17.96 μT) on tonic pain that is mediated by 5-HT, GABA and NE in complete SCI rats.

Cite This Study
Kumar S, Jain S, Velpandian T, Petrovich Gerasimenko Y, D Avelev V, Behari J, Behari M, Mathur R. (2013). Exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic field restores spinal cord injury-induced tonic pain and its related neurotransmitter concentration in the brain Electromagn Biol Med. 32(4):471-483, 2013.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2013_exposure_to_extremely_lowfrequency_270,
  author = {Kumar S and Jain S and Velpandian T and Petrovich Gerasimenko Y and D Avelev V and Behari J and Behari M and Mathur R. },
  title = {Exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic field restores spinal cord injury-induced tonic pain and its related neurotransmitter concentration in the brain},
  year = {2013},
  doi = {10.3109/15368378.2012.743907},
  url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/15368378.2012.743907},
}
DOI: 10.3109/15368378.2012.743907

Cited By (16 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used adult male Wistar rats divided into Sham, SCI, and SCI+MF groups.
The magnetic field was set at 50 Hz and 17.96 μT, applied for 2 hours per day over 8 weeks.
Session pain rating, block pain rating, and flinch counts were significantly lower in SCI rats than in Sham rats. The data indicated significant hypoalgesia in formalin pain post-SCI.
Serotonin, GABA, and norepinephrine levels altered by spinal cord injury were restored to levels comparable with the Sham group in the SCI+MF group.
Dopamine, glutamate, and glycine concentrations were comparable among all groups.