6,486 Studies Reviewed. 85.2% of Original Studies Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body
Brain & Nervous System

Effect of short-term 50 Hz electromagnetic field exposure on the behavior of rats.

Bioeffects Seen

Balassa T, Szemerszky R, Bárdos G. · 2009

View Original Abstract
Share:

Short-term 50 Hz electromagnetic field exposure may cause discomfort, increased passivity, and situational anxiety in rats, but showed no verified effect on social and territorial behavior.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed rats to a 50 Hz electromagnetic field and then tested situational and social anxiety as well as locomotor activity. The tests used included the elevated plus-maze, novel object exploration, social interaction, and territoriality assessments. The researchers found that the field parameters may cause discomfort and may influence behavior, but there was no verified effect on social and territorial behavior.

Why This Matters

The study was motivated by suspicions that extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields from transformer stations located within buildings might initiate non-specific health problems. The field parameters used were noted to equal the official reference limit for workers.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field
0.5 mT
Source/Device
50 Hz
Exposure Duration
20 min

Exposure Context

This study used 0.5 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: 0.5 mTExtreme Concern - 5 mGFCC Limit - 2,000 mGEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 3 times the FCC limit
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

Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field generated by transformer stations located within buildings has been suspected to initiate non-specific health problems. This possibility was examined in model experiments in rats.

Following short-term exposure (50 Hz, 500 μT, 20 min), situational and social anxiety as well as loc...

Based on our results having obtained so far, it seems that these field parameters (that equals the o...

Cite This Study
Balassa T, Szemerszky R, Bárdos G. (2009). Effect of short-term 50 Hz electromagnetic field exposure on the behavior of rats. Acta Physiol Hung. 96(4):437-448, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{t_2009_effect_of_shortterm_50_221,
  author = {Balassa T and Szemerszky R and Bárdos G.},
  title = {Effect of short-term 50 Hz electromagnetic field exposure on the behavior of rats.},
  year = {2009},
  
  url = {https://akjournals.com/view/journals/036/96/4/article-p437.xml},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

The rats received short-term exposure to a 50 Hz electromagnetic field at 500 μT for 20 minutes.
The field may increase passivity and situational anxiety, though no verified effect on social and territorial behavior was found.
Researchers used the elevated plus-maze, novel object exploration, social interaction, and territoriality tests.
The field parameters used equal the official reference limit for workers.
Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields from transformer stations located within buildings had been suspected to initiate non-specific health problems.