Changes in synaptic efficacy in rat brain slices following extremely low-frequency magnetic field exposure at embryonic and early postnatal age
Balassa T, Varró P, Elek S, Drozdovszky O, Szemerszky R, Világi I, Bárdos G. · 2013
View Original AbstractExtremely low-frequency magnetic field exposure during fetal or newborn periods altered basic neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity in rat brain slices.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (0.5 and 3 mT, 50 Hz) during two critical periods of brain development: in utero during the second gestation week, or as newborns for 7 days starting 3 days after birth. Basic excitability of hippocampal slices was increased by both the fetal 0.5 mT and the newborn 3 mT treatments. Fetal exposure significantly inhibited paired-pulse depression and significantly decreased the efficacy of long-term potentiation induction in the neocortex, but not in the hippocampus. Neonatal treatment had no significant effect on plasticity phenomena.
Why This Matters
The study focused on two time windows of rat brain development, exposing animals either in the womb or shortly after birth, then testing their brain tissue in slices. Excitability and plasticity were measured by analyzing extracellular evoked field potentials in neocortical and hippocampal brain slices. Neocortical slices appeared most responsive to the newborn treatment, with the amplitude of excitatory postsynaptic potentials increased. The effects on synaptic plasticity differed depending on the timing of exposure: fetal exposure affected plasticity measures in the neocortex, while neonatal treatment did not produce significant plasticity changes.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.5 and 3 mT
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- in utero during the second gestation week or as newborns for 7 days starting 3 days after birth
Exposure Context
This study used 0.5 and 3 mT for magnetic fields:
- 25Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 5Kx 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 aim of the present study was to determine the effects of a long-term ELF-MF (0.5 and 3 mT, 50 Hz) exposure on synaptic functions in the developing brain.
Rats were treated with chronic exposure to MF during two critical periods of brain development, i.e....
We demonstrated that the basic excitability of hippocampal slices (measured as amplitude of populati...
Results demonstrated that ELF-MF has significant effects on basic neuronal functions and synaptic plasticity in brain slice preparations originating from rats exposed either in fetal or in newborn period.
Show BibTeX
@article{t_2013_changes_in_synaptic_efficacy_222,
author = {Balassa T and Varró P and Elek S and Drozdovszky O and Szemerszky R and Világi I and Bárdos G.},
title = {Changes in synaptic efficacy in rat brain slices following extremely low-frequency magnetic field exposure at embryonic and early postnatal age},
year = {2013},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0736574813001184},
}