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Effects of exposure to a 50 Hz sinusoidal magnetic field during the early adolescent period on spatial memory in mice.

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Wang X, Zhao K, Wang D, Adams W, Fu Y, Sun H, Liu X, Yu H, Ma Y. · 2013

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Exposure to a 50 Hz magnetic field improved spatial learning and memory in adolescent mice in the water maze, but did not affect Y-maze performance.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed early adolescent male mice to a 50 Hz magnetic field at 2 mT for 60 minutes per day from postnatal day 23 to 35. Spatial memory was then tested using the Y-maze and Morris water maze tasks. The magnetic field exposure did not affect Y-maze performance but improved spatial learning acquisition and memory retention in the water maze.

Why This Matters

The study used early adolescent mice as a model to investigate the potential effects of chronic exposure to an extremely low frequency magnetic field during this developmental stage on cognitive function. The Y-maze and the Morris water maze yielded different results, with the water maze showing improved spatial learning acquisition and memory retention while Y-maze performance was unaffected.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field
2 mT
Source/Device
50 Hz
Exposure Duration
60 min/day

Exposure Context

This study used 2 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: 2 mTExtreme Concern - 5 mGFCC Limit - 2,000 mGEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 10 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

In the present study early adolescent mice were used as a model to investigate the potential effects of chronic exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic field during this developmental stage on some aspects of cognitive function.

In this study, early adolescent male mice were exposed from postnatal day (P) 23–35 to a 50 Hz MF at...

The results showed that the MF exposure did not affect Y‐maze performance but improved spatial learn...

Cite This Study
Wang X, Zhao K, Wang D, Adams W, Fu Y, Sun H, Liu X, Yu H, Ma Y. (2013). Effects of exposure to a 50 Hz sinusoidal magnetic field during the early adolescent period on spatial memory in mice. Bioelectromagnetics. 34(4):275-284, 2013.
Show BibTeX
@article{x_2013_effects_of_exposure_to_311,
  author = {Wang X and Zhao K and Wang D and Adams W and Fu Y and Sun H and Liu X and Yu H and Ma Y. },
  title = {Effects of exposure to a 50 Hz sinusoidal magnetic field during the early adolescent period on spatial memory in mice.},
  year = {2013},
  doi = {10.1002/bem.21775},
  url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.21775},
}
DOI: 10.1002/bem.21775

Cited By (14 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

The mice were exposed to a 50 Hz magnetic field at 2 mT for 60 min/day.
The magnetic field exposure did not affect Y-maze performance.
Magnetic field exposure improved spatial learning acquisition and memory retention in the water maze task.
The mice were exposed during early adolescence, from postnatal day 23 to 35.