Long-term exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields impairs spatial recognition memory in mice.

Bioeffects Seen

Fu Y, Wang C, Wang J, Lei Y, Ma Y · 2008

Long-term exposure to 50 Hz magnetic fields reduced mice's recognition of a novel arm in the Y-maze.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed mice to 25 or 50 Hz electromagnetic fields for either 7 days or 25 days and then tested them in the Y-maze. Long-term exposure to 50 Hz fields reduced recognition of the novel arm. Neither short- nor long-term exposure to magnetic fields affected the locomotor activity of mice in the Y-maze.

Why This Matters

The study used a two-trial recognition Y-maze that is based on the innate tendency of rodents to explore novel environments. The researchers investigated both short- and long-term effects of ELF magnetic fields on spatial recognition memory in mice. The findings suggest that ELF magnetic fields impair spatial recognition memory depending on the field strength and/or duration of exposure.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field: 0.6,0.9 mT
Source/Device: 25 Hz
Exposure Duration: 7 (short term) or 25 days (long term)

Exposure Context

This study used 0.6,0.9 mT for magnetic fields:

30Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
6Kx 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

In the present study, we investigated the short- and long-term effects of extremely low-frequency (ELF) magnetic fields on spatial recognition memory in mice by using a two-trial recognition Y-maze that is based on the innate tendency of rodents to explore novel environments.

Mice were exposed to 25 or 50 Hz electromagnetic fields for either 7 (short term) or 25 days (long t...

The results indicated that neither short- nor long-term exposure to magnetic fields affected the loc...

Our findings suggest that ELF magnetic fields impair spatial recognition memory in the Y-maze depending on the field strength and/or duration of exposure.

Cite This Study

Fu Y, Wang C, Wang J, Lei Y, Ma Y (2008). Long-term exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields impairs spatial recognition memory in mice. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 35(7):797-800, 2008.

Show BibTeX

@article{y_2008_longterm_exposure_to_extremely_251,
  author = {Fu Y and Wang C and Wang J and Lei Y and Ma Y},
  title = {Long-term exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields impairs spatial recognition memory in mice.},
  year = {2008},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18346171/},
}

PubMed: 18346171