Deficits in Water Maze Performance and Oxidative Stress in the Hippocampus and Striatum Induced by Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Field Exposure
Cui Y, Ge Z, Rizak JD, Zhai C, Zhou Z, Gong S, Che Y. · 2012
View Original AbstractChronic power frequency magnetic field exposure impaired learning and memory in mice while causing oxidative brain damage at levels some workers and residents near power infrastructure experience.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed mice to power line frequency magnetic fields for 4 hours daily over 12 weeks. The exposed mice showed impaired learning and memory abilities, plus brain damage from oxidative stress. This suggests household electrical fields may affect cognitive function.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how power frequency magnetic fields affect brain function. The exposure level of 1 milliTesla is quite high compared to typical household exposures, which usually range from 0.01 to 0.2 milliTesla, but it's within the range that workers in certain industries or people living very close to power lines might experience. What makes this research particularly significant is that it identifies a biological mechanism - oxidative stress in specific brain regions - that could explain the cognitive effects. The researchers found damage in both the hippocampus, which is crucial for spatial memory and navigation, and the striatum, which governs habit formation and procedural learning. This isn't just about abstract laboratory findings. The reality is that our brains depend on these exact regions for daily functions like remembering where we parked our car or learning new skills. While more research is needed to understand the full implications for human health, this study demonstrates that chronic EMF exposure can measurably impair fundamental cognitive processes through identifiable biological pathways.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 1 mG
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 4 h/day for 12 weeks
Exposure Context
This study used 1 mG for magnetic fields:
- 50Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 10Kx 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
To study the effects of chronic extremely low frequency magnetic field exposure of mice on habit learning which is dependent on striatum, and on spatial learning which is dependent on hippocampus, as well as to evaluate some parameters indicative for oxidative stress in these two structures.
In this study, we examined the effects of ELF-MF exposure on learning in mice using two water maze t...
We found that ELF-MF exposure (1 mT, 50 Hz) induced serious oxidative stress in the hippocampus and ...
This study provides evidence for the association between the impairment of learning and the oxidative stress in hippocampus and striatum induced by ELF-MF exposure.
Show BibTeX
@article{y_2012_deficits_in_water_maze_342,
author = {Cui Y and Ge Z and Rizak JD and Zhai C and Zhou Z and Gong S and Che Y.},
title = {Deficits in Water Maze Performance and Oxidative Stress in the Hippocampus and Striatum Induced by Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Field Exposure},
year = {2012},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0032196},
}