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Spatial memory recovery in Alzheimer's rat model by electromagnetic field exposure.

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Akbarnejad Z, Esmaeilpour K, Shabani M, Asadi-Shekaari M, Saeedi-Goraghani M, Ahmadi M. · 2018

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Exposure to a 50 Hz, 10 mT magnetic field improved spatial learning and memory impairments in rats modeled for Alzheimer's disease.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers injected amyloid-β 1-42 into the lateral ventricle of rats to establish an Alzheimer's disease model, then exposed some groups to a 50 Hz, 10 mT extremely low frequency magnetic field for 14 consecutive days. AD rats showed significant impairment in learning and memory compared to control rats, and spatial memory was assessed using the Morris water maze. The researchers found that the magnetic field improved learning and memory impairments and suggested it also disrupted the processes of AD rat model formation.

Why This Matters

The study divided rats into six groups, including a control group, a surgical sham group, an untreated AD model group, a group exposed to the magnetic field only, and two groups combining amyloid-β injection with magnetic field exposure at different time points. One group received the magnetic field starting at the same time as the amyloid-β injection, while another received it beginning two weeks after injection, allowing comparison of early versus delayed exposure. The researchers reported that ELF-MF had an improving effect on different cognitive disorder signs of AD animals.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field
10 mT
Source/Device
50 Hz
Exposure Duration
14 consecutive days

Exposure Context

This study used 10 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: 10 mTExtreme Concern - 5 mGFCC Limit - 2,000 mGEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 50 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

This study aimed to investigate the effect of ELF-EMF exposure (50 Hz, 10 mT) on spatial learning and memory changes in AD rats.

Amyloid-β (Aβ) 1-42 was injected into lateral ventricle to establish an AD rat model. The rats were ...

AD rats showed a significant impairment in learning and memory compared to control rats. The results...

Our results showed that application of ELF-MF not only has improving effect on different cognitive disorder signs of AD animals, but also disrupts the processes of AD rat model formation.

Cite This Study
Akbarnejad Z, Esmaeilpour K, Shabani M, Asadi-Shekaari M, Saeedi-Goraghani M, Ahmadi M. (2018). Spatial memory recovery in Alzheimer's rat model by electromagnetic field exposure. Int J Neurosci. 128(8):691-696, 2018.
Show BibTeX
@article{z_2018_spatial_memory_recovery_in_591,
  author = {Akbarnejad Z and Esmaeilpour K and Shabani M and Asadi-Shekaari M and Saeedi-Goraghani M and Ahmadi M.},
  title = {Spatial memory recovery in Alzheimer's rat model by electromagnetic field exposure.},
  year = {2018},
  doi = {10.1080/00207454.2017.1411353},
  url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207454.2017.1411353},
}
DOI: 10.1080/00207454.2017.1411353

Cited By (34 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

Rats were exposed to an extremely low frequency electromagnetic field at 50 Hz and 10 mT.
Amyloid-β 1-42 was injected into the lateral ventricle of rats to establish an AD rat model.
Spatial memory was assessed using Morris water maze investigations.
The magnetic field improved the learning and memory impairments in the groups that received both amyloid-β injection and magnetic field exposure.
Rats were exposed to the magnetic field for 14 consecutive days.