A study reported in the current issue of a prominent medical publication indicates that mice that were subjected to prolonged exposure to extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields displayed significantly impaired spatial recognition memory. Researchers exposed the mice to 25 or 50 Hz of electromagnetic fields for either 7 or 25 days and then tested them in a Y maze. The maze offered no rewards or punishments and relied on the innate tendency of mice to explore unfamiliar territory. Results indicated that neither short nor long term exposure to magnetic fields impaired the locomotor activity of the mice, but long-term exposure to the 50 Hz fields reduced recognition of the novel arm of the Y maze. Researchers concluded that ELF fields do impair spatial recognition memory depending on the field strength and/or duration of exposure. An abstract of this article from Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology can be viewed at the Wiley Inter Sciencewebsite.
Long Term Exposure to ELF EM Fields Impairs Spatial Recognition Memory in Mice
