1970 - Persinger & Foster - Archives Fur Meteorologie Geophysiks and Bioklimatologie - ELF Rotating Magnetic Fields - Prenatal Exposure An

7/30/2019 1970 - Persinger & Foster - Archives Fur Meteorologie Geophysiks and Bioklimatologie - ELF Rotating Magnetic Fiel

1/7

Arch . M et . Geoph . Biok l . , Se r . B , 18, 363 --36 9 (1970)9 b y S p r i n g e r - V e r l a g 1 97 0

551,586D e p a r t m e n t o f P s y ch o l o gy , T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e n n e ss e e , K n o x v i l l e ,T e n n e s s e e , U . S . A .ELF Rotating Magnetic Fields: Prenatal Exposure andAdul t BehaviorM I C H A E L A . PE R SI NG E R a n d W I L L I A M S. F O ST E R, I VW i t h 1 F i g u r eRece ived March 23 , 1970

S u m m a r yI n t h r e e s e p a r a t e e x p e r i m e n t s , a d u l t m a l e r a t s t h a t h a d b e e n e x p o s e d c o n -t i n u o u s l y d u r i n g t h e i r p r e n a t a l d e v e l o p m e n t t o a 0 . 5 H z , 3 t o 3 0 g a u s s r o t a t i n gma g n e t i c f i e ld (R M F ) , e m i t t e d s ig n i f i c a n t ly (p < 0 .0 1 ) f e w e r l e v e r p re s s e s ina f r e e o p e r a n t a v o i d a n c e s i t u a t i o n t h a n r a t s t h a t h a d b e e n p r e n a t a l l y e x p o s e dto c o n t ro l c o n d i t io n s . T h i s d i f f e re n c e w a s a p p a re n t ly d u e , in l a rg e p a r t , t o th eR M F - e x p o s e d r a t s ' r e l a t i v e l y lo w r e s po n s e r a t e w i t h i n r e s p o n s e b u r s ts f o l l o w -i n g a s ho ck . H o w e v e r , R M F - e x p o s e d r a ts d i d n o t d i f f e r s i g n i f i c a n t l y f r o m c o n -t ro l r a t s in th e n u mb e r o f s h o c k s r e c e iv e d .ZusammenfassungVe rhal ten swe ise erwach sener Versuchstiere nach vorgeburtl icher Au sse tzu ng inELF-rot ierenden Magnet fe ldernIn d re i u n a b h / in g ig e n U n te r s u c h u n g e n g a b e n v o l l e n tw ic k e l t e m / in n l i c h e R a t t e n ,w e lc h e w / ih re n d ih re r v o rg e b u r t l id a e n E n tw ic k lu n g e in e m 0 .5 H z , 3 b i s 3 0 G a u s sr o t i e r e n d e n m a g n e t i s c h e n F e l d ( R M F ) u n u n t e r b r o c h e n a u s g e s e t z t w a r e n , b e d e u -t e n d w e n ig e r (p < 0 .0 1 ) T a s ten d r f i c k e in e in e r f r e i e n o p e ra n te n V e rm e id u n g s -s i tu a t io n a b a l s R a t t e n , w e lc h e v o rg e b u r t l i c h K o n t ro l lk o n d i t io n e n a u s g e s e tz t w a re n .D ie s e r U n te r s c h ie d w a r o f fe n s ic h d ic h z u e in e m g ro t~ e n T e i l d a ra u f z u r i i c k z u f f ih re n ,d a b d ie d e m R M F a u s g e s e tz t e n R a t t e n e in e v e rh /i l tn i s m/ i i~ ig n ie d r ig e A n s p re c h -schwel le inn erh a lb d e r de n Elek trosch o& s fo l gen den Responsestbt~en von s ichg a b e n . E s b e s ta n d j e d o c h k e i n s i g n i f i k a n t e r U n t e r s c h ie d i n d e r Z a h l d e r E l e k t r o -sc ho ck s, d i e d e n d e m R M F a u s g e se t zt e n R a t t e n u n d K o n t r o l l r a t t e n g e g e b e n w u r d e .


2/7

364 M .A . PERSINGERet al.R ~ s u m ~Champs magn~tiques E L F :Exposition pr~natale et conduite des animaux developpe~sEn trois experiences indep~ ndantes, les rats nam es adultes q ui avaient 6t6 exposessans interruption penda nt leur d~velop pem ent prenatal A 0,5 Hz et 3 A 30 gaussd'un champ tournant (C T), ont 6m is significativement (p < 0.0l) m oin s de pres-sions A levier da ns u ne situation libre op 6rante A ~viter que les rats qui avaient ~t6pr~nativement exposes aux conditions contr6l~es. Cette diff6rence ~tait apparem-ment caus~e, en grande partie, par la relativement bass e vitesse de r~sponse desrats exposes A CT, p endant les 6c latem ents des r~sponses suivant un choe.Cependant les rats exposes ~ C T n'ont pas diff~r~ significativcment des rats decontr61e dans le n om bre de chocs re~us.1 . I n t r o d u c t i o nE s p e c i a l l y lo w f r e q u e n c y ( E L F ) e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c f i e l d s (0.1 H z t o.50 H z ) , s i m i l a r t o t h o s e w h i c h o c c u r i n n a t u r e , h a v e b e e n d e m o n -s t r a t e d t o h a v e i m m e d i a t e e f f e c ts u p o n b e h a v i o r . K O N I G [5] a n dF RIE DM A N , e t a l . [4 ] h a v e r e p o r t e d c h a n g e s i n r e a c t i o n t i m e w h i l eW E V ER [ 1 1 ], A L T M A N N [ 1 ], a n d D O W S E a n d P A L M E R [3 ] h a v er e p o r t e d c h a n ge s i n lo c o m o t o r a c t iv i t y in t h e p r e s e n c e o f E L Fe l e c t r o m a g n e t i c f i e l d s . R e c e n t l y , P ER SIN G ER [6 ] r e p o r t e d t h a t r a t st h a t h a d b e e n e x p o s e d c o n t i n u a l l y d u r i n g t h e i r p r e n a t a l d e v e l o p -m e n t ( r e m o v e d a t b i rt h ) t o a 0 .5 H z , 3 to 3 0 g a u ss r o t a t i n g m a g n e t i cf i e l d ( R M F ) , e m i t t e d a s i g n i f i c a n t d e c r e a s e i n l o c o m o t o r a c t i v i t yb u t a n i n c r e a s e i n d e f e c a t i o n w h e n t e s t e d a t 2 1 t o 2 5 d a y s o f a g e .I n o r d e r t o d e t e r m i n e i f o t h e r m o d i f i c a t io n s o f b e h a v i o r d u e top r e n a t a l e x p o s u r e t o t h e R M F c o u l d b e d e t e c t e d in a d u l t o r g a n i s m s ,i t w a s d e c i d e d t o t e s t a d u l t r a t s i n a m o r e c o n t r o l l e d o p e r a n tp a r a d i g m .T h e S I D M A N [ 7 ] o r f r e e o p e r a n t a v o i d a n c e p r o c e d u r e w a s s e l e c t e ds in c e it is a s t a n d a r d o p e r a t i o n i n b e h a v i o r l a b o r a t o r i e s a n d h a s b e e nu s e d s u c c e s s f u l l y i n p h y s i o l o g i c a l r e s e a rc h b y S I D M A N , et al . [8] tom e a s u r e t he e f f e ct s o f p i t u i t a r y - a d r e n a l a c t iv i t y a n d b y V e r h a v e[10] t o m e a s u r e t h e e f fe c t s o f m e t a m p h e t a m i n e . I n t h e f r e eo p e r a n t a v o i d a n c e p r o c e d u r e , w h i c h i n v o l v e s n o e x t e r e o c e p t i v es t i m u l u s , e a c h a v o i d a n c e r e s p o n s e p o s t p o n e s a n e l e c t r i c a l s h o c k f o ra p r e d e t e r m i n e d i n t e r v a l o f t i m e ( R - S i n t e r v a l ) . F a i l u r e t o r e s p o n dr e s u l t s i n t h e d e l i v e r y o f a s e r i e s o f s h o c k s s e p a r a t e d i n t i m e b ya f i x e d i n t e r v a l (S -S i n t er v a l ) . S t u d i e s h a v e f o u n d t h a t r a t e o fa v o i d a n c e r e s p o n d i n g i s r e l a t e d i n a n o r d e r l y m a n n e r t o b o t h R - Sa n d S - S i n t e r v a l s , a s w e l l a s s h o c k i n t e n s i t y .


3/7

ELF Magnetic Fields: Prenatal Exposure and Adult Behavior 3652 . M e t h o d

In three experiments, 24, 70 to 80 day old male Wistar strain albinorats which had been tested in an open field at 21 to 25 days of age,were used as subjects. Twelve of the rats had been randomly selectedfrom 10 litters that had been exposed prenatally to a RMF [6], whilethe remaining 12 rats were randomly selected from l0 litters thathad been prenatally exposed to control conditions. Four RMF-exposed rats and four control rats were used in each experiment.Two commercial operant conditioning chambers, with one levermounted against one wall, were used in Experiments I and II whileonly one chamber was used in Experiment Ilk A constant powerstimulator delivered shock via a scrambling device to the grid floorand sides of the chamber. Each chamber was housed in a sound-insulated box which was located in a sound-insulated man-sizedcubicle. The automatic programming equipment and recordingapparatus were placed outside the cubicle.At 30 days of age, the males which were to be used as subjects wereremoved from their litter mates and placed in 43 cm by 24 cm by18 cm wire cages. Four rats of the same condition were housed ineach cage until and during the test period. Since previous data hadsuggested a relationship between body weight and response rate,RMF-exposed and control rats were paired for weight as closelyas possible. Purina food blocks and water were available ad libitumin the home cages.The avoidance schedule was programmed so that the rats receiveda 2.2 mA, 0.5 sec shock every 5 sec (the S-S interval) unless a leverpress occurred, in which case the shock was postponed for 20 sec(the R-S interval). Each session lasted 3 hrs. In all three experi-ments, the total number of lever presses emitted and shocks receivedwas recorded for each session. These measures were also taken ona cumulative recorder.A total of 15 sessions was completed. The time between successivesessions was 24 hrs, except between the first two sessions, dur ingwhich 48hrs elapsed. In Experiments I and II (two chambers),RMF-exposed and control rats, paired for weight before the experi-ment, were run at the same time while in Experiment III (one cham-ber), pairs were run in a RMF-exposed-control, etc. order. To con-trol for chamber differences (Experiments I and II), the number ofanimals in a given box for each group was equalized.

Arch. Met. Geoph. Biold. B. Bd. 18, H. 3-4 25


4/7

366 M .A . PERSIN~ERet al.3 . R e s u l t sF o r a n a l y s i s , t h e f i f t e e n s e s s i o n s o f e a c h r a t w e r e d i v i d e d i n t o f i v eb lo c k s o f t h r e e s e s si o n s e ac h. T h e r a t 's a v e r a g e n u m b e r o f s h o & sr e c e i v e d o r r e s p o n s e s e m i t t e d i n t h e t h r e e s e s s i o n s w a s t h e v a l u eu s e d to o b t a in t h e m e a n f o r e a ch g ro u p a n d b I o & . T h e 12 R M F -e x p o s e d r a t s a v e r a g e d 3 .2 , 2 .0 , 1 .6 , 1 .3 , a n d 1 .1 s ho c k s p e r m i n o v e rt h e f i v e b l o ck s w h i l e t h e c o n t r o l r a t s a v e r a g e d 3 .5 , 2.0 , 1 .6 , 1 .3 , a n d1 .0 s ho ck s p e r m i n . T h i s d i f f e r e n c e w a s n o t s ig n i f ic a n t . H o w e v e r ,t h e R M F - e x p o s e d r a t s a v e r a g e d 6 . 9 , 7 . 6 , 7 . 9 , 8 . 0 , a n d 7 . 7 l e v e r p r e s -s es p e r m i n w h i l e t h e c o n t r o l a n i m a l s a v e r a g e d 7 .3 , 9 .9 , 1 1 .1 , 1 1 .6 ,a n d 1 1.2 le v e r p r e s s e s p e r m i n . T h e m e a n s a n d s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n s( S D s) f o r ea c h b l o ck a n d g r o u p o f e ac h e x p e r i m e n t a r e p r e s e n t e d i nT a b l e I .Table. 1. Average Responses per Minute [or Magnetic and Control Groups

M a g n e t i c s I n = 4 ] [ C o n t r o l s n = 4 ]B l o c k s B l o c k s

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

E x p e r i m e n t IM . . . . . . . . . 6 . 3 7 . 0 7 . 8 7 . 7 7 . 8 6 . 3 9 . 6 1 0 . 2 1 0 .7 1 1 . 1S D . . . . . . . . 0 . 9 0 . 8 2 . 4 2 . 8 1 . 9 1 . 8 2 . 6 1 . 6 2 . 6 2 . 7E x p e r i m e n t I IM . . . . . . . . . 4 . 6 5 . 6 6 . 3 6 . 3 6 . 0 5 . 8 9 . 8 1 0 . 3 9 .8 9 . 5S D . . . . . . . . 0 . 4 2 . 0 1 . 2 1 . 0 0 . 9 1 . 5 1 . 5 3 . 6 3 . 1 3 . 0E x p e r i m e n t I I IM . . . . . . . . . 9 . 7 1 0 . 4 9 . 6 1 0 . l 9 . 8 9 . 6 1 0 . 2 1 2 .9 1 4 . 3 1 3 . 0S D . . . . . . . . 1 . 4 2 . 3 1 . 3 2 . 6 2 . 7 1 ,7 1 . 8 0 . 5 2 . 4 1 . 5

A n a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e , w h i c h is s h o w n i n T a b l e 2 , f o u n d t h ed i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t r e a t m e n t s t o b e s i g n i f i c a n t b e y o n d t h e . 0 1 l e v e l( F = 1 1 .3 8 ). S i g n i f ic a n t d i f f e r e n c e s w e r e a l s o f o u n d b e t w e e n e x p e r i -m e n t s ( F = 7 .6 7 ), b lo c k s ( F = 9 .4 5 ), a n d t h e i n te r a c t i o n : t r e a t m e n tb y b l o c k s (F = 3 . 4 6 ; p % .0 5 ). T h e b l o c k s i g n i f i c a n c e w a s d u e t o t h ei n c r e a s e o f a v e r a g e n u m b e r o f r e s p o n s e s o v e r b l o c k s f o r b o t h g r o u p s .T h e i n t e r a c t i o n s i g n i fi c a n c e w a s d u e to th e R M F - e x p o s e d ra t s m a i n -t a i n i n g a m o r e c o n s t a n t r e s p o n s e r a t e t h a n t h e c o n t r o l s . I t w a s a l s on o t i c e d t h a t i n 1 1 o f t h e 1 2 R M F - e x p o s e d - c o n t r o l p a ir s, t h e R M F -e x p o s e d r a t s e m i t t e d f e w e r r e s p o n s e s .T h e l a rg e s t p o r ti o n o f t h e re s p o n s e d e c r e m e n t i n th e R M F - e x p o s e da n i m a l s o c c u r r e d w i t h i n t h e f i r s t f e w s e c o n d s f o l l o w i n g a s ho ck .C o n t r o l r a t s e m i t t e d a r a p i d p o s t s ho c k r e s p o n d i n g ( " b u r s t i n g " )


5/7

ELF M a g n e t i c F i e l d s : Prenatal Exposu re and Adult Behavior 367Table 2A n a l y s i s o f V a r i a n c e fo r R e s p o n s es p e r M i n u t e f o r M a g n e t i c a n d C o n t r o l R a t s

Source d M S F

T r e a t m e n t ( T ) . . . . . . . . . . . 1E x p e r i m e n t s (E) . . . . . . . . . . 2T . E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Error (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Blocks (B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4T . B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4B . E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8B . T . E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Error (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72'~ p < . 0 5

~=: p < .Ol

200.99 11.38 ;'';'~135.41 7.67 ;~~4.07 0.2317.6530.23 9.45':":"11.06 3.46 "~"1.48 0.462,31 0.723.20

w h i l e th e R M F - e x p o s e d r a ts d i d n o t. A n e x a m p l e o f th i s d i f f e r e n c ei n p o s t sh o c k r e s p o n d i n g i s p r e s e n t e d i n F ig . 1 w h e r e t h e c u m u l a t i v er e sp o n s e g r a p h s fo r o n e R M F - e x p o s e d ( B M - 2 ) a n d o n e c o n tr o l

5 0 0

4 O 0$C0'~ 300

_o 200E

R a t B C - 2

Post -shockResponse BurstS

I 0 0 ~ ( M a g n e t ic )

I I I I I I I5 I 0 15 2 0 2 5 5 0 5 5Minutes

Fig. 1. Cumul ative r e s p o n s e gr a p h s o v e r m i n u t e s for control rat BC-2 andm a g n e t i c rat BM-2, i n d i c a t i n g t h e p r e s e n c e o r a b s e n c e o f , , r e s p o n s e bursts"

( B C - 2 ) r a t , e x p e r i m e n t a l l y p a i r e d f o r w e i g h t , a r e p r e s e n t e d . I t c a nb e s e e n t h a t t h e s t e e p s e g m e n t s ( " b u r st s" ) f o l l o w i n g s l a s h e s ( sh o ck s)a r e a b s en t i n t h e R M F - e x p o s e d r at .25'~


6/7

368 M . A . PERSINGERet al.4 . D i s c u s s i o nT h e d a t a s h o w t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e R M F - e x p o s e d r a t s a n d c o n t r o lr a ts a c q u i r e d t h e f re e o p e r a n t a v o i d a n c e t a sk e q u a l l y w e ll , a s d e f i n e db y th e n o n s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n a v e r a g e n u m b e r o f s ho ck sr e c e i v e d , t h e R M F - e x p o s e d r a ts d i d e m i t f e w e r l e v e r p r es s es t h a nt h e c o n t ro l s . T h e o b s e r v e d d e c r e m e n t i n r es p o n s e s e m i t t e d w a s d u e ,i n l a r g e p a r t , t o t h e a b s e n c e o f p o s t s h o ck r e s p o n s e b u r s t s i n t h eR M F - e x p o s e d a n i m a l s . T h e r e l i a b i l i t y o f t h is e f f e c t is i n d i c a t e d b yt h e s i m i l a r i t y o f m a g n i t u d e a n d d i r e c t i o n o f t h e d i f f e r e n c e s in t h et h r e e e x p e r i m e n t s . I n a d d i t i o n , s i n c e B O R E N [2 ] a n d S ID M A N [9]h a v e r e p o r t e d t h a t p o s t s h oc k r e s p o n s e b u r s t s a r e a c h a r a c t e r i s t i cb e h a v i o r o f r a ts i n a f r e e o p e r a n t a v o i d a n c e s i tu a t io n , i t c a n b ec o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e o b s e r v e d r es p o n s e d i f fe r e n c e b e t w e e n R F M -e x p o s e d a n d c o n t r o l g ro u p s w a s n o t d u e t o a p e c u l i a r i t y o f t h e c o n -t r o l r a t s i n t h i s s t u d y .T h e r e a r e t w o i m p o r t a n t i m p l i c a t io n s t h a t c a n b e d r a w n f r o m t h et h r e e e x p e r i m e n t s . F i r st , a l t h o u g h t h e f i e l d i n te n s i t i es u s e d w e r e o fs l i g h t ly g r e a t e r i n t e n s i t y t h a n t h o s e w h ic h o c c u r in n a t u r e , t h e d a t as u g g es t t h a t p r e n a t a l e x p o s u r e to n a t u r a l E L F e l e c t ro m a g n e t i c f i e l d sc o u l d p r o d u c e s i g n i f i c a n t b e h a v i o r a l c o n s e q u e n c e s in a d u l t o r g a -n i sm s . S e c o n d , t h e u s e o f o p e r a n t t e c h n iq u e s in e n v i r o n m e n t a lb e h a v i o r a l b i o p h y s i cs c a n c l e a r l y s h o w t h e b e h a v i o r a l m o d i f i c a t i o n st h a t a r e a c o n s e q u e n c e o f v a r i o u s e n v i r o n m e n t a l p h y s i c a l e f f e c to r s .This rese arch was com pleted in the laboratories of Professors H. M. B. HURWITZand ERNEST FURCHTaOTT. W e than k them alon g w ith RONALD BLAC~, GUYANNECHAUVIERE,an d MICHAEL BROSZIEWSKIfor their help.Re f e r e n c e s

1. ALTMANN,G.: Die physiologische W irku ng elektrischer Felder a uf O rganis-m en. A rch. M et. Geoph. Biok l. , B, 17, 269--290 (1969).2. BoRes, J. J. : Isolation of Post-shock Responding in a Free Operant Avoi-dance Procedure. Psych. R ep . 9, 265--266 (1961).3. D owsE, H.B ., and J. D. PALMER: En trainm ent of C ircadian Ac tivity Rhythm sin M ice by Electrostatic Fields. Na ture 22 2, 564--566 (1969).4. FRIEDMAN,H., R. O . BECKER, an d C. H, BACn~SAN: E ffe ct of M agn etic Fieldson Reaction T ime Performance. Na ture 213 , 949--956 (1967).5. K os lo, H. L.: lXlber den Einflut~ besonders n iederfreq uen ter elektrischer Vor-

g~inge in der Atmosphere auf die Um welt. Z . angew . Bgder- u, Klimaheilk.9, 481--501 (1962).6. PERSlZ~GER,M. A.: Open-field Behavior in Rats Exposed Prenatally to a LowIn te n si ty -- L o w Frequency, Rotating M agnetic Field. Develop. Psychobiol. 2,168--171 (1969).


7/7

E L F M a g n e t i c F i e ld s : P r e n a t a l E x p o s u r e a n d A d u l t B e h a v i o r 3 6 97. SlDMAN,M.: Avoidance Behavior i n Operan t Behavior : Areas o f Resea rchand App l i ca ti on . W . K. HONm (ed .) . App le ton-Ce ntury-C rof t s , N .Y., 448- -498(1966).8. SIDMAN,M. , J .W . MAso~ r J .V . BRADY, and J . THACH: Qu ant i t a t i ve Re la -t io n s h ip s b e t w e e n A v o i d a n c e B e h a v io r a n d P i t u i t a r y - A d r e n a l C o r t ic a l A c t i -vi ty . J . Exp. Anal . Behav. 5 , 353 (1962) .9 . SIDMAN, M. : By -Pro du cts of Av ers ive Con t rol . J . Exp. Anal . Behav . 1 ,265--280 (1958) .

]0 . VERHAVE,T . : T h e E f f e c t o f M e t a m p h e t a m i n e o n O p e r a n t L e v e l a n d A v o i -dance Behavior . J . Exp. Anal . Behav. 1 , 207 (1958) .11 . WEVER,R. : 12Iber die Beeinf lussung der c i rcad ianen Per iod ik des Menschendurch sch w ac he elektromagnetische Felder. Z. verg l . Ph ysio l . ~16, 111 --128(1967).

A uth ors ' addresses : MICHAEL A. PERSINGER, D epa r tm ent of Psycho logy, The U ni-ve r s i t y o f Ma ni toba , W innipeg , M ani toba , C anada . - - WILLIAM S . FOSTER, IV,De par tm ent o f Psychology , Th e U niver s i t y o f M inneso ta , M inneapol is , Min .,U . S . A .

Documents

1970 - Persinger & Foster - Archives Fur Meteorologie Geophysiks and Bioklimatologie - ELF Rotating Magnetic Fields - Prenatal Exposure An