Exposure of Squirrel Monkeys for Long Periods to Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields: Central-Nervous-System Effects as Measured by Reaction Time

摘要

The present experiment was designed to detect cumulative central-nervous-system effects resulting from exposure to ELF magnetic fields. Three squirrel monkeys were exposed continuously for 42 days to a 10-gauss magnetic field at 45 Hz. Reaction-time measurements were taken daily for 23 days prior to exposure, during the exposure period, and for 9 days after exposure. No significant changes in these measurements were observed between control sessions and exposure or postexposure sessions. Two other indices of performance, reinforcement ratio and efficiency ratio, were also unchanged. These results indicate that if a psychophysiologically significant effect exists, it is probably quite subtle and will therefore require a broad range of very sensitive experiments to evaluate properly the long-term effects of the ELF environment. (Author)