I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

Principles of Neural Science

Breast cancer is a disease of modern life As societies industrialize, risk increases, yet it is unclear which of the myriad changes coming with industrialization drives this increase One importan

The melatonin hypothesis: electric power and breast cancer.

Melatonin and mammary pathological growth.

We sought to determine whether a 6-week exposure to a 50-Hz rotating magnetic field influences melatonin synthesis by 11-18 week-old Wistar-King male rats. Rats were exposed continuously to a rotating magnetic field at 1, 5, 50, or 250 microT (spatial vector rms) for 6 weeks, except for twice-weekly breaks of about 2 h for cleaning of cages and feeding. The rats were housed in exposure and sham-exposure facilities, which were located in the same room, under a 12:12 light-dark photoperiod (lights on at 06:00 h). The room was constantly illuminated by 4 small, dim red lights (< 0.07 lux in dark period). Levels of plasma and pineal gland melatonin were determined by radioimmunoassay. A significant decrease of melatonin was observed between the control group and groups exposed to a magnetic field at a flux density in excess of 1 microT during the night time, but no statistical differences were found among the exposed groups. These results indicate that subchronic exposure of albino rats to a 50-Hz rotating magnetic field influences melatonin production and secretion by the pineal gland.

Effects of exposure to a circularly polarized 50-Hz magnetic field on plasma and pineal melatonin levels in rats.

The circadian rhythm of melatonin production (high melatonin levels at night and low during the day) in the mammalian pineal gland is modified by visible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, i.e., light, and reportedly by extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields as well as by static magnetic field exposure. Both light and non-visible electromagnetic field exposure at night depress the conversion of serotonin (5HT) to melatonin within the pineal gland. Several reports over the last decade showed that the chronic exposure of rats to a 60 Hz electric field, over a range of field strengths, severely attenuated the nighttime rise in pineal melatonin production; however, more recent studies have not confirmed this initial observation. Sinusoidal magnetic field exposure also has been shown to interfere with the nocturnal melatonin forming ability of the pineal gland although the number of studies using these field exposures is small. On the other hand, static magnetic fields have been repeatedly shown to perturb the circadian melatonin rhythm. The field strengths in these studies were almost always in the geomagnetic range (0.2 to 0.7 Gauss or 20 to 70 mu tesla) and most often the experimental animals were subjected either to a partial rotation or to a total inversion of the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field. These experiments showed that several parameters in the indole cascade in the pineal gland are modified by these field exposures; thus, pineal cyclic AMP levels, N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity (the rate limiting enzyme in pineal melatonin production), hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) activity (the melatonin forming enzyme), and pineal and blood melatonin concentrations were depressed in various studies. Likewise, increases in pineal levels of 5HT and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5HIAA) were also seen in these glands; these increases are consistent with a depressed melatonin synthesis. The mechanisms whereby non-visible electromagnetic fields influence the melatonin forming ability of the pineal gland remain unknown; however, the retinas in particular have been theorized to serve as magnetoreceptors with the altered melatonin cycle being a consequence of a disturbance in the neural biological clock, i.e., the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus, which generates the circadian melatonin rhythm. The disturbances in pineal melatonin production induced by either light exposure or non-visible electromagnetic field exposure at night appear to be the same but whether the underlying mechanisms are similar remains unknown.

Static and extremely low frequency electromagnetic field exposure: reported effects on the circadian production of melatonin.

We exposed rats to circularly polarized 50 Hz magnetic fields to determine if plasma testosterone concentration was affected. Previous experiments indicate that magnetic fields suppress the nighttime rise in melatonin, suggesting that other neuroendocrine changes might occur as well. Male Wistar-King rats were exposed almost continuously for 6 weeks to magnetic flux densities of 1, 5, or 50 microT. Blood samples were obtained by decapitation at 12:00 h and 24:00 h. Plasma testosterone concentration showed a significant day-night difference, with a higher level at 12:00 h when studied in July and December, but night difference, with a higher level at 12:00 h when studied in July and December, but the day-night difference disappeared when concentrations were studied in April. In three experiments, magnetic field exposure had no statistically significant effect on plasma testosterone levels compared with the sham-exposed groups. These findings indicate that 6 weeks of nearly continuous exposure to circularly polarized, 50 Hz magnetic fields did not change plasma testosterone concentration in rats.

Circularly polarized, sinusoidal, 50 Hz magnetic field exposure does not influence plasma testosterone levels of rats.

In our earlier paper [Kato et al. (1993): Bioelectromagnetics 14:97–106], melatonin concentration in pineal gland and blood was reported to be suppressed after exposure to a circularly polarized 50 Hz magnetic field for 6 weeks. In the present series of experiments, we investigated the time course of recovery after cessation of the exposure. Rats were exposed to a circularly polarized 50 Hz magnetic field at 1 μT for 6 weeks, and the melatonin concentration of blood of separate groups was determined at the end of the exposure and at 1 week and 4 weeks following cessation of exposure. Nocturnal melatonin concentration was reduced (P < 0.05) after 6 weeks of exposure. Melatonin concentration at 1 week following cessation of exposure was normal, and no further change was observed 4 weeks later. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Recovery of nocturnal melatonin concentration takes place within one week following cessation of 50 Hz circularly polarized magnetic field exposure for six weeks.

Overview, Endpoints, and Methodologies -- Endpoints and Methodologies -- Extremely Low Frequency -- Experimental Results: In vivo -- Experimental Results: In vitro -- Dosimetry Related to ELF Electromagnetic Field Exposure Experiments -- What Magnetic Field Parameters are Biologically Effective? -- Induced Current as the Candidate Mechanism for Explanation of Biological Effects -- Electromagnetic Fields, Biophysical Processes, and Proposed Biophysical Mechanisms -- Radiofrequency Fields -- Radiofrequency Dosimetry and Exposure Systems -- Radiofrequency Biology: In vivo -- Radiofrequency Biology: In vitro -- Summary and Conclusion.

Electromagnetics in Biology

The design, construction, and results of evaluation of an animal-exposure system for the study of biological effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields are described. The system uses a square coil arrangement based on a modification of the Helmholtz coil. Due to the cubic configuration of this exposure system, horizontal and vertical magnetic fields as high as 0.3 mT can be generated. Circularly polarized magnetic fields can also be generated by changing the current and phase difference between two sets of coils. Tests were made for uniformity of the magnetic field, stray fields, sham-exposure ratio of stray field, changes of temperature and humidity, light intensity and distribution inside the animal-housing space, and noise due to air-conditioning equipment. Variation of the magnetic field was less than 2% inside the animal housing. The stray-field level inside the sham-exposure system is less than 2% of experimental exposure levels. The system can be used for simultaneous exposure of 48 rats (2 to a cage) or 96 mice (4 to a cage).

Masamichi Kato

Papers

Effects of exposure to a circularly polarized 50-Hz magnetic field on plasma and pineal melatonin levels in rats.

Circularly polarized, sinusoidal, 50 Hz magnetic field exposure does not influence plasma testosterone levels of rats.

Recovery of nocturnal melatonin concentration takes place within one week following cessation of 50 Hz circularly polarized magnetic field exposure for six weeks.

Electromagnetics in Biology

50-Hz magnetic field exposure system for small animals