To study whether rats sense exogenous electric fields.
22 rats were divided into an electric field exposure group and a sham exposure group. A conditioned place aversion response paradigm was employed using a box composed of two separated compartments (one colored white, one colored black). During a six-day period of place aversion conditioning, rats were firstly under daily electric field exposure in the white compartment and than placed to the black compartment without exposure. The sham exposed rats were similarly handled but without exposure. Following the conditioning period, the time spent in the white compartment in a non-sparated box was measured immediatly on the next day.
| Exposure | Parameters |
|---|---|
|
Exposure 1:
50 Hz
Exposure duration:
continuous for 30 min/day on 6 days
|
|
| Frequency | 50 Hz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Waveform | |
| Exposure duration | continuous for 30 min/day on 6 days |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|---|
| Sham exposure | A sham exposure was conducted. |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| electric field strength | 16 kV/m | effective value | - | - | - |
After the six-day conditioning period, the sham exposed rats spent significantly less time in the white compartment. For the exposed rats the time was also reduced, but the difference compared to before the conditioning period was not signifcant. Comparing both groups after the conditioning period showed that the exposed rats spent 3-times more time in the white compartment than the sham exposure group. However, in the expsoure group outlier data might have created this large difference (small sample size of n=11).
Two possible explanations are given by the authors: An interference in recognition of bright colors may have occured via electric field induced effects to the visual system. Or rats potentially sense electric fields as preferable.
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