Static magnetic field influence on rat brain function detected by heart rate monitoring

The aim of the present study was to identify the effects of a static magnetic field (SMF) on rat brain structures that control autonomic functions, specifically heart rate and heart rhythmicity. The experiments were carried out on 44 male Wistar rats under ketamine-xylazine anesthesia. SMF was induced using samarium-cobalt fused magnets (20 x 20 x 10 mm in size) placed bitemporally. Magnetic induction intensity was 100 mT on the surface of the head. Duration of magnetic field application was 15 min. An electrocardiogram was recorded from limb lead II, and both heart rate (average duration of cardiac cycles) and heart rhythmicity were analyzed before and after SMF application. SMF evoked changes in both heart rate and rhythm in 80% of the animals; the predominant effects were bradycardia and disappearance of respiratory sinus arrhythmia. However, the effectiveness of SMF in large measure depends on both functional peculiarities and functional activities of brain autonomic centers.     

Effect of the low-frequency impulse magnetic field on the autonomic nervous system in animals

The effect of weak (up to 3.5 mT) low-frequency (up to 100 Hz) impulse magnetic field on the state of the vegetative nervous system of animals has been studied by analyzing the variability of the heart rate. The effect of the magnetic field was estimated by a specially designed complex for recording cardiac signals of animals. Several specially selected regimes of impulse magnetic fields were studied. It was shown that the impulse magnetic field possesses a high biological activity at all regimes used, and the indices of the vegetative nervous system after the exposure to the impulse magnetic field approach the values typical for normotonic animals. This makes it possible to use magnetic fields at these regimes in magnetotherapy.     

Regulation of murine myocardial energy metabolism during adrenergic stress studied by in vivo 31P NMR spectroscopy

Image-guided, spatially localized 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to study in vivo murine cardiac metabolism under resting and dobutamine-induced stress conditions. Intravenous dobutamine infusion (24 mug. min-1. kg body wt-1) increased the mean heart rate by approximately 39% from 482 +/- 46 per min at baseline to 669 +/- 77 per min in adult mice. The myocardial phosphocreatine (PCr)-to-ATP (PCr/ATP) ratio remained unchanged at 2.1 +/- 0.5 during dobutamine stress, compared with baseline conditions. Therefore, we conclude that a significant increase in heart rate does not result in a decline in the in vivo murine cardiac PCr/ATP ratio. These observations in very small mammals, viz., mice, at extremely high heart rates are consistent with studies in large animals demonstrating that global levels of high-energy phosphate metabolites do not regulate in vivo myocardial metabolism during physiologically relevant increases in cardiac work.     

Diving behaviour of a reptile (Crocodylus johnstoni) in the wild: interactions with heart rate and body temperature

The differences in physical properties of air and water pose unique behavioural and physiological demands on semiaquatic animals. The aim of this study was to describe the diving behaviour of the freshwater crocodile Crocodylus johnstoni in the wild and to assess the relationships between diving, body temperature, and heart rate. Time-depth recorders, temperature-sensitive radio transmitters, and heart rate transmitters were deployed on each of six C. johnstoni (4.0-26.5 kg), and data were obtained from five animals. Crocodiles showed the greatest diving activity in the morning (0600-1200 hours) and were least active at night, remaining at the water surface. Surprisingly, activity pattern was asynchronous with thermoregulation, and activity was correlated to light rather than to body temperature. Nonetheless, crocodiles thermoregulated and showed a typical heart rate hysteresis pattern (heart rate during heating greater than heart rate during cooling) in response to heating and cooling. Additionally, dive length decreased with increasing body temperature. Maximum diving length was 119.6 min, but the greatest proportion of diving time was spent on relatively short (<45 min) and shallow (<0.4 m) dives. A bradycardia was observed during diving, although heart rate during submergence was only 12% lower than when animals were at the surface.     

Learned control of heart rate during dynamic exercise in nonhuman primates

The purpose of this study was to describe an animal model to test the relationships among the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and somatomotor command systems during exercise. Using operant conditioning, three chronically chaired monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were trained to exercise (to lift weights repeatedly), to attenuate their heart rate responses, and finally, both conditions were combined so that the animals were required to exercise and attenuate their heart rates. Heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, rate-pressure product, O2 and CO2 concentration in expired air, and number of weight lifts were recorded and compared between the two conditions, i.e., exercise only and combined exercise and heart rate slowing. In all animals heart rate increases in response to exercise were significantly less (P less than 0.05) during combined conditions than during exercise only: the mean heart rate increase was 41 beats/min less during combined sessions than during exercise only sessions for monkey 1, 13.5 beats/min less for monkey 2, and 9 beats/min less for monkey 3. Rate-pressure product showed a consistent difference across animals paralleling the heart rate differences. This acquired response did not involve other cardiovascular and pulmonary parameters, which did not change systematically across animals. However, the pattern of cardiovascular reactivity in relation to O2 consumption (linear regression of heart rate and systolic or diastolic blood pressure on change in O2 consumption over many experiments) was attenuated during combined sessions relative to exercise only experiments. The relative attenuation of heart rate during combined sessions also remained significant when both experimental conditions were equated on the basis of work done. Therefore, this animal model shows a dissociation of cardiovascular, somatomotor, and pulmonary effects of central command.     

Comparative disposition of adriamycin delivered via magnetic albumin microspheres in presence and absence of magnetic field in rats

The multiple tissue disposition of adriamycin hydrochloride delivered via magnetic albumin microspheres, in absence (control) and presence of magnetic field (experimental), has been investigated in rats. The animal tail was demarcated into three segments: T1, the dosing-site; T2, the target-site; and T3, the post target-site. Following the arterial cannulation at T1, 0.4 mg/kg of microsphere associated drug was administered to the control as well as the experimental animals. In experimental group, the target-site T2 was exposed to a 8000 G magnetic field for 30 min. In both groups the animals were sacrificed in triplicates over a 48 hr period and their various tissues monitored for drug concentrations using HPLC. In presence of magnetic field, the microspheres demonstrated 16 fold increase in the maximum drug concentration, 6 fold increase in drug exposure and 6 fold increase in the drug targeting efficiency for T2. Drug delivery to most non-target tissues, including heart and liver, was substantially reduced. The results quantitatively suggest that the efficacy of magnetic albumin microspheres in the targeted delivery of incorporated therapeutic agent is predominantly due to the magnetic effects, and not alone due to the characteristics of the micro-carrier system.     

Effects of walking on ventilatory and cardiac function in intact and cardiac-impaired lobsters

Decapod crustaceans with normal heart function respond to the increased oxygen delivery requirements during walking with a step increase in heart and ventilation rate. In American lobsters, ventilation rate increased by the same amount during exercise at two walking speeds (2.4 and 8 m min(-1)); however, ventilation volume was significantly greater at the fastest walking speed (280 mL min(-1)) compared to animals at rest or walking at the slower speed (180 mL min(-1)). The heart responded in a similar manner to locomotion. Heart rate was elevated to the same level at the two different walking speeds, but cardiac stroke volume was greater, implying increased cardiac output, at the faster walking speed. The communication and compensation between the cardiac and ventilatory systems was revealed when the function of one was impaired. Ventilatory rate was significantly elevated when cardiac output was impaired by sectioning two of the alary ligaments and/or the regulatory nerves to the heart. When cardiac output was more severely impaired, ventilation rate was greater. Despite ventilatory compensation, anaerobic metabolism made a greater contribution to energy production with impaired heart function. Hemolymph lactate concentration was three to five times greater in impaired animals than controls. It is known that the ventilatory and cardiac systems of lobsters are coregulated. These data demonstrate that the performance of one system can respond to compensate for impaired function in the other.     

Effect of 50 Hz, 0.2 mT magnetic fields on RBC properties and heart functions of albino rats

In this work the effect of sinusoidal 50 Hz, 0.2 mT magnetic fields on the red blood cells (RBCs) and heart functions of Albino rats were investigated. Twenty-four male Albino rats were equally divided into four groups, A, B, C, and D. Animals from groups B were continuously exposed to the magnetic field for 15 days; and groups C and D, for 30 days. Group A was used as control. Animals from group D were kept after exposure to the magnetic field for a period of 45 days for delayed effect studies. The osmotic fragility and shape of RBCs' membrane and hemoglobin (Hb) structure tests were carried out for all groups. The dielectric relaxation of Hb molecules was measured in the frequency range of 0.1-10 MHz and the dielectric increment (Deltaepsilon), relaxation time (tau), molecular radius (r), and Cole-Cole parameter (alpha) were calculated for all groups. The ECG was measured for all animals before and after exposure to the magnetic field. The results indicated that exposure of the animals to 50 Hz, 0.2 mT magnetic fields resulted in the decrease of RBCs membrane elasticity and permeability and changes in the molecular structure of Hb. The ECG of the exposed animals was considerably altered. The data also indicated that there was no sign of repair in the newly generated RBCs structure and the ECG after removing the animals from the magnetic field, which indicates that the blood generating system was severely injured. The injuries in the heart of the animals were attributed to the loss of some physiological functions of the RBCs as a result of exposures of the rats to the magnetic field.     

Comparison of cardiac and 60 Hz magnetically induced electric fields measured in anesthetized rats

Extremely low frequency magnetic fields interact with an animal by inducing internal electric fields, which are in addition to the normal endogenous fields present in living animals. Male rats weighing about 560 g each were anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine. Small incisions were made in the ventral body wall at the chest and upper abdomen to position a miniature probe for measuring internal electric fields. The calibration constant for the probe size was 5.7 mm, with a flat response from at least 12 Hz to 20 kHz. A cardiac signal, similar to the normal electrocardiogram with a heart rate of about 250 bpm, was readily obtained at the chest. Upon analysis of its spectrum, the cardiac field detected by the probe had a broad maximum at 32–95 Hz. When the rats were exposed to a 1 mT, 60 Hz magnetic field, a spike appeared in the spectrum at 60 Hz. The peak-to-peak magnitudes of electric fields associated with normal heart function were comparable to fields induced by a 1 mT magnetic field at 60 Hz for those positions measured on the body surface (where induced fields were maximal). Within the body, or in different directions relative to the applied field, the induced fields were reduced (reaching zero at the center of the animal). The cardiac field increased near the heart, becoming much larger than the induced field. Thus, the cardiac electric field, together with the other endogenous fields, combine with induced electric fields and help to provide reference levels for the induced-field dosimetry of ELF magnetic field exposures of living animals. Bioelectromagnetics 18:317–323, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Extremely-low-frequency magnetic fields disrupt rhythmic slow activity in rat hippocampal slices

Several studies have indicated that weak, extremely-low-frequency (ELF; 1–100 Hz) magnetic fields affect brain electrical activity and memory processes in man and laboratory animals. Our studies sought to determine whether ELF magnetic fields could couple directly with brain tissue and affect neuronal activity in vitro. We used rat hippocampal slices to study field effects on a specific brain activity known as rhythmic slow activity (RSA), or theta rhythm, which occurs in 7–15 s bursts in the hippocampus during memory functions. RSA, which, in vivo, is a cholinergic activity, is induced in hippocampal slices by perfusion of the tissue with carbachol, a stable analog of acetylcholine. We previously demonstrated that the free radical nitric oxide (NO), synthesized in carbachol-treated hippocampal slices, lengthened and destabilized the intervals between successive RSA episodes. Here, we investigate the possibility that sinusoidal ELF magnetic fields could trigger the NO-dependent perturbation of the rate of occurrence of the RSA episodes. Carbachol-treated slices were exposed for 10 min epochs to 1 or 60 Hz magnetic fields with field intensities of 5.6, 56, or 560 μT (rms), or they were sham exposed. All exposures took place in the presence of an ambient DC field of 45 μT, with an angle of -66° from the horizontal plane. Sinusoidal 1 Hz fields at 56 and 560 μT, but not at 5.6 μT, triggered the irreversible destabilization of RSA intervals. Fields at 60 Hz resulted in similar, but not statistically significant, trends. Fields had no effects on RSA when NO synthesis was pharmacologically inhibited. However, field effects could take place when extracellular NO, diffusing from its cell of origin to the extracellular space, was chelated by hemoglobin. These results suggest that ELF magnetic fields exert a strong influence on NO systems in the brain; therefore, they could modulate the functional state of a variety of neuronal ensembles. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) on the cardiovascular system in sheep.

The cardiovascular effects of PACAP and VIP were studied in intact conscious sheep; PACAP (0.008, 0.04, 0.2, and 1.0 nmol/min) and VIP (0.07, 0.2, 0.6, and 1.8 nmol/min) were infused in conscious sheep for periods of 10 min. For each peptide there was a dose-dependent increase in heart rate. At the highest doses tested, pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure tended to increase and decrease, respectively. However, only the decrease in mean arterial pressure following the highest dose of VIP reached significance. At the highest doses tested, heart rate increased nearly threefold during the infusion while mean arterial pressure declined by 18.5%. In individual animals the decrease in blood pressure and increase in heart rate occurred simultaneously, so that we were unable to conclude whether the increase in heart rate was due to a baroreceptor reflex.     

THERAPEUTIC ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD EFFECTS ON ANGIOGENESIS DURING TUMOR GROWTH: A PILOT STUDY IN MICE

A controlled pilot study was performed to examine the possibility of finding a specific electromagnetic field signal to inhibit angiogenesis during tumor growth. A 120 Hz pulsating magnetic field of 4 and 5 mT was applied to female mice which had been inoculated with murine 16/C mammary adenocarcinoma. After 11 consecutive sessions of 10 min/day exposure to the magnetic field, the animals were sacrificed and an immunohistochemistry analysis of the tumors was performed. CD31 staining indicated that both magnetic fields significantly reduced the vasculature in the tumors: 39% at 4 mT magnetic flux density and 53% at 5 mT. The positive implications for impeding tumor growth and metastasis warrant further studies.     

Behavioral studies with mice exposed to DC and 60-Hz magnetic fields

Behavioral measures were evaluated in adult CD-1 and LAF-1 mice continuously exposed for 72 h to a 1.5-Tesla (1 T = 10(4) Gauss) homogeneous DC magnetic field, and in LAF-1 mice continuously exposed for 72 h to a sinusoidal 60-Hz, 1.65-mT (rms) homogeneous AC field. Three types of behavioral tests were employed: (1) Memory of an electroshock-motivated passive avoidance task was assessed in animals that had been trained immediately prior to the field exposure. The strength of memory was varied either by altering the strength of the electric footshock during training, or by administering a cerebral protein synthesis inhibitor, anisomycin, at the time of training. (2) General locomotor activity was measured using a quadrant-crossing test immediately after termination of the magnetic field exposure. (3) Sensitivity of the experimental subjects to the seizure-inducing neuropharmacological agent, pentylenetrazole , was assessed immediately after the field exposure on the basis of three criteria: (a) the percentage of subjects exhibiting a generalized seizure, (b) the mean time to seizure, and (c) the mean seizure level. The results of these studies revealed no behavioral alterations in exposed mice relative to controls in any of the experimental tests with the 1.5-T DC field or the 60-Hz, 1.65-mT (rms) AC field.     

Heat transfer in a microvascular network: the effect of heart rate on heating and cooling in reptiles (Pogona barbata and Varanus varius)

Thermally-induced changes in heart rate and blood flow in reptiles are believed to be of selective advantage by allowing animal to exert some control over rates of heating and cooling. This notion has become one of the principal paradigms in reptilian thermal physiology. However, the functional significance of changes in heart rate is unclear, because the effect of heart rate and blood flow on total animal heat transfer is not known. I used heat transfer theory to determine the importance of heat transfer by blood flow relative to conduction. I validated theoretical predictions by comparing them with field data from two species of lizard, bearded dragons (Pogona barbata) and lace monitors (Varanus varius). Heart rates measured in free-ranging lizards in the field were significantly higher during heating than during cooling, and heart rates decreased with body mass. Convective heat transfer by blood flow increased with heart rate. Rates of heat transfer by both blood flow and conduction decreased with mass, but the mass scaling exponents were different. Hence, rate of conductive heat transfer decreased more rapidly with increasing mass than did heat transfer by blood flow, so that the relative importance of blood flow in total animal heat transfer increased with mass. The functional significance of changes in heart rate and, hence, rates of heat transfer, in response to heating and cooling in lizards was quantified. For example, by increasing heart rate when entering a heating environment in the morning, and decreasing heart rate when the environment cools in the evening a Pogona can spend up to 44 min longer per day with body temperature within its preferred range. It was concluded that changes in heart rate in response to heating and cooling confer a selective advantage at least on reptiles of mass similar to that of the study animals (0. 21-5.6 kg).     

Dynamics of the rythm of the isolated and intact frog heart

This study was designed to examine the changes of the isolated frog's heart rate as a function of the time in the two time intervals: 20-95 min and 95-170 min after hearts were prepared. The heart rate decreased in these intervals quite linear but average slope between 20-75 min was significantly steeper than in the time interval 95-170 min. It was shown that the difference in the heart rate response induced by the increasing temperature in intact animals and isolated hearts partly might be explored by this decrease in the isolated frog's heart rate with time.     

Influence of long-term beta receptor stimulation with prenalterol on intrinsic heart rate in rats

Previous studies have shown that the intrinsic heart rate (IHR) may undergo changes, e.g., decrease after long-term endurance training. The mechanism for this adaptation is not known. In this study, rats were subjected to long-term oral treatment with the beta receptor stimulating drug prenalterol. During the treatment period heart rates at rest and during submaximal exercise were measured. Heart rate after 30 min rest and also 2 min after exercise was higher in the treated animals, due to the beta stimulation. The treated rats had a significantly lower heart rate increase during exercise than untreated controls, consistent with a partial beta-blocking effect of the drug in states with a high endogenous sympathetic activity. Therefore, the animals were not trained but only exposed to the increased stimulation of cardiac beta receptors accomplished by the drug while at rest. After 25 weeks, prenalterol was withdrawn and the IHR was measured in situ after a denervation procedure. The treatment with prenalterol had not altered the IHR. Our previous results from training studies indicate that a heart rate increase above a certain level or the stimulation for a lower setting of the IHR as seen after endurance training. In this study chronic beta receptor stimulation with prenalterol did not influence the IHR, which supports that hypothesis.     

Changes in heart rate are important for thermoregulation in the varanid lizard Varanus varius

Laboratory studies and a single field study have shown that heart rate in some reptiles is faster during heating than during cooling at any given body temperature. This phenomenon, which has been shown to reflect changes in peripheral blood flow, is shown here to occur in the lizard Varanus varius (lace monitor) in the wild. On a typical clear day, lizards emerged from their shelters in the morning to warm in the sun. Following this, animals were active, moving until they again entered a shelter in the evening. During their period of activity, body temperature was 34-36 degrees C in all six study animals (4.0-5.6 kg), but the animals rarely shuttled between sun and shade exposure. Heart rate during the morning heating period was significantly faster than during the evening cooling period. However, the ratio of heating to cooling heart rate decreased with increasing body temperature, being close to 2 at body temperatures of 22-24 degrees C and decreasing to 1.2-1.3 at body temperatures of 34-36 degrees C. There was a significant decrease in thermal time constants with increasing heart rate during heating and cooling confirming that changes in heart rate are linked to rates of heat exchange.     

High-intensity static magnetic fields modulate skin microcirculation and temperature in vivo

We investigated the acute effect of static magnetic fields of up to 8 T on skin blood flow and body temperature in anesthetized rats. These variables were measured prior to, during, and following exposure to a magnetic field in a superconducting magnet with a horizontal bore. The dorsal skin was transversely incised for 1 cm to make a subcutaneous pocket. Probes of a laser Doppler flowmeter and a thermistor were inserted into the pocket and positioned at mid-dorsum to measure skin blood flow and temperature. Another thermistor probe was put into the rectum to monitor rectal temperature. After baseline measurement outside the magnet, the rat was inserted into the bore for 20 min so that mid-dorsum was exactly positioned at the center, where the magnetic field was nearly homogeneous. Post-exposure changes were then recorded for 20 min outside the bore. Sham-exposed animals were submitted to exactly the same conditions, except that the superconducting magnet was not energized. Skin blood flow and temperature decreased significantly during magnetic field exposure and recovered after removal of the animal from the magnet. The rectal temperature showed a tendency to decrease while the animal was in the magnet. The microcirculatory and thermal reactions in the present study were consistent and agreed with some of the predictions based on mathematical simulations and model experiments.     

Biologic effects of prolonged exposure to ELF electromagnetic fields in rats: II. 50 Hz magnetic fields

To provide possible laboratory support to health risk evaluation associated with long-term, low-intensity magnetic field exposure, 256 male albino rats and an equal number of control animals (initial age 12 weeks) were exposed 22 h/day to a 50 Hz magnetic flux density of 5 μmT for 32 weeks (a total of about 5000 h). Hematology was studied from blood samples before exposure to the field and at 12 week intervals. Morphology and histology of liver, heart, mesenteric lymph nodes, and testes as well as brain neurotransmitters were assessed at the end of the exposure period. In two identical sets of experiments, no significant differences in the investigated variables were found between exposed and sham-exposed animals. It is concluded that continuous exposure to a 50 Hz magnetic field of 5 μT from week 12 to week 44, which makes up ?70% of the life span of the rat before sacrifice, does not cause changes in growth rate, in the morphology and histology of liver, heart, mesenteric lymph nodes, testes, and bone marrow, in hematology and hematochemistry, or in the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Behaviour and seasonal variation in heart rate in domestic sheep,Ovis aries

Three major causes of heart rate variation in undisturbed adult ewes were identified: behaviour, season and individual identity. Heart rate was 8 beats/min lower when the ewe was lying than when she was standing. It was increased by ruminating by 2 beats/min above the value for idling, and by a further 6 beats/min when the ewe changed to grazing. It seems that the increases in heart rate when the ewe was standing were simply added to those associated with ruminating or grazing. Heart rate declined slightly during bouts of unchanged behaviour. It varied seasonally from a minimum in December to a maximum some 50% (46 beats/min) higher in June. This variation was closely linked with daylength, basal metabolic rate, food availability, food consumption and the reproductive cycle, although it also occurred in non-breeding animals. Changes in heart rate associated with daylength may be the secondary result of the effects of daylength on metabolic rate. After taking all these effects into account, there remained variation between five ewes of 16 beats/min.