Exposure to static magnetic field facilitates selective attention and neuroplasticity in rats

Tingting Wang, Nasra Yasin, Salman Zubedat, Yelena Loboda, Avi Avital, Levi Schachter, John P.M. Finberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Static magnetic fields (SMF) have neuroprotective and behavioral effects in rats, however, little is known about the effects of SMF on cognition, motor function and the underlying neurochemical mechanisms. In this study, we focused on the effects of short-term (5–10d) and long-term (13–38d) SMF exposure on selective attention and motor coordination of rats, as well as associated alterations in expression level of neuroplasticity-related structural proteins and cryptochrome (CRY1) protein in the cortex, striatum and ventral midbrain. The results showed that 6d SMF exposure significantly enhanced selective attention without affecting locomotor activity in open field. All SMF exposures non-significantly enhanced motor coordination (Rotarod test). Neurochemical analysis demonstrated that 5d SMF exposure increased the expression of cortical and striatal CRY1 and synapsin-1 (SYN1), striatal total synapsins (SYN), and synaptophysin (SYP), growth associated protein-43 (GAP43) and post-synaptic density protein-95 (PSD95) in the ventral midbrain. Exposure to SMF for 14d increased PSD95 level in the ventral midbrain while longer SMF exposure elevated the levels of PSD95 in the cortex, SYN and SYN1 in all the examined brain areas. The increased expression of cortical and striatal CRY1 and SYN1 correlated with the short-lasting effect of SMF on improving selective attention. Collectively, SMF's effect on selective attention attenuated following longer exposure to SMF whereas its effects on neuroplasticity-related structural biomarkers were time- and brain area-dependent, with some protein levels increasing with longer time exposure. These findings suggest a potential use of SMF for treatment of neurological diseases in which selective attention or neuroplasticity is impaired.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)111-120
Number of pages10
JournalBrain Research Bulletin
Volume189
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Oct 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank Ofer Shenker at the Technion's Bio Core Facility for technical instructions on data acquisition. The data shown in this publication for part of the Ph.D. thesis (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) of Tingting Wang. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords

  • Cognition
  • Cryptochrome
  • Neuroplasticity
  • Static magnetic field
  • Synapsins

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuroscience (all)

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