INFLUENCE OF A COMPLEX MAGNETIC FIELD APPLICATION IN RATS UPON THERMAL NOCICEPTIVE THRESHOLDS: THE IMPORTANCE OF POLARITY AND TIMING

The application of a weak (1 microTesla) complex magnetic field pattern with a relevant electrophysiological signature produced an analgesic response in rats to thermal stimuli when the pattern was presented once every 4 sec for 30 min through iron-core solenoids. In one experiment, the burst-firing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of neuroscience 2004-10, Vol.114 (10), p.1259-1276
Main Authors: MARTIN, L. J., KOREN, S. A., PERSINGER, M. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
Electrodes
Electromagnetic Fields
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hyperalgesia - therapy
Male
Materials Testing
Miscellaneous
Pain Measurement
Pain Threshold - radiation effects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Reaction Time - radiation effects
Somesthesis and somesthetic pathways (proprioception, exteroception, nociception)
interoception
electrolocation. Sensory receptors
Time Factors
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:The application of a weak (1 microTesla) complex magnetic field pattern with a relevant electrophysiological signature produced an analgesic response in rats to thermal stimuli when the pattern was presented once every 4 sec for 30 min through iron-core solenoids. In one experiment, the burst-firing pattern was presented once every 4 s for 30 min and restricted to the positive polarity, negative polarity or a bipolar equivalent. The strongest analgesia occurred when the burst-firing pattern was presented with positive polarity or as the typical bipolar signal. Administrations of the burst-firing pattern once per week for four consecutive weeks produced analgesia that was clearly evident during the first, third, and fourth weeks but not during the second week of treatment. A telephone sensor coil (that can be readily obtained from local electronic shops) was then used instead of the solenoids along with an audio (.wav) file to generate the magnetic field; the analgesia was still apparent. However, when the magnetic pattern was generated from a compact disc source the analgesia was not evoked. The current results suggest that these fields can be generated through simple commercial devices controlled by available computer software.
ISSN:0020-7454
1563-5279
1543-5245
DOI:10.1080/00207450490475689