Effect of a 60 Hz magnetic field on the behavior of Paramecium

Paramecium multimicronucleatum was used as a model cell to study the effects of 60 Hz magnetic fields on swimming behavior. When exposed to a vertical field of 0.6 T, the cells accumulated at the upper end of the cuvette. An analysis of the swimming behavior revealed that the exposure to the field i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioelectromagnetics 2000-12, Vol.21 (8), p.584-588
Main Authors: Nakaoka, Yasuo, Shimizu, Kikuo, Hasegawa, Kenji, Yamamoto, Takayoshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Electromagnetic Fields
ELF magnetic field
gravitaxis
Movement
Paramecium
Paramecium - physiology
Paramecium - radiation effects
swimming behavior
Time Factors
transient behavior change
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Summary:Paramecium multimicronucleatum was used as a model cell to study the effects of 60 Hz magnetic fields on swimming behavior. When exposed to a vertical field of 0.6 T, the cells accumulated at the upper end of the cuvette. An analysis of the swimming behavior revealed that the exposure to the field increased the number of cells swimming upwards maximally at 1 min after onset of the exposure. This effect of the magnetic field was transient, disappearing within a few minutes during the exposure. It is suggested that the magnetic field may amplify to a large extent the negative gravitaxis of Paramecium. Effects of an induced electric field on the swimming behavior are also discussed. Bioelectromagnetics 21:584–588, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0197-8462
1521-186X
DOI:10.1002/1521-186X(200012)21:8<584::AID-BEM4>3.0.CO;2-E