title: Exposure of baboons to combined 60 Hz electric and magnetic fields does not produce work stoppage or affect operant performance on a match-to-sample task.
abstract: We examined the effects of combined 60 Hz electric and magnetic field (EMF) exposure on performance of delayed match-to-sample (MTS) procedure involving the flash rate of a light as the stimulus. Six baboons (Papio cynocephalus) fully acquired the task; four others functioned accurately only when cued. All ten subjects were assigned to EMF-exposed or sham-exposed groups of five and were used to test for a work-stoppage effect that was previously observed with initial exposure to electric fields (EF) of 30 or 60 kV/m. Here, we report the results of two experiments, each consisting of 6 week preexposure, exposure, and postexposure periods. We found no evidence of work stoppage with fields of 6 kV/m and 50 microT (0.5 G) or with 30 kV/m and 100 microT (1.0 G). In neither experiment was there evidence of an adverse effect of 60 Hz EMF exposure on MTS performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004867:Equipment Design; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D010215:Papio