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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
Author(s) -
Orr John L.,
Rogers Walter R.,
Smith Houston D.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
bioelectromagnetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.435
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-186X
pISSN - 0197-8462
DOI - 10.1002/bem.2250160707
Subject(s) - cued speech , stimulus (psychology) , vigilance (psychology) , audiology , toxicology , psychology , medicine , biology , neuroscience , cognitive psychology , psychotherapist
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 μT (0.5 G) or with 30 kV/m and 100 μT (1.0 G). In neither experiment was there evidence of an adverse effect of 60 Hz EMF exposure on MTS performance. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.