Rapid‐onset/offset, variably scheduled 60 Hz electric and magnetic field exposure reduces nocturnal serum melatonin concentration in nonhuman primates

Experiments with rodents indicate that power‐frequency electric field (EF) or magnetic field (MF) exposure can suppress the normal nocturnal increase in melatonin concentration in pineal gland and blood. In a separate set of three experiments conducted with nonhuman primates, we did not observe melatonin suppression as a result of 6 weeks of day‐time exposure to combined 60 Hz electric and magnetic fields (E/MF) with regularly scheduled “slow” E/MF onsets/offsets. The study described here used a different exposure paradigm in which two baboons were exposed to E/MF with “rapid” E/MF onsets/offsets accompanied by EF transients not found with slowly ramped E/MF onset/offset; profound reductions in nocturnal serum melatonin concentration were observed in this experiment. If replicated in a more extensive experiment, the observation of melatonin suppression only in the presence of E/MF transients would suggest that very specific exposure parameters determine the effects of 60 Hz E/MF on melatonin. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.