ABSTRACT

This is a review of studies on the neurological effects of static/extremely-low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF). The review is mainly on research carried out in the last two decades. There are studies that showed effects on various neurotransmitters, including NMDA, serotonin, dopamine, endogenous opioids, etc. Each of these transmitters plays different critical roles on behavior and brain functions. Studies on behavioral effects of static/ELF EMF bear out these connections. Static/ELF EMF-induced behavorial and pathological effects, such as locomotor activity, memory and learning deficits, and neurological diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, Huntinton’s diseases and atropical lateral scleroses, etc.) are discussed. Static/ELF EMF exposure has also been shown to have beneficial effects on functional deficits and progression of some neurological diseases. These fields provide a non-invasive treatment or treatment-adjuvant for these detrimental neurological conditions. Results suggest that free radicals, both reactive oxygen species and reactive nitric species could be involved. Depending on the conditions of exposure, either harmful or beneficial effects could result. It is important to carry out further investigation to identify these conditions. However, Caution should be taken to extrapolate the experimental data to human exposure, since higher field intensites than environmental levels were used in most laboratory research.

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Abstract

The circadian clock is an evolutionarily highly conserved endogenous timing program that structures physiology and behavior according to the time of day. Disruption of circadian rhythms is associated with many common pathologies. The emerging field of circadian medicine aims to exploit the mechanisms of circadian physiology and clock–disease interaction for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. In this Essay, we outline the principle approaches of circadian medicine, highlight the development of the field in selected areas, and point out open questions and challenges. Circadian medicine has unambiguous health benefits over standard care but is rarely utilized. It is time for clock biology to become an integrated part of translational research.

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001567

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Abstract

Objective

The global health crisis in the form of COVID-19 has forced people to shift their routine activities into a remote environment with the help of technology. The outbreak of the COVID-19 has caused several organizations to be shut down and forced them to initiate work from home employing technology. Now more than ever, it’s important for people and institutions to understand the impact of excessive use of mobile phone technology and electronic gadgets on human health, cognition, and behavior. It is important to understand their perspective and how individuals are coping with this challenge in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigation is an effort to answer the research question: whether dependency on technology during lockdown has more effects on human health in comparison to normal times.

Methods

The study included participants from India (n = 122). A questionnaire was framed and the mode of conducting the survey chosen was online to maintain social distancing during the time of the Pandemic. The gathered data was statistically analysed employing RStudio and multiple regression techniques.

Results

The statistical analysis confirms that lockdown scenarios have led to an increase in the usage of mobile phone technology which has been confirmed by around 90% of participants. Moreover, 95% of the participants perceive an increased risk of developing certain health problems due to excessive usage of mobile phones and technology. It has been evaluated that participants under the age group 15–30 years are highly affected (45.9%) during lockdown due to excessive dependence on technology. And, amongst different professions, participants involved in online teaching-learning are the most affected (42.6%).

Conclusion

The findings indicate that dependency on technology during lockdown has more health effects as compared to normal times. So, it is suggested that as more waves of pandemics are being predicted, strategies should be planned to decrease the psychological and physiological effects of the overuse of technology during lockdown due to pandemics. As the lockdown situation unfolds, people and organization functioning styles should be rolled back to the limited dependency on technology.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8456111/

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Abstract

The initiation, progression, and metastatic spread of cancer elicits diverse changes in systemic physiology. In this way, cancer represents a novel homeostatic challenge to the host system. Here, we discuss how the hypothalamus, a critical brain region involved in homeostasis senses, integrates and responds to cancer-induced changes in physiology. Through this lens, cancer-associated changes in behavior (e.g., sleep disruption) and physiology (e.g., glucocorticoid dysregulation) can be viewed as the result of an inability to re-establish homeostasis. We provide examples at each level (receptor sensing, integration of systemic signals, and efferent regulatory pathways) of how homeostatic organization becomes disrupted across different cancers. Finally, we lay out predictions of this hypothesis and highlight outstanding questions that aim to guide further work in this area.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34561122/

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by British Medical Journal

Preschoolers’ extensive use of electronic media, including game consoles, mobile phones, and tablets, is linked to a heightened risk of emotional and behavioral problems by the age of 5, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

This behavior is associated with hyperactivity, short attention span, poor concentration and peer relationship issues, among other things, the findings suggest.

Patterns of children‘s electronic media use are changing rapidly, say the researchers. Preschoolers’ use of mobile phones and tablets tripled between 2013 and 2017, with recent studies indicating that many 4-year-olds now play games, use apps, or watch videos on them every day.

Concerns have been raised that young children’s extensive use of electronic media may impede healthy development, affecting language and social skills, as well as potentially fostering addictive behavior.

The researchers therefore wanted to find out if extensive electronic media use among young children might affect their psychological health and wellbeing by the time they reach the age of 5, and if different types of activity might be influential.

Extract

“Our results show that 5-year-old children spend considerably more time on e-media than is recommended by professionals. Our results further indicate that high levels of e-media use, especially program viewing, is associated with problems with psychosocial outcomes, while use of electronic games was only associated with hyperactivity in the crude models.”

They emphasize: “Although children’s e-media use patterns might not seem problematic when considering use on a daily level, they do have risks in the long term.”

Read more at https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-03-preschoolers-extensive-electronic-media-linked.html

More information: High-­dose electronic media use in five-year-olds and its association with their psychosocial symptoms: a cohort study, DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040848

Journal information: BMJ Open

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Abstract

Biological effects of extremely low-frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) and its consequences on human health have become the subject of important and recurrent public debate. ELF-MF evokes cell/organism responses that are characteristic to a general stress reaction, thus it can be regarded as a stress factor. Exposure to ELF-MF “turns on” different intracellular mechanisms into both directions: compensatory or deleterious ones. ELF-MF can provoke morphological and physiological changes in stress-related systems, mainly nervous, hormonal, and immunological ones. This review summarizes the ELF-MF-mediated changes at various levels of the organism organization. Special attention is placed on the review of literature from the last decade. Most studies on ELF-MF effects concentrate on its negative influence, e.g., impairment of behavior towards depressive and anxiety disorders; however, in the last decade there was an increase in the number of research studies showing stimulating impact of ELF-MF on neuroplasticity and neurorehabilitation. In the face of numerous studies on the ELF-MF action, it is necessary to systematize the knowledge for a better understanding of the phenomenon, in order to reduce the risk associated with the exposure to this factor and to recognize the possibility of using it as a therapeutic agent.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/174

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Abstract

As a neurotoxicant, lead (Pb) primarily affects central nervous system, and particularly impacts developing brain. This study explores the associations of blood Pb level and children’s behavioral health. A total of 213 preschool children aged 3-7 years old were recruited from Guiyu (the e-waste-exposed area) and Haojiang (the reference area). The behavioral health of children was assessed using the ‘behavioral symptoms’ subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results showed that there was a significant difference in percent of children categorized as “at risk” between Guiyu (48.2%) and Haojiang (13.9%) (p < 0.001). The blood Pb level of children in Guiyu was significantly higher than those in Haojiang (median: 5.19 μg/dL vs. 3.42 μg/dL, p < 0.001). The serum Neuropeptide Y (NPY) was significantly lower in Guiyu children than those in Haojiang. Spearman correlation analyses demonstrated that blood Pb levels was negatively correlated with NPY (r_s = -0.25, p < 0.001), but positively correlated with behavioral symptom scores; while serum NPY levels were negatively associated with behavioral symptom scores. Behavioral symptom scores were higher in children with blood Pb level ≥5.00 μg/dL (high) than those with blood Pb level < 5.00 μg/dL (low). After adjusting for confounding factors, children with lower NPY levels were at higher risk of having behavioral difficulties. In conclusion, Pb exposure in e-waste-exposed areas may lead to decrease in serum NPY and increase in the risk of children’s behavioral problems. In addition, NPY may mediate the association between Pb exposure and behavioral difficulties.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Abstract

The present study evaluated whether short-term exposure to different doses of 2.1 GHz radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) has different effects on rats’ behaviour and hippocampal levels of central cholinergic biomarkers. Animals were divided into three equal groups namely; group 1 was sham-exposed group, group 2-3 were exposed to 45 V/m and 65 V/m doses of 2.1 GHz frequency for 1 week respectively. Numerical dosimetry simulations were carried out. Object location and Y-maze were used as behavioural tasks. The protein and mRNA expression levels of AChE, ChAT, and VAChT, in the hippocampus were tested using Western Blotting and Real-Time PCR. The impairment performance of rats subjected to 65 V/m dose of 2.1 GHz RF-EMR in both object location and Y-maze tasks was observed. The hippocampal levels of AChE, ChAT, and VAChT, were significantly lower in rats exposed to 65 V/m dose of 2.1 GHz RF-EMR than others. The stronger effect of “65 V/m” dose on both rat’s hippocampal-dependent behavioural performances and hippocampal levels of cholinergic biomarkers may be due to the stronger effect of “65 V/m” dose where rats’ snouts were located at the nearest distance from the monopole antenna. Furthermore, the simulated SAR values were high for 65 V/m electric-field strengths. For the first time, we report the potential dose-dependent effects of short-term exposure to 2.1 GHz radiation on rat’s behavioural performances as well as hippocampal levels of cholinergic biomarkers. Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms by which RF-EMR influences the function of the central cholinergic system in the brain.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33259237/

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A Critical Review of Digital Technology in Education that should give Policy Makers and Educators Pause for Thought

PDF https://www.radiationresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Digital-Technology-in-Education-Working-Paper-2019.pdf

“Digital Technology is hardly the benign, neutral presence in education that we are often assured it to be”
Selwyn (2015, p. 247)

Abstract

There is a dearth of scientific evidence and evidence-based practice to justify current levels of digital technology use for educational purposes in the classroom and in the home. In contrast, there is a growing body of scientific
studies across several disciplines that highlight the direct and indirect negative effects of Digital Technology use on human cognition, learning, and behaviour. This paper considers objective evidence from peer-reviewed scientific studies in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and related disciplines, as well as the field of education itself, to review the fundamental problems that beset Digital Technology use in education. The paper highlights, for example, that:

(1) Screens lead to sleep disruption and deprivation, which impacts on learning, and is associated with obesity, and
other physical disorders, such as computer vision syndrome;

(2) Computer use in class disrupts the learning process and impairs learning outcomes for users and non-users alike;

(3) Learning with books and paper is superior in comparison to learning with e-books;

(4) Taking notes with pen and paper, as opposed to touch typing lecture notes in class, leads to better learning
outcomes;

(5) Smart phone, iPAD and laptop use result in student distraction and multitasking, which, impair learning and lead to neural addiction problems, such as Internet addiction disorder and other psychological maladies;

(6) There are islands of success in an ocean of failure when it comes to Digital Technology and educational technologies, with researchers arguing that there is little evidence to support the proposition that Digital
Technology and/or EdTech improve pedagogy or learning outcomes;

(7) Finally, basic education about Digital Technology is one topic that needs to find a place in the curriculum. However, as with all Digital Technology initiatives, the introduction of programmes at primary and secondary schools level need to be considered mindfully, with the strengths and limitations of the proposed enabling technologies clearly in focus. All this should give educators, administrators and politicians pause for thought. The paper concludes by discussing its findings, offering practical recommendations, and by suggesting a change in emphasis in pedagogy in and through Digital Technology.

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Abstract

Honey bees, Apis mellifera, are a globally significant pollinator species and are currently in decline, with losses attributed to an array of interacting environmental stressors. Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF EMFs) are a lesser-known abiotic environmental factor that are emitted from a variety of anthropogenic sources, including power lines, and have recently been shown to have a significant impact on the cognitive abilities and behaviour of honey bees. Here we have investigated the effects of field-realistic levels of ELF EMFs on aversive learning and aggression levels, which are critical factors for bees to maintain colony strength. Bees were exposed for 17 h to 100 μT or 1000 μT ELF EMFs, or a sham control. A sting extension response (SER) assay was conducted to determine the effects of ELF EMFs on aversive learning, while an intruder assay was conducted to determine the effects of ELF EMFs on aggression levels. Exposure to both 100 μT and 1000 μT ELF EMF reduced aversive learning performance by over 20%. Exposure to 100 μT ELF EMFs also increased aggression scores by 60%, in response to intruder bees from foreign hives. These results indicate that short-term exposure to ELF EMFs, at levels that could be encountered in bee hives placed under power lines, reduced aversive learning and increased aggression levels. These behavioural changes could have wider ecological implications in terms of the ability of bees to interact with, and respond appropriately to, threats and negative environmental stimuli.

The authors note (extract):

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