Prenatal exposure to a low-frequency electromagnetic field demasculinizes adult scent marking behavior and increases accessory sex organ weights in rats

• Published in: Teratology (Philadelphia) Vol. 41; no. 1; p. 1
• Main Authors: McGivern, R F, Sokol, R Z, Adey, W R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.01.1990
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Electromagnetic Fields; Electromagnetic Phenomena; Female; Follicle Stimulating Hormone - blood; Follicle Stimulating Hormone - radiation effects; Luteinizing Hormone - blood; Luteinizing Hormone - radiation effects; Male; Organ Size - radiation effects; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Prostate - growth & development; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Seminal Vesicles - growth & development; Sex Differentiation - radiation effects; Sexual Behavior, Animal - radiation effects; Sperm Count - radiation effects; Testis - growth & development; Testosterone - blood; Testosterone - radiation effects
• ISSN: 0040-3709
• DOI: 10.1002/tera.1420410102

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley dams were exposed to a low-level, low-frequency pulsed electromagnetic (EM) field (15 Hz, 0.3 msec duration, peak intensity 8 gauss) for 15 min twice a day from day 15 through day 20 of gestation, a period in development that is critical for sexual differentiation of the male rat brain. No differences in litter size, number of stillborns, or body weight were observed in offspring from field-exposed dams. At 120 days of age, field-exposed male offspring exhibited significantly less scent marking behavior than controls. Accessory sex organ weights, including epididymis, seminal vesicles, and prostate, were significantly higher in field-exposed subjects at this age. However, circulating levels of testosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone, as well as epididymal sperm counts, were normal. These data indicate that brief, intermittent exposure to low-frequency EM fields during the critical prenatal period for neurobehavioral sex differentiation can demasculinize male scent marking behavior and increase accessory sex organ weights in adulthood.