Environmental Effect of HV Towers at the Cerebellum and Cognitive Impairments in the Monkey

Abstract

Today, living or working of people in the vicinity and even under the high-voltage lines is a pernicious environmental hazard to humans. The male rhesus monkey is used to investigate the effects of fields produced by high-voltage towers. In this study, the function and level of effect in rhesus monkeys' brain have been investigated in cerebellum's cognitive, biological and structural perspective. Two monkeys have been used, one as a control and the second under test. The monkey under test was subjected to a simulated HV electrical field of 3 kV/m for 4 hours a day for a one month. Behavioral tests were performed using a device designed and built for this purpose. Concentration analysis of adrenocorticotropic hormones (ACTH) and inspection of glucocorticoid receptor gene's (GR) expression were performed by the RT-PCR method. Changes in cerebellar anatomy with MRI images were examined. All tests were performed before and after the test period and were compared with the control monkey. Cognitive tests showed a significant reduction for the monkey that was exposed to a high-voltage electrical field in the first week after field imposition compared with the same time before. Also, the expression of the GR gene was decreased and the concentration of ACTH hormone in plasma was increased. Surveying the level of cerebral MRI images did not show any difference, but hemorrhage was evident in a part of the cerebellum. The results of cognitive, biological and MRI tests in the tested monkey showed a decrease in the visual learning and memory indices.