Effects of Long Term Exposure to Infrasound on Growth, Activity, and Urinary 17-OHCS Levels in Rats

Abstract

To clarify the physiological effects of infrasound, 42 day-old male Wistar rats were exposed to 16Hz infrasound at 120 B for 28 days. We measured body weight, spontaneous running activity, and urinary 17-OHCS levels. The exposure group was exposed to infrasound in the exposure chamber and the control group was housed in the same chamber without exposure. Each group was further subdivided into two subgroups, a sedentary group and an exercise group. The exercise group was housed with a rotating wheel cage adjoining the feed cage. It was found that: The growth was slower in the exposure group than in the control group. Spontaneous running activity of the exposure group increased significantly from 20 days after the start of infrasound exposure. Urinary 17-OHCS levels increased in 3 days after the start of infrasound exposure. These results suggested that infrasound acted as a stressor.