Effect of various acute 60 Hz magnetic field exposures on the nocturnal melatonin rise in the adult Djungarian hamster

ABSTRACT: Acute exposure to a 1 Gauss 60 Hz magnetic field for 15 min beginning 2 hr before darkness delays and blunts the nighttime melatonin rhythm in some but not all studies. To determine whether other exposure parameters (dose, mode, or time) influence the nocturnal melatonin rise, adult Djungarian hamsters reared in long days (16L: 8D, lights off at 1000–1800 hr) were acutely exposed to a 60 Hz continuous magnetic field (15 min of 1 or 0.1 Gauss) beginning 4 hr before or 4 hr after lights off. Other hamsters were exposed to a 60 Hz intermittent magnetic field (15 or 60 min of a 1 Gauss field, 1 min on then 1 min off) between 1 and 2 hr before lights off. In sham‐exposed controls, i.e., hamsters simultaneously placed in an adjacent coil system but without current, pineal and serum melatonin concentrations increased from a low baseline (1 hr after lights off) to concentrations that were typical of the nighttime peak by 3 hr after darkness. Acute exposure to the 0.1 or 1 Gauss continuous magnetic field for 15 min at either 4 hr before or 4 hr after lights off did not disrupt the nocturnal rise in pineal or serum melatonin. Similarly, onset of the melatonin rhythm was not suppressed by intermittent magnetic field exposures compared to that in sham controls. Thus, several magnetic field exposure paradigms failed to alter the rising phase of the melatonin rhythm in pineal gland content or in circulation. These findings indicate that the biological clock mechanism that mediates photoperiodic time measurement in this seasonally breeding rodent is resistant to a variety of acute continuous or intermittent magnetic field exposures.