{"doi":"10.1111/ejn.12465","title":"Extremely low‐frequency electromagnetic fields enhance the survival of newborn neurons in the mouse hippocampus","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>In recent years, much effort has been devoted to identifying stimuli capable of enhancing adult neurogenesis, a process that generates new neurons throughout life, and that appears to be dysfunctional in the senescent brain and in several neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. We previously reported that <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic> exposure to extremely low‐frequency electromagnetic fields (<jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">ELFEF</jats:styled-content>s) promotes the proliferation and neuronal differentiation of hippocampal neural stem cells (<jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">NSC</jats:styled-content>s) that functionally integrate in the dentate gyrus. Here, we extended our studies to specifically assess the influence of <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">ELFEF</jats:styled-content>s on hippocampal newborn cell survival, which is a very critical issue in adult neurogenesis regulation. Mice were injected with 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) to label newborn cells, and were exposed to <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">ELFEF</jats:styled-content>s 9 days later, when the most dramatic decrease in the number of newly generated neurons occurs. The results showed that <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">ELFEF</jats:styled-content> exposure (3.5 h/day for 6 days) enhanced newborn neuron survival as documented by double staining for BrdU and doublecortin, to identify immature neurons, or NeuN labeling of mature neurons. The effects of <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">ELFEF</jats:styled-content>s were associated with enhanced spatial learning and memory. In an <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> model of hippocampal <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">NSC</jats:styled-content>s, <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">ELFEF</jats:styled-content>s exerted their pro‐survival action by rescuing differentiating neurons from apoptotic cell death. Western immunoblot assay revealed reduced expression of the pro‐apoptotic protein Bax, and increased levels of the anti‐apoptotic protein Bcl‐2, in the hippocampi of <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">ELFEF</jats:styled-content>‐exposed mice as well as in <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">ELFEF</jats:styled-content>‐exposed <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">NSC</jats:styled-content> cultures, as compared with their sham‐exposed counterparts. Our results may have clinical implications for the treatment of impaired neurogenesis associated with brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases.</jats:p>","journal":"European Journal of Neuroscience","year":2014,"id":18264,"datarank":2.7375064170893677,"base_score":4.276666119016055,"endowment":4.276666119016055,"self_citation_contribution":0.6414999178524083,"citation_network_contribution":2.0960064992369594,"self_endowment_contribution":0.6414999178524083,"citer_contribution":2.0960064992369594,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":71,"citer_count":58,"citers_with_citation_signal":52,"citers_with_endowment":52,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":127582,"name":"Lucia Leone","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":127583,"name":"Saviana A. 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