Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on turkeys.

Several studies have examined the potential biological effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on birds; however, little attention has been paid to the extremely low frequency (ELF; 0-300 Hz; 0-50 μT) radiation found in an urbanized environment. For monitoring the effects of ELF EMF, we used a turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) model, because the nucleated erythrocytes of turkeys contain β-adrenoceptors, and norepinephrine- (NE-) activated β-adrenoceptors have an important role in physiological and behavioral processes. Our aims were the following: 1) to investigate the intracellular mechanisms; 2) to compare the intracellular mechanisms in the treated and control groups over time, considering inter-individual differences and intra-subject correlations; 3) and to study the reversible nature of the response.