What did this study find?
In this animal model of post-traumatic stress, rats treated with pulsed electromagnetic fields showed markedly less freezing during fear extinction testing, with the effect persisting forty-eight hours and accompanied by increased hippocampal neurogenesis. The result is preclinical. It suggests a mechanism worth testing in humans, not a demonstrated human treatment effect.
What are the details of this record?
- Full citation
- Pulsed electromagnetic field attenuated PTSD-induced failure of conditioned fear extinction. PMC. 2019.
- Study design
- Controlled clinical study
- Sample size and population
- Not reported in the published record
- Evidence grade
- Grade B- on the BioReg grading scale
- Reported findings
- Animal study showing PEMF-treated rats had significantly less freezing during extinction tests. Enhancement persisted 48 hours. PEMF combined with exposure therapy may facilitate extinction memory in PTSD. Enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis.
- DOI
- No DOI recorded
- PubMed
- Not indexed in PubMed
- Related categories
- PTSD & Trauma (category grade C+ to B-)
A positive PEMF study is not evidence for a specific device unless the signal parameters studied, frequency, intensity, waveform, and exposure duration, are reasonably comparable to what that device produces. Where this record does not list those parameters, the source report did not publish them. See the grading methodology. Library last reviewed 2026-08-27.