Abstract

Overview

Anxiety is an adaptive condition characterized by heightened uneasiness, which in the long term can cause complications such as reducing the quality of life and problems related to mental and physical health.

Findings

• Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF), ranging from 3 to 3000 Hz, are omnipresent in daily lives and have anxiogenic effects.
• Studies reveal that ELF-EMF impacts various brain regions, such as the hippocampus, affecting the hippocampus-prefrontal cortex pathway and potentially initiating anxiety behavior.
• ELF-EMF could cause oxidative stress in the hypothalamus and hippocampus, reduce hippocampus neuroplasticity, and increase NMDA2A receptor expression in the hippocampus.

Conclusion

ELF-EMF interference in brain regions involved in anxiety leads to increased stress hormones and excitability. It also decreases neuroplasticity and modulates receptors in the hippocampus, thus playing a key role in initiating anxiety behavior. Supplementing with antioxidants may mitigate these adverse effects.