An experimental study published in Environmental Health Perspectives has found that chronic exposure to moderate levels of noise can cause anxiety-like behaviors in rodents. The new study exposed adult male mice to noise levels of 85 dB, four hours per day, for four weeks. Researchers studied the behaviors through changes to the amygdala, part of the brain’s emotion-processing system.
The authors wanted to learn more about the effects of chronic moderate noise on emotional disorders. They highlight the study’s insight into biological mechanisms that are technically challenging to evaluate in humans.
According to Dr. Rick Neitzel, director of U-M’s Exposure Research Lab (who was not involved in the study), the use of moderate, environmentally relevant exposure levels supports the relevance of the study to humans. He notes, however, that human exposures tend to be more variable in terms of duration and level from day to day.
Read the article: Characterization of Anxiety-Like Behaviors and Neural Circuitry following Chronic Moderate Noise Exposure in Mice
Exposure Research Lab 