Effects of exposure to 30 kV/m, 60‐Hz electric fields on the social behavior of baboons

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Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that exposure to a 30‐kY/m, 60‐Hz electric field produces significant change (stress) in the social behavior of adult male baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis). One group of eight baboons was exposed to an electric field (12 hours per day, 7 days per week for 6 weeks) while a second group of eight baboons was maintained in a sham‐exposure (control) condition. Exposed subjects and control subjects were compared over three, six‐week experimental periods (pre‐exposure, exposure, and post‐exposure). Performance rates of six categories of social behaviors (passive affinity, active affinity, approach, tension, threat, and attack) and four categories of nonsocial behaviors (forage, manipulate, posture, and stereotypy) were used to compare the two groups. The results of our study indicate that 1) there were no significant differences between the two groups during the pre‐exposure or post‐exposure periods; 2) during the exposure period, experimental and control groups exhibited statistically significant differences in the mean performance rates of three behavior categories; 3) within‐group comparisons across periods indicate that the experimentally exposed group exhibited statistically significant changes in passive affinity, tension, and stereotypy; and 4) changes in behavior performance among the exposed subjects reflect a stress response to the electric field.