Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec 26;11(1):57.
doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11010057.

The Effect of Earthing Mat on Stress-Induced Anxiety-like Behavior and Neuroendocrine Changes in the Rat

Hyun-Jung Park  1 , Woojin Jeong  2 , Hyo Jeong Yu  2 , Minsook Ye  2 , Yunki Hong  2 , Minji Kim  3 , Ji Youn Kim  4 , Insop Shim  2
Affiliations

The Effect of Earthing Mat on Stress-Induced Anxiety-like Behavior and Neuroendocrine Changes in the Rat

Hyun-Jung Park et al. Biomedicines. .

Abstract

Grounding is a therapeutic technique that involves doing activities that “ground” or electrically reconnect us to the earth. The physiological effects of grounding have been reported from a variety of perspectives such as sleep or pain. However, its anti-stress efficacy is relatively unknown. The present study investigated the stress-related behavioral effects of earthing mat and its neurohormonal mechanisms in the Sprague−Dawley male rat. Rats were randomly divided into four groups: the naïve normal (Normal), the 21 days immobilization stressed (Control), the 21 days stressed + earthing mat for 7 days (A7) or 21 days (A21) group. The depressive-and anxiety like behaviors were measured by forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST) and elevated plus maze (EPM). Using immunohistochemistry, the expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) and c-Fos immunoreactivity were analyzed in the brain. In the EPM, time spent in the open arm of the earthing mat groups was significantly increased compared to the Control group (p < 0.001), even though there were without effects among groups in the FST and TST. The expression of CRF immunoreactive neurons in the earthing mat group was markedly decreased compared to the Control group. Overall, the earthing mat reduced stress-induced behavioral changes and expression of c-Fos and CRF immunoreactivity in the brain. These results suggest that the earthing mat may have the potential to improve stress-related responses via the regulation of the corticotrophinergic system.

Keywords: c-Fos; corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF); depressive behavior; earthing mat; elevated plus maze (EPM); forced swimming test (FST); grounding; stress; tail suspension test (TST); therapeutic technique.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest in the publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental schedule.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Composition of Earthing mat and grounded system.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of earthing mat on the FST (A–C) and TST (D). Data represent means ± SEM.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of earthing mat on elevated plus maze. (A): Time to open arm (%), (B): Time to closed arm (%), (C): Total distance (cm).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) Effect of earthing mat on CRF expression. (A) Data represent means ± SEM. *** < 0.001 compared to Normal group, # p < 0.05, ## p < 0.01 compared to Control group. (B) Photographs showing the distribution of CRF immunoreactive cells in the PVN of the (a) Normal group, (b) Control group, (c) A7 group, (d) A21 group. Coronal sections were 30 μm thick, and the scale bar represents 100 μm.
Figure 6
Figure 6
(A) Effect of earthing mat on c-Fos expression, Data represent means ± SEM. (B) Photographs showing the distribution of CRF immunoreactive cells in the PVN of the (a) Normal group, (b) Control group, (c) A7 group, (d) A21 group. Coronal sections were 30 μm thick, and the scale bar represents 100 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Ader R., Cohen N. Psychoneuroimmunology: Conditioning and stress. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 1993;44:53–85. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ps.44.020193.000413. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chrousos G.P. Stressors, stress, and neuroendocrinology integration of the adaptive response. The 1997 Hans Selye Memorial Lecture. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1998;851:311–335. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb09006.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. File S.E. The use of social interaction as a method for detecting anxiolytic activity of chlorodiazepoxide-like drugs. J. Neurosci. Methods. 1980;2:219–238. doi: 10.1016/0165-0270(80)90012-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Luine V., Villegas M., Martinez C., McEwen B.S. Repeated stress causes reversible impairments of spatial memory performance. Brain Res. 1994;639:167–170. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(94)91778-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pare W.P. The effects of chronic environmental stress and stomach ulceration, adrenal function and consummatory behavior in the rat. J. Psychol. 1964;57:143–151. doi: 10.1080/00223980.1964.9916683. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources