Lamellar bodies in Purkinje nerve cells experimentally induced by electric field

Rabbits reared from mating to the age of almost two months outdoors in a substation in an electric (E)-field of 14 kV/m (undisturbed field, 50 Hz AC) only gained about half the weight of their controls, either protected by a Faraday's cage or being kept outside measurable E-field. The Purkinje nerve cells of cerebellum showed important alterations of the endoplasmic reticulum with disintegration of Nissl bodies, disappearance of hypolemmal cisterns and formation of numerous lamellar bodies. Concomitantly, there was a reduction in number of microtubules and increase in neurofilaments. These structural neuronal changes were reflected by changes in the behaviour of the rabbits which become slow in movements.