Abstract
Behavioral sequelae of exposure to high peak power microwave pulses, similar to those produced by operational radar systems and experimental, directed energy weapons systems, were studied using rats trained on fixed-ratio, variable-interval, and differential reinforcement-of-low rate schedules. Ten minute exposures to 240, 720, 2160, and 6480 pulses at a 1 Megawatt peak power level caused a rectal temperature rise of 0.7 to 2.5°C in the animals. Regardless of their schedule of reinforcement, animals exposed to the highest dose level failed to respond, on the average, for 13 minutes after the exposure when they were placed in operant conditioning chambers. However, as soon as their rectal temperatures decreased, responding resumed and no further changes in response pattern were exhibited. No long-term effects were observed in exposed animals. Thus, the behavioral effects that were seen were thermal in nature and independent of the pulsed nature of the fields.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adey, W.R. (1982). Tissue interactions with nonionizing electromagnetic fields.Physiological Reviews, 61, 435–514.
Akyel, Y., Hunt, E.L., & Vargas, A.C. (1989). Behavioral recovery from hyperthermia induced by high peak power microwave pulses.Proceedings of the 11th Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Conference, Seattle, WA.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) (1982).Safety levels with respect to human exposures to radio frequency electromagnetic fields, 300 KHz to 100 GHz (Report # ANSI C95.1-1982, IEEE). New York.
Bermant, R., Reeves, D., Levinson, D., & Justesen, D. (1979). Classical conditioning of microwave-induced hyperthermia in rats.Radio Science, 14, 201–207.
Carroll, D.R., Levinson, D.M., & Justesen, D.R. (1980). Failure of rats to escape from potentially lethal microwave field.Bioelectromagnetics, 1, 345–352.
D’Andrea, J.A., Cobb, B.L., & de Lorge, J.O. (1989). Lack of behavioral effects in the Rhesus monkey.Bioelectromagnetics, 10, 65–76.
de Lorge, J.O. (1979) The effects of microwave irradiation on behavior and temperature in Rhesus monkey. In C.C. Johnson and M.L. Shore (Eds.),Biological effects of electromagnetic waves (Vol. I, pp. 158–174). Rockville, MD: HEW Publication (FAA) 77–8010.
de Lorge, J.O. & Ezell, C.S. (1980). Observing response of rats exposed to 1.28- and 5.62-GHz microwaves.Bioelectromagnetics, 1, 183–198.
Dews, P.B. & Wenger, G.R. (1977). Rate dependency of the behavioral effects of amphetamine. In T. Thomson & P.B. Dews (Eds.)Advances in behavioral pharmacology (Vol. 1). New York: Academic Press.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (1986). Federal radiation guidance: Proposed alternatives for controlling public exposure to radiofrequency radiation,Federal Register, 51 (146) 27318–27339.
Gage, M.I. (1984). Behavior. In J.A. Elder & D.F. Cahill (Eds.),Biological effects of radiofrequency radiation (EPA-600/8-83-026F, pp. 5-53–5-63). Research Triangle Park, NC: United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Gandhi, O.P., Hunt, E.L., & D’Andrea, J.A. (1977). Deposition of electromagnetic energy in animals and in models of man with and without grounding reflector effects.Radio Sciences, 12, 39–45.
Hunt, E.L., King, N.W., & Phillips, R.D. (1975). Behavioral effects of pulsed microwave radiation.Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 247, 440–453.
Michaelson, S.M. (1986). Interaction of nonmodulated radio frequency fields with living matter: Experimental results. In C. Polk & E. Postow (Eds.),CRC handbook of biological effects of electromagnetic fields. (pp. 339–423). Boca Raton, FL: CRC PRESS.
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (BCRP) (1986).Biological effects and exposure criteria for radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (Report No. 86). Bethesda, Maryland.
Schrot, J., Thomas, J.R., & Banvard, R.A. (1980). Modification of the repeated acquisition of response sequences in rats by low level microwave exposure.Bioelectromagnetics, 1, 89–99.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command under the contract # DAMD 17-85-C-5083 awarded to ERC BioServices Corporation and was conducted at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Department of Microwave Research. The research was conducted in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act and other Federal statutes and regulations relating to animals and experiments involving animals. This study adheres to the principles stated in theGuide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, NIH publication 85-23. The views of the author do not purport to reflect the position of the Department of Defense of the Department of the Army (Para 4-3, AR 360-5).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Akyel, Y. Behavioral sequelae of exposure to high power microwave fields. Current Psychology 10, 211–220 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686776
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686776