SOME EFFECTS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION ON THE BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD OF CATS *

The central nervous system has received particular attention in the appraisal of possible effects of electromagnetic energy on biologic entities. This concern has numerous bases with face validity. Because it is well known that the basic function of the nervous system, generation and propagation of signals, is dependent on a generally well-understood complex of electrical and electrochemical processes, it is first a t least plausible that electromagnetic fields established by microwave irradiation, or by any means, could interfere with these mechanisms. Second, many studies, particularly in the Soviet Union and in Eastern European laboratories, have attributed general organismic response to electromagnetic radiation to effects exerted upon the central nervous s y ~ t e m . ~ Finally, some Western work implicates the central nervous system in microwave-evoked effects. Particularly noteworthy is the work of Frey and Messenger,s Guy and associates: and others that indicates microwave interaction with the auditory system. The effects considered relative to these bases are taken to be quite different from electromagnetic radiation-induced temperature elevation of the nervous tissue, that is, that the former are specific irradiation effects. Unfortunately, each of these bases has features that detract from its plausibility. Substantial data are not available to support the idea that external fields are effective in perturbing basic nervous system processes. The Soviet work has been characterized by two features that limit its acceptance as definitive information: procedural detail has been so lacking in the published reports that the findings are difficult to e ~ a l u a t e , ~ and the purported effects are based on nonspecific functional changes in which the nervous system can be implicated only through numerous equivocal assumptions. The role of central nervous system involvement in auditory perception of microwaves is an unresolved question. There is evidence that this effect is exerted in much the same mode as that of ordinary acoustic stimuli1° and that it does not act upon the central nervous system. In any event, these considerations and questions have stimulated interest to further investigate possible nervous system effects. We believe that an appropriate approach is to study the behavior of identifiable nervous system entities exposed to quantified electromagnetic energy. Early work in this laboratory involved controlled irradiation of cat heads and observation of