OPERANT-BEHAVIOR AND RECTAL TEMPERATURE OF SQUIRREL-MONKEYS DURING 2.45-GHZ MICROWAVE IRRADIATION

Squirrel monkeys, Saimiri sciureus, were trained to respond on a two‐lever observing‐response task for food pellets. After stable response rates developed, the monkeys were exposed in the far field to 2.45‐GHz microwaves (100% sinusoidally modulated at 120 Hz) at average power densities from 10 to 75 mW cm−2 of incident radiation. Four monkeys were exposed to irradiation for 30 minutes during two‐hour sessions. Three of the monkeys were also exposed for 60 minutes during two‐hour sessions. The animals were restrained in Styrofoam chairs during experimental sessions and exposures occurred in a microwave‐anechoic chamber. The behavior of the monkeys on the observing‐response task was disrupted during 30‐ or 60‐minute exposures to irradiation but only at power densities that were 50 mW cm−2 or higher. This disruption was increasingly evident as power density increased. Under both durations of exposure, behavior was not consistently perturbed until rectal temperatures increased more than 1°C. Rectal temperature was slightly but reliably elevated at 10 mW cm−2, was a monotonie function of the power density, and was markedly increased at power densities between 40 and 50 mW cm−2. This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. Published in 1979 by the American Geophysical Union.