AN OPERANT ELECTROMAGNETIC CHAMBER
Willard E. Caldwell, Earl Gaddis, Morton Werber · 1969
Scientists were building specialized RF exposure chambers to study behavioral effects in animals over 50 years ago.
Plain English Summary
This 1969 study by Caldwell described the development of an operant electromagnetic chamber designed to expose small mammals to radio-frequency radiation while monitoring their behavior. The research focused on creating controlled experimental conditions to study how RF electromagnetic fields might influence animal behavior through operant conditioning techniques.
Why This Matters
This early research represents a critical moment in EMF science when researchers first began systematically studying behavioral effects of radio-frequency radiation. The fact that scientists in 1969 were already developing specialized chambers to study RF effects on animal behavior shows the longstanding scientific interest in potential biological impacts. What makes this particularly relevant today is that the RF frequencies being studied then are now ubiquitous in our environment through wireless devices, WiFi networks, and cellular infrastructure. The operant conditioning approach was scientifically sound, allowing researchers to measure subtle behavioral changes that might not be apparent through simple observation. While we don't have the specific findings from this study, the very existence of such research infrastructure in 1969 demonstrates that concerns about RF biological effects predate our current wireless revolution by decades.
Finding
However, some of the other results imply an avoidance response to the field: e.g., the four subjects in Table 2 which remained in the shielded area for longer periods when the RF was turned on. It is apparent that on the basis of the preliminary data, there are no markedly consistent tendencies for the subjects to either approach or avoid the field, and that additional research is needed to obtain more definitive evidence.
In their words
“However, some of the other results imply an avoidance response to the field: e.g., the four subjects in Table 2 which remained in the shielded area for longer periods when the RF was turned on. It is apparent that on the basis of the preliminary data, there are no markedly consistent tendencies for the subjects to either approach or avoid the field, and that additional research is needed to obtain more definitive evidence.”
Figures from the Original Paper
Diagrams extracted from the original research document.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: 6 two-hour trials or 10 one-hour trials per animal
Study Details
To describe an apparatus for studying the effects of radio frequencies of weak intensity upon small mammals: i.e., mice and gerbils
The Operant Electromagnetic Chamber (OEC) was contained in one room. The radio-frequency (RF) transm...
The total time each pair of subjects in the four series of trials remained in the shielded area of t...
There are some indications in the evidence reported here that the radio frequency beam in the Operant Electromagnetic Chamber produced observable behavioral effects. For example, the significantly greater time all of the subjects remained in the shielded chamber during the first half of those trials in which the RF was turned on in the second hour or half-hour suggests a field (approach) tendency; i.e., the animals spent comparatively more time in the unshielded area with the RF on than they did with it off. However, some of the other results imply an avoidance response to the field: e.g., the four subjects in Table 2 which remained in the shielded area for longer periods when the RF was turned on. It is apparent that on the basis of the preliminary data, there are no markedly consistent tendencies for the subjects to either approach or avoid the field, and that additional research is needed to obtain more definitive evidence. This can be accomplished by testing a large number of subjects over an extensive series of trials and under varying radio frequencies and intensities. In addition, such variables as inter- and intra-species differences, the effect of exploratory tendencies, and the possibility of using the Operant Electromagnetic Chamber in a learning situation should be explored. The fact that the RF field had a greater effect during the second half of an experimental period might be a function of a change in curiosity or of the animals' being placed in a new situation.
Show BibTeX
@article{an_operant_electromagnetic_chamber_g5593,
author = {Willard E. Caldwell and Earl Gaddis and Morton Werber},
title = {AN OPERANT ELECTROMAGNETIC CHAMBER},
year = {1969},
}