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Brain & Nervous System

Lack of behavioral effects in non-human primates after exposure to ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range.

No Effects Found

Sherry CJ, Blick DW, Walters TJ, Brown GC, Murphy MR · 1995

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Monkeys showed no immediate behavioral changes after extremely high EMF exposure, but this doesn't address long-term or cellular effects.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed monkeys to extremely high-intensity ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation (250,000 volts per meter) for 2 minutes and tested their ability to perform a balance task requiring precise motor control. The monkeys showed no changes in their performance immediately after exposure. This suggests that even very intense short-term EMF exposure may not cause immediate behavioral disruption in primates.

Why This Matters

This 1995 study examined EMF effects at exposure levels far exceeding anything you'd encounter in daily life. The electric field strength of 250,000 volts per meter is roughly 10,000 times higher than typical cell phone emissions and represents the kind of intense exposure that might occur near military radar systems. While the lack of immediate behavioral effects might seem reassuring, this research has significant limitations. The study only measured performance immediately after exposure and didn't examine longer-term effects or more subtle neurological changes. The reality is that behavioral disruption represents just one possible endpoint, and the absence of obvious performance changes doesn't rule out other biological effects at the cellular level. What this means for you is that while acute high-intensity exposure may not cause immediate behavioral impairment, this single study shouldn't be interpreted as proof that EMF exposure is universally safe.

Exposure Details

Electric Field
250000 V/m
Source/Device
100 MHz to 1.5 GHz
Exposure Duration
2 min

Exposure Context

This study used 250000 V/m for electric fields:

Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 100 MHz - 1.50 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 100 MHz - 1.50 GHzPower lines50/60 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The effect of acute exposure to ultrawideband (UWB) electromagnetic radiation on the Primate Equilibrium Platform (PEP) task, where the monkey's task is to manipulate a joystick control to compensate for the random perturbations in the pitch plane that are generated by a computer at unpredictable intervals, was examined.

The duration of the UWB exposure was 2 min at a pulse repetition rate of 60 Hz (total of 7200 pulses...

The exposure to UWB electromagnetic radiation had no effect on PEP performance when tested immediate...

Cite This Study
Sherry CJ, Blick DW, Walters TJ, Brown GC, Murphy MR (1995). Lack of behavioral effects in non-human primates after exposure to ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. Radiat Res 143(1):93-97, 1995.
Show BibTeX
@article{cj_1995_lack_of_behavioral_effects_3393,
  author = {Sherry CJ and Blick DW and Walters TJ and Brown GC and Murphy MR},
  title = {Lack of behavioral effects in non-human primates after exposure to ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range.},
  year = {1995},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7597150/},
}
PubMed: 7597150

Cited By (37 papers)

View all 37 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

A 1995 study exposed monkeys to extremely high-intensity ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation (250,000 volts per meter) for 2 minutes and found no changes in their balance task performance immediately after exposure, suggesting no immediate behavioral disruption.
Research on non-human primates showed that exposure to ultrawideband radiation spanning 100 MHz to 1.5 GHz frequencies had no effect on precise motor control abilities when tested immediately after a 2-minute exposure period.
Monkeys exposed to ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation at extremely high intensities showed no changes in their ability to perform balance tasks requiring precise motor control, according to 1995 research by Sherry and colleagues.
A controlled study found that 2-minute exposure to ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation produced no detectable effects on nervous system function in non-human primates, as measured by behavioral performance on motor control tasks.
Research demonstrates that even extremely high-intensity ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation exposure for 2 minutes produces no immediate changes in primate behavioral performance, suggesting short-term exposures may not cause acute nervous system disruption.