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Brain & Nervous System

THE NEURAL EFFECTS OF MICROWAVE IRRADIATION

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Robert T. Nisset, Rene Baus, Robert D. McAfee, Joseph D. Fleming Jr., Lawrence R. Pinneo · 1959

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Military researchers were investigating microwave effects on the nervous system as early as 1959, decades before consumer microwave devices became ubiquitous.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

This 1959 technical report from the Rome Air Development Center examined how microwave radiation affects the nervous system. The research represents one of the earliest systematic investigations into microwave effects on neural function. While specific findings aren't available, this work helped establish the foundation for understanding how electromagnetic fields interact with brain and nervous system activity.

Why This Matters

This 1959 report represents a pivotal moment in EMF research history - military scientists were already investigating how microwave radiation affects the brain and nervous system over six decades ago. The fact that the Rome Air Development Center commissioned this neural effects research suggests early recognition that microwaves could impact biological systems in ways beyond simple heating. What makes this particularly relevant today is that we're now surrounded by microwave-emitting devices that didn't exist in 1959. Your WiFi router, cell phone, and Bluetooth devices all operate in microwave frequency ranges. While we can't know the specific findings from this classified-era research, the very existence of this investigation tells us that concerns about microwave effects on neural function have deep scientific roots. The reality is that today's microwave exposures are both more intense and more constant than anything researchers could have imagined when this foundational work began.

Exposure Information

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.

Cite This Study
Robert T. Nisset, Rene Baus, Robert D. McAfee, Joseph D. Fleming Jr., Lawrence R. Pinneo (1959). THE NEURAL EFFECTS OF MICROWAVE IRRADIATION.
Show BibTeX
@article{the_neural_effects_of_microwave_irradiation_g4935,
  author = {Robert T. Nisset and Rene Baus and Robert D. McAfee and Joseph D. Fleming Jr. and Lawrence R. Pinneo},
  title = {THE NEURAL EFFECTS OF MICROWAVE IRRADIATION},
  year = {1959},
  
  
}

Quick Questions About This Study

The Rome Air Development Center was investigating how microwave irradiation affects neural function and the nervous system. This represents one of the earliest systematic military research efforts into electromagnetic field effects on brain activity.
Military interest in microwave neural effects likely stemmed from radar technology development and potential applications. The Air Force needed to understand whether microwave exposures could affect pilot performance or equipment operators working near radar systems.
Modern WiFi, cell phones, and Bluetooth devices operate in similar microwave frequency ranges studied in 1959. However, today's exposures are more constant and widespread than military researchers could have anticipated six decades ago.
This report demonstrates that concerns about microwave effects on brain function have existed since the early days of electromagnetic technology, long before consumer devices became commonplace in homes and offices worldwide.
Much military research from this era had classified elements, though this particular report appears to have been made available. The military's early interest suggests they recognized potential biological effects worth investigating systematically.