Interaction of Ambient Temperature and Microwave Power Density on Schedule-Controlled Behavior in the Rat

摘要

Most guidelines of microwave exposure do not explicitly address effects of ambient temperature. The experiment revealed that ambient temperature potentiates the behavioral effects of intensity of irradiation. Sixty-four adult male Long-Evans rats were trained to insert their heads into a food cup to obtain food pellets on a 1-min variable-interval schedule of reinforcement. Two groups of four rats each were then exposed to 2450-MHz CW microwaves for 15.5 hours under one of the following eight combinations of power density and air temperature: 8 or 14 m/cm. sq. at 22 C; 0, 8, or 14 mW/cm. sq. at 26 C; and 0, 8, or 14 mW/cm. sq. at 30 C (relative humidity was 50% in all cases). Response rate of each rat following exposure was compared with its control rate at 0 mW/cm. sq. and 22 C. After exposure at 8 mW/cm. sq., response rates were reduced by a mean of 13.8% at 22 C, 27.5% at 26 C, and 77.5% at 30 C. After exposure at 14 mW/cm. sq., rates were reduced by a mean of 21.1% at 22 C, 43.7% at 26 C, and 80.0% at 30 C. In the absence of microwaves the higher temperatures caused only slight decreases in response rate.