EEG changes as heat stress reactions in rats irradiated by high intensity 35 GHz millimeter waves.

As the application of millimeter waves for civilian and military use increases, the possibility of overexposure to millimeter waves will also increase. This paper attempts to evaluate stress reactions evoked by 35 GHz millimeter waves. The stress reactions in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were quantitatively studied by analyzing electroencephalogram (EEG) changes induced by overexposure to 35 GHz millimeter waves. The relative changes in average energy of the EEG and its wavelet decompositions were used for extracting the stress reaction indicators. Incident average power densities (IAPDs) of 35 GHz millimeter waves from 0.5 W cm(-2) to 7.5 W cm(-2) were employed to investigate the relation between irradiation dose and the stress reactions in the rats. Different stress reaction periods evoked by irradiation were quantitatively evaluated by EEG results. The results illustrate that stress reactions are more intense during the first part of the irradiation than during the later part. The skin temperature increase produced by millimeter wave irradiation is the principle reason for stress reactions and skin injuries. As expected, at the higher levels of irradiation, the reaction time decreases and the reaction intensity increases. Health Phys. 100(6): 632-640; 2011