Bursting responses of Lymnea neurons to microwave radiation.

Microelectrode and voltage-clamp techniques were modified to record spontaneous electrical activity and ionic currents of Lymnea stagnalis neurons during exposure to a 900-MHz field in a waveguide-based apparatus. The field was pulse-modulated at repetition rates ranging from 0.5 to 110 pps, or it was applied as a continuous wave (CW). When subjected to pulsed waves (PW), rapid, burst-like changes in the firing rate of neurons occurred at SARs of a few W/kg. If the burst-like irregularity was present in the firing rate under control conditions, irradiation enhanced its probability of occurrence. The effect was dependent on modulation, but not on modulation frequency, and it had a threshold SAR near 0.5 W/kg. CW radiation had no effect on the firing rate pattern at the same SAR. Mediator-induced, current activation of acetyl-choline, dopamine, serotonin, or gamma-aminobutyric-acid receptors of the neuronal soma was not altered during CW or PW exposures and, hence, could not have been responsible for the bursting effect.