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Pregnant squirrel monkeys were exposed to 2450-MHz (CW) microwaves at an equivalent power density of 10 mW/cm2 (SAR 3.4 mW/g) for three hours daily in a cavity-cage module. The exposure began when pregnancy was determined by a hormonal method, and continued through of offspring's first 9.5 months. After irradiation, the brain of the offspring were fixed with formaldehyde, and the inferior vermis of each cerebella was removed and processed for histologic observations. Purkinje cell density in the uvula was determined in sagittal serial section. There was no significant difference between control and experimental animals in the number of Purkinje cells per mm of Purkinje cell line (linear density), as well as in the density of Purkinje cells in the Purkinje cell layer.

The cerebella of 38 Sprague Dawley rats of various ages have been studied histologically by sectioning in certain parasagittal planes. The age groups were chosen from the early postnatal developmental stage (6, 11 and 16 days), around puberty (41, 46 and 51 days) and maturity (210 days). The sections yielded quantitative data with regard to the dimensions in parasagittal sections, of the entire cerebellum, the cerebellar cortex, the white core, the molecular layer and the granular layer, as well as, the differential and proportional growth of these layers at the above ages. The relative number of Purkinje cells per mm2 of sectional area of the cortex was also determined. The information presented in this study is of indicative value of the pattern of the growing cerebellum and of the ages in which the various layers and the relative number of Purkinje cells assume adult values.

In one experiment, Sprague Dawley rats (16-21 days of gestation) and their offspring were exposed to 100-MHz (CW) electromagnetic radiation at 46 mW/cm2 (SAR 2.77 mW/g) for 4 h/day for 97 days. In another experiment, the pregnant rats were irradiated daily from 17 to 21 days of gestation with 2450-MHz (CW) microwaves at 10 mW/cm2 (SAR 2 m W/G) for 21 h/day. In a third experiment, 6-day old rat pups were irradiated 7 h/day for five days with 2450-MHz radiation at 10 mW/cm2. Equal numbers of animals were sham irradiated in each group. Quantitative studies of Purkinje cells showed a significant and irreversible decrease in rats irradiated during fetal or fetal and early postnatal life. In animals exposed postnatally, and euthanized immediately after irradiation, significant decrease in the relative number of Purkinje cells was apparent. However, restoration apparently occurred after forty days of recovery.