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DEPARTMENT OF ANATOMY
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
'rIJ:F, CENTER FOR THE HEALTH SCIENCES
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90024

May 30, 1973

Mr. Robert P. Gow

President
Develco, Inc.
530 Logue Avenue
Mountain View, California 94040

Dear Bob:

I am responding to your letter of May 24, and to the enclosed

draft of your gneeral letter of proposal. As indicated in your
draft, I had promised an 'overview of our work relevant to this
proposal, and I apologize for my: remissness in not sending it to
you sooner •.

Let me first set a structural and functional frame for the brain
and central nervous system which will be brief enough yet sufficiently
explicit to allow interpretation of what follows by any competent communi-
cations engineer. This is a frame that has g::oWil up in great degree from
our own research. It will thus have a strong color attributable to our
group, and in some degree will be nonclassical, and will still lack
acceptance by some prestigious neurobiologists. Neverthel~ss, there is
an increasing body of opinion from respected leaders in neurobiological
research, particularly those involved in molecular biology and neuro-
chemistry, who see the need for a substantial updating in our accepted
view of brain organization. This latter view is now appearing because
of the increasing tide of observations on brain organization for which
classical explanations are inadequate.

First, a functional sensitivity of the human central nervous system

has been demonstrated in several laboratories to very weak electric fields
in air where these fields are oscillating at brainwave frequenc~es. The
strength of the fields is of the order of 25 mV per centimeter and the
effects include altered reaction times, altered subjective estimates of
the passage of time, and alterations in daily body rhythms, including
body temperature cycles and sleep/wakefulness cycles. Part of this wQrk
has been done in our laboratory. We have also tested the effects of
VHF fields with the same electric intensity. In animals, these fields
are potent in mod:Lfying states of sleep and wakefulness,. and.':'n modifying
specific internal brain rhythms that represent or are associated with
behavi.oral responses. The VHF field studies showed an absence of effect
with unmodulatedfields, and, selective effects with different modulating
frequencies between 3 and 16 Hz.
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Mr. Robert P. Gow

Mountain View, California 94040 May 30; 1973

Page Two

The emphasis on these functional interactions has to be in terms

of their very weak strength. For example, the total current induced
by the low-frequency fields in the head of the monkey is slightly less
than I nanoampere. If we compare the electric gradient in the tissue
with that producing actual synaptic depolarization, it is almost 11 orders
of magnitude less. For these reasons, classical synaptic physiology
cannot be adduced as an explanation for these phenomena.

For that reason, much molecular biology and biophysical research

has been directed to possible ways in which nerve cells may sense
changes in their environment, without invoking classical theories
of synaptic activation. It is feasible that the surface of nerve
cell membranes may act as transducers for extremely weak chemical
and electrical influences through the sensitivity of a charged
sheet of glue-like molecules covering the cell surface. Such a role
has already been pro~en for sensitivity to hormones and drugs that
alter nerve cell-action in extremely small concentrations. This is
the most radical aspect of the changed anatomy and physiology now being i
hypothesized and tested to explain these interactions. _J

I turn now to the future, from the viewpoint that these preliminary
studies indicate a feasibility to manipulate and control brain states
by modification of the environmental electromagnetic "atmosphere",
First, a long range research program is much needed to specify in
much greater degree than has been possible to date the precise mode
of itneraction of the nerve cell with these weak env.ironmental influences.
There is thus a very important class of problems in the biophysics of
membrane transducing. A second and equally important class of problems
concerns the way in which groups of nerve cells may interact with each
other so that their summed behavior is modified by such ';veak influences.
Both classes of process, molecular on .. the one hand and as a neuronal
population characteristic on the other, probably involve interactions
classed as "cooperative" in the terminology of physicists. \V'ork in
this area is only beginni.ng in terms of biological models and in
evaluation of biological interactions. Progress will be slow but the
significance is so great that a program of this kind should be framed
to ,allow' at least 5 years of concerted effort with relatively few fruits
ofa "reportable"'kind in the initial years. This point must be emphasized
in an age when short-term rey7ards are almost a si.ne ~'! E.2!l for the program
manager. On the other hand, it should be emphasized that promoters of this
program are not seeking a fishing license just to pursue a diletante·interest .

From the foregoing, it seems clear that there are possibilities for
a whole range of ~,,()dulations and modifications of human behavioral patterns, )
based on the interactions with a wide variety of environmental fields. To

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Mr. Robert P. Gow

Mountain View, California 94040 May 30, 1973

Page Three

this tim~, work has focused on quite simplistic aspects of carrier

frequency selection and on equally simple modulation patterns that

I
have been selected on a quite arbitrary basis within the spectrum
of none brain wave activity. We may anticipate a substantive increase
in capability through carefully paanned research on frequency selections.
The outcome is likely to be an optimizing of states of attention with
increased learning capability, or the reduction in levels of awareness,
and in induction of sleep states. It is highly likely that this type
of manipulation can have therapeutic significance in achieving desired 4
changes in wide~pread medical problems, such as insomnia and endocrine
disorders, such as menstrual irregularity~

Less clear to me at this time, but perhaps no less feasible, will

be detection of bioelectric and biomagnetic phenomena .at a distance
from the subject without the need for contact electrodes. Already,
work in cryomagnetometry has yielded important new capabilities in
monitoring heart and brain function. Within the established theoretical
sensitivity of the Josephson junction technique lie:many physiological
parameters from which an assessment of subj e.ct status may well be
possible. Current research in this field has been limited by the
I
funding available for research in the needed instrumentation. Until
basic laboratory techniques have been well enough evaluated, little or
nothing can be done in development of instrumentation for field use.
Also in the forefront of serious problems for the method currently
is its susceptibility to environmental electrical magnetic pollution.
Much will surely be done if funding is available to improve the differen-
tiaH ssensitivity to the important biological signals.

Again, in this prospective view of needed monitoring instrumentation,

is the prospect that advances will be slow and the needed effort must be
extremely dedicated if we are to succeed at all. Yet r have no doubt
that these goals can be achieved if adequate support is forthcoming.

I hope that this overview, though lengthy, will give you a perspective
on what·r genuinely believe to be possible as the next step in highly
important medical monitoring systems. Their social significance is
likely to eclipse all previous developments in medical instrumentation.
The1time to begin ~s now and progress will surely be slow. r hope that
these opinions will assist you in completing your documentation.

With my best regards.

Sincerely,
\ n
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W. Ross Arley,

mcm

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