Does V2K Induce Brain Tissue Damage?

One of the most frequently asked questions gets a definitive answer.

According to the US Army website, V2K (Voice-to-Skull) means the following:

Nonlethal weapon which includes (1) a neuro-electromagnetic device which uses microwave transmission of sound into the skull of persons or animals by way of pulse-modulated microwave radiation; and (2) a silent sound device which can transmit sound into the skull of person or animals. NOTE: The sound modulation may be voice or audio subliminal messages.”

The webpage containing this definition was scrubbed from the internet around 2004, but preserved by The Federation of American Scientists, Wired Magazine Reports in 2008.

So, in the above document we have a narrow and abroad definition of V2K:

1. Narrow - Induced by pulse-modulated microwave transmission

2. Broad - Induced by methods other than pulsed microwaves.

In this article, we will stick to the narrow definition - delivering sensation of hearing voices via Microwave Hearing Effect aka Frey Effect.

Frey Effect has been known since the early 60’s, thanks to the work of Alan Frey who investigated a complaint by a radar technician who claimed to hear signals transmitted by a radar. Sounds were described as buzz, clicking, hiss, or knocking, depending on the type of microwave pulse modulation. Also, Frey was able to induce perception of severe buffeting (vibration) of the head, and sensation of pins and needles. Buffeting is typically associated with the Havana Syndrome Attacks, but this shows how Microwave Hearing and Anomalous Health Incidents are closely related.

Since the mid-70s we have known that transmission of intelligible human voice is achievable by further modulation of the microwave signal (D.R. Justesen, “Microwaves and Behavior”, 1975)

In 2004, US Government made an attempt to weaponize Microwave Hearing Effect and the discomfort associated with it. Project Medusa (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio) resulted in a working non-lethal weapon that produced auditory effect ‘loud’ enough to cause discomfort and/or incapacitation. Project was cancelled because the weapon induced brain damage.

How does Microwave V2K work? Microwave beam is modulated in the way that is contains short (mili-seconds) high power (Micro- and Giga Watts/m²/peak) pulses that travel to the brain where they induce thermoacoustic shockwaves that reach cochlea. The hair cells of the cochlea convert mechanical vibrations into electromagnetic signals that travel via auditory neurons and reach auditory cortex located in the temporal lobe where they are interpreted as a sensation of hearing voices.

Important: Even though the effect is called thermoacoustic, it doesn’t mean that the signal coming into the brain is acoustic. Acoustic waves are mechanical waves that require a medium to propagate (air, tissue, bone). EM signals travel through the vacuum, and bypass the ear canal and the middle ear.

So, is it safe to experience microwave hearing effect in general, and V2K in particular?
Unfortunately, current RF safety standards cannot answer this question because they have been established for continuous rather than pulsed exposure to Microwaves. Specifically, they are based on the whole body temperature increase above 1°C, and depending on the frequency utilized, they are not considered harmful for up to 30 min exposure and for the power density up to 400 W/m² (Lin, 2021)

In order to produce a barely audible Microwave Auditory Effect in humans subjects you would need to increase power density to 14 kW/m² per pulse. That’s more than a 1,000 times increase from the “safe” continuous microwave signal. To generate sensation at the audible level of the normal conversation, it requires another 1,000-fold increase - 14 MW/m² per pulse and above, in the GW range (Mega-Watts, and Giga-Watts). Because the pulses are super short (in the millisecond, or even nano-second range), the temperature increase is only a tiny fraction of a degree C. However, at these levels, “the pulse-generated pressure wave initiated in the brain and then reverberated inside the head would potentially, if not surely, cause serious injury of white and grey brain matters along with other neural elements”. (Lin, 2022)

This conclusion is shared by the leading researchers in the field. We have a situation when the safety of the Weaponized Auditory Effect is obfuscated by having a benchmark (temperature increase) that doesn’t apply to covert application of this technology.

Other safety factors for pulsed EM energy in the MW range that must also be taken into consideration include:

• Oxidative Stress

• Generation of tissue damaging acoustic phonons

• Disruption and Desynchronization of neural synaptic and axonal activity

• Damage to the cellular organelles such as mitochondria, and cell death (apoptosis)

• Damage to oligodendrites that produce myelin sheath

• Damage to the Blood-Brain Barrier

• Non-Linear (Resonant) Effects to specific brain structures and molecules

• Brain Coupling/Entrainment

• Neuroinflammation

• Demyelinization

• Neurodegeneration, and more.