Some Effects of Radiation on Psychologic 

 Processes in Rhesus Monkeys 



W. Lynn Brown and Arnold A. McDowell 



University of Texas, 

 Austin, Texas 



The main radiation research efforts in psychology during the past few 

 years at the i-adiobiological laboratory of the University of Texas and the 

 U. S. Air Force in Austin, Texas, have been concerned with the relations of 

 radiation-induced changes in distractibility to performance on selected labo- 

 ratory tasks. It has been found, in general, that such radiation-induced 

 changes are related both to performance facilitation and to performance 

 decrement, depending on the nature of the task employed. 



One group of male rhesus monkeys was given chronic whole body expo- 

 sures to varying mixed doses from a neutron-gamma source in the laboratory. 

 A second group of male and female monkeys was placed at varying distances 

 from "ground zero'' at the Nevada Test Site for exposure to nuclear 

 radiations. 



The chronic laboratory exposure of the first group was conducted from 

 April 12, 1954, to December 5, 1954 (Table I). Because of the confounding 

 of the radiation variables in the design (a design for which the authors are 

 in no way responsible), most studies with this group have followed the 



TABLE I 

 Dosimetry for Laboratory Exposed Subjects 



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