A semiclassical theory for nerve excitation by a low intensity electromagnetic field

A possible mechanism for microwave-neuron interaction, when the nerve is irradiated by a thermally insignificant electromagnetic field, is described. The radiation field is treated classically, but the atomic system which interacts with this field is treated quantum mechanically using the density matrix approach. Attention is given to both homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening effects, and the degrading influence of inhomogeneous broadening upon the neural membrane's ability to interact with the electromagnetic field is shown.