Micro crystals measuring between 2 and 20 micrometers were found in quantities ranging from 100 to 300 crystals per cubic millimeter of gland.

These calcite crystals bear a striking resemblance to the otoconia of the inner ear. The calcite in otoconia has been shown to exhibit piezoelectricity.

Crystals which demonstrate the piezoelectric effect produce voltages when they are deformed. The crystal microphone uses a thin strip of piezoelectric material attached to a diaphragm. The two sides of the crystal acquire opposite charges when the crystal is deflected by the diaphragm.

If piezoelectricity were to exist in the pineal microcrystals they would provide a coupling mechanism to external electromagnetic fields. This would provide a means whereby an external electromagnetic field might directly influence the brain.

Earlier researchers have found possible effects of static and low frequency electromagnetic fields on the production of melatonin by the pineal gland. Melatonin is neccesary for all parts of the body that react to light or seasonal change.

In some studies minute crystals have been found in the human brain that could be manipulated by microwave radiation, such as might be found in cellular telephones, directed towards them. Radiation amplitude modulated (pulsed) at around 16 Hz (cycles/second), on calcium efflux in the brain

A biological system might behave in some way like a radio receiver, amplifying a very small signal through a process of resonance. One of the earliest types of radio was the`crystal set', in which a mineral crystal was made to resonate (by tuning with a `cats whisker') with an incoming radio wave, which is simply an electromagnetic wave of rather lower frequency than microwaves.

It is possible that similar phenomena exist elsewhere in the brain or other parts of the body. While the means by which microwaves might directly affect living cells are rather obscure, the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and certain types of crystal structures is well understood.