Researcher skeptical of 'Havana syndrome' tested secret weapon on himself

Most probably the US has a similar weapon as the Russians and doesn't want to draw attention to it.

See also "discombobulator"

https://people.com/donald-trump-says-secret-discombobulator-...

a secret weapon named after a World of Warcraft gadget: https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Discombobulator_Ray

IIUC the guy build a device that is harmful, but there is no proof that a similar device was used in any of the "Habana syndrome" cases in the wild.

See also

"Unraveling Havana Syndrome: New evidence links the GRU's assassination Unit 29155 to mysterious attacks on U.S. officials and their families" and "Albert Averyanov":

https://theins.ru/en/politics/270425

Do we know that this isn’t placebo?

Another piece of evidence it was microwaves. It seems to have been GRU Unit 29155. Quite why the Russians feel the need to go around attacking everyone in weird underhand ways I don't know. I guess some grudge against US intelligence?

Sounds like the Descombulator...

"...In 2024, a Norwegian researcher skeptical that pulsed-energy weapons could do damage to human brains built a device and tested it on himself. It didn’t go well...

...Working in strict secrecy, a government scientist in Norway built a machine capable of emitting powerful pulses of microwave energy and, in an effort to prove such devices are harmless to humans, in 2024 tested it on himself. He suffered neurological symptoms similar to those of “Havana syndrome,” the unexplained malady that has struck hundreds of U.S. spies and diplomats around the world..."