Fri 25 Sep 92  5:20
By: John Stepkowski
To: All
Re: Mind Control
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Given the discussions about the potential for "abductees" to have been
subjected to "implants" and "mind control", the following material may
prove interesting in light of what Earthly science speculated was
possible in the late 1970s...

Has science now developed the possible into the actual?  And if so,
how were these "devices" tested, and what controls are imposed on
their use...?

                          ----------------------

[Excerpt from 'Psychology and Mind Control' by Martyn Partridge,
from the book 'Science Fact' Edited by Prof. Frank George. TOPAZ
BOOKS.  London, 1977. (No ISBN).]
                          =======================

   THE ELECTRONIC CONSCIENCE

   ...As a result of ten years' experimentation with laboratory animals
  scientists believe that it soon will be technically possible to implant
  tiny radio transmitter-receivers inside a person's skull in order to
  measure the electrical activity of the brain and convey it to a central
  control many miles away ... The ultimate development of this technique
  would be an implanted microcomputer capable of assessing brain patterns
  and reacting automatically to quell antisocial behaviour at the ideas
  stage ...

    ... Wilder Penfield, a surgeon at the Montreal Neurological Institute
  [Canada] was able to perform a remarkable series of investigations over
  twenty years ago (1950s) in the course of operations for the removal of
  brain tumours.  Because this only required a local anaesthetic the
  patients remained conscious throughout these operations, so he took the
  opportunity to stimulate the surface of the brain with minute electrical
  currents and asked the patients to describe their responses.  The result
  was that the stimulation of certain areas of the cerebral cortex was
  associated with the tingling sensations in specific parts of the the
  body, and Penfield drew the tentative conclusion that these areas of the
  brain were uniquely associated with, maybe in a certain sense "responsible
  for", corresponding areas of the body. Subsequently there has been a vast
  range of experiments carried out ... and there has emerged a pattern of
  "centres" concerned with speech, memory, vision and so on.

     Since our awareness of the world consists of the millions of
  tiny electrical currents and chemical reactions which are taking place
  all the time inside our brains it should, in principle, be possible to
  sort-circuit reality (that is to say, the world of which we are aware
  through the normal exercise of our five senses) by introducing electrical
  stimulation directly into the brain.  Experiments have shown, for
  example, that when an electrode touches a speech centre the patient will
  emit a quite involuntary, inarticulate grunt.  And when the auditory or
  visual centres are activated the patient will report a sensation of sound
  or colour.

    ... Another prospect seemingly out of the realm of fantasy is the
  manipulations of brain activity using microwaves, which is currently being
  investigated in the USSR. [_Only_ the USSR?]  Microwaves are radio
  signals of very short wavelengths which at the moment have an innocuous
  domestic application in high-speed ovens.  As a means of thought control
  they are potentially more insidious than the system just described because
  they do not require any sort of receiving equipment installed in the
  subject's head.

    The existance of this research was made public in a US Defense
  Intelligence Agency document which was de-classified in November, 1976.
  Apparently the Russian experiments show that "sounds and possibly even
  words which appear to originate within the head can be induced by signals
  at very low power densities.  Combinations of frequencies and other
  signal characteristics to produce other neurological effects may be
  feasible in several years." Physiological effects have also been
  demonstrated: heart seizure has been induced in frogs using such methods,
  for example.  The report holds out the possibility that nerve disorders,
  heart complaints and blood circulation problems could be induced using
  microwaves.  It might be noted in this connection that there was recently
  a full-scale diplomatic row between the USA and USSR over the alleged
  beaming of microwaves at the US embassy in Moscow by the Russian
  authorities.  A State Department administrative order of November 1976
  declared the Moscow embassy to be an "unhealthy place".

     Is direct communication with the brain using microwaves possible?
  Theoretically, very much so.  One possibility is that assymetric neurone
  contacts in the cortex could act like a radio crystal and demodulate the
  microwaves, setting up a small electric current which would function in
  much the same way as a current introduced with an electrode.  Furthermore
  it is known that the rate of certain chemical reactions is affected by
  microwaves of certain frequencies, and determined research would probably
  elicit ways in which reactions in the brain could be simulated or retarded
  in this way.  But again, the same limitations apply as with electronic
  "bugs", the brain is immensely complicated and such methods would almost
  certainly be restricted to quite non-specific stimuli which could perhaps
  seriously affect a person's mood, but not actually "program" their
  thoughts.

    It is a matter of speculation how these techniques might actually be
  applied.  It seems unlikely, given the present state of knowledge, that
  microwaves could be beamed over long distances such as from orbital
  satellites in order to broadcast propaganda or interfere with the health
  of military personnel.  But over short distances, microwaves might even
  now be part of interrogation techniques, used to weaken the resistance
  of subjects by affecting their moods, or undermining their sanity by
  introducing disembodied voices into their minds.

  INTERROGATION

    ... The quest for the mythical "truth drug" continues ... [since]
  ... no really effective substance has been developed to overcome
  determined resistance.  Where drugs have been used in conjunction with
  interrogation they more usually have the function of inducing stress and
  anxiety ... [Another] method is the use of what virtually amounts to
  psychoanalysis in order to discover the subject's deep fears and anxieties,
  and then to exploit this knowledge in order to secure cooperation.  All
  these procedures rely on producing stress and confusion and have been
  developed into fine arts through psychological study. They are not
  particularly pleasant, but in pursuance of a socially necessary
  function they are, perhaps, preferable to most of the alternatives.

    A technique used with spectacular success in certain cases is
  hypnosis, although at the moment this is only effective with willing
  witnesses who have difficulty in recalling crucial information
  ... Since it is well known that lights can induce a trance state in some
  people when they flash in phase with  brain activity (a phenomenon
  discovered in the case of radar screen monitors), it is conceivable that
  even an unwilling witness could be made to yield information after being
  placed involuntarily in a trance.  This would be a considerable innovation,
  and contrary to a widely held assumption of hypnosis, that it is not
  possible to force a person to behave in a way opposed to the wishes of their
  conscious mind, but it may yet prove feasible.
                     --------------------------------
 * Origin: A Beacon Guarding The Shores of Uncertainty (9:1030/0) PATH: 1030/0