The Physical Control of the Mind

The Physical Control of the Mind

1 - Natural Fate Versus Human Control:The Process of Ecological Control

A decisive step in theevolution of man and in theestablishment of his superiorityover other living creatures washis gradual achievment of ecological liberation.

...we should accept the fact that the exis-tence of man, together with all attributesand creations, including his own ecologicalliberation and domination, is actually andinescapably the result of natural fate. Mandid not invent man. Because of the devel-opment of wings as the result of biological

evolution, we cannot claim that birds haveliberated themselves by the pull of gravity byflying in the air in defiance of natural laws.

Birds fly, and man thinks. No consciousefforts were ever made to designor modi-fy the anatomical structure of his brain.

MENTAL

EVOLUTION

All words by Dr. JoseM.R. Delgado, M.D. aProfessor of Physiologyat Yale University in1950. Delgadosresearch was fundedby Foundations Fundfor Research inPsychiatry, UnitedStates Public HealthService, Office of NavalResearch, UnitedStates Air Force 6571st AeromedicalResearch Laboratory,NeuroResearchFoundation, andSpanish Council forScientific Education.

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Freedom of Choice & Awareness - If we were cognizant of the factors influencing our behav-iour we could reject many ofthem and minimize theireffects on us. The resultwould be a decrease inautomatism and an increasein the deliberate quality of ourresponses to the enviroment.

Accumulation of Power - The application ofhuman energy to thecontrol of natural forces iscontinually increasing, andperhaps it is time to ask ifthe present orientation of ourcivilization is desirable andsound, or whether we shouldreexamine the universal goalsof mankind and pay moreattention to the primary objec-tive, which should not be thedevelopment of machines, butof man himself.

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The ImbalanceBetween Material & Mental Evolution - The contrast between the fastpace of technological evolutionand our limited advances in theunderstanding and control ofhuman behavior is creating agrowing danger. The fate of [dinosaurs] mayhave symbolic value for twenti-eth century civilization, whichis also attempting to directtremendous potentialwith disproportionallysmall brains.

Mental Liberation & Domination -We now possess the neces-sary technology for the experi-mental investigation of mentalactivities, and we have reacheda critical turning point in theevolution of man at which themind can be used to influenceits own structure, functions,and purpose, therebyensuring both the preser-vation and advance of civilization.

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The Brain andMind as Functional

Entities - In my opinion, without stim-

uli (or without the brain), themind cannot be recognized.Because of the dependenceon sensory inputs, both at

the birth and throughoutadult life, the mind may be

defined as the intracerebralelaboration of extracere-

bral information. Thebasis of the mind is

cultural, not individual.

Autonomic andsomatic functions, indi-vidual and social behav-

iors, emotional and mentalreactions may be evoked,maintained, modified, or

inhibited, both in animals andin man, by electrical stimula-

tion of specific cerebral struc-tures. The question to

answer is not whether buthow the application of acrude train of message-

less electricity may resultin the performance of

a highly refined and complicated

response.

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METHODOLOGY FOR DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH THE BRAIN

Implantation ofElectrodes inAnimals -Through a small openingin the skull, the shaft isintroduced down to apredetermined depth andis secured with dentalcement at the pointwhere it passes throughthe skull. Then the upperportion of the shaft isbent over the bone surface and securedagain a short distanceaway, and the terminalsocket is exteriorized onthe head. Each contactof the socket correspondsto a determined point inthe depth of the brainwhich is accessible merely by plugging in aconnector, a procedureas simple as connectingany electrical applianceto a wall outlet.

Judged by the absenceof abnormal electricalactivity, the reliability of effects evoked byElectronic Stimulationof the Brain (ESB),and the consistency ofthresholds of excitabilitythrough months ofexperimentation, theelectrodes seem to bewell tolerated. Some ofthe monkeys have hadelectrodes in theirheads for more than four years.

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Electrodes in theHuman Brain-In general several assem-blies of fine electrodes witha total of twenty to fortycontacts are placed on thesurface and/or in thedepth of the brain, with theterminal connectors exteri-orized through the scalpand protected by a smallhead bandage (see Figure4). In some cases the elec-trodes have remained fornearly two years with excel-lent tolerence.

Some women have showntheir feminine adaptability tocircumstances by wearingattractive hats or wigs toconceal their electricalheadgear, and many peoplehave been able to enjoy anormal life as outpatients,returning to the clinic peri-odically for examination andstimulation.

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TWO WAY RADIO COMMUNICATION WITH THE BRAIN

In animals, the stimoceiver can be stud-

ied without disturbing theirspontaneous relations within thegroup. Behavior such as aggres-

sion can be evoked or inhibited. Inpatients, the stimoceiver may bestrapped to the head bandage,

permitting electrical stimulation andmonitoring of intracerebral activity without disturbing

spontaneous activites.

Fears have beenexpressed that this new

technology brings with it thethreat of possible unwanted and

unethical remote control of cerebralactivities of man by other men, butas will be discussed later, this dan-

ger is quite improbable and isoutweighed by the expected

clinical and scientificbenefits.

It is reasonable tospeculate that in the nearfuture the stimoceiver may

provide the essential link fromman to computer to man, with areciprocal feedback between neu-rons and instruments which repre-sents a new orientatiopn for the

medical control of neuro-physiological functions.

...it is alreadypossible to equip ani-

mals and human beingswith minute instruments

called stimoceivers for radiotransmisson and reception ofelectrical messages to and

from the brain in com-pletely unrestrained

subjects.

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Themost common

effect obtained by elec-tronic stimulation of thehuman brain is a simplemotor response such as

the contraction of anextremity.

Depending on itslocation, electrical stimula-tion of the brain is able to

evoke not only simple responsesbut also complex and well-organ-

ized behavior which may be indistinquishable from spontaneous activity.

ELECTRICAL STIMULATION IN THE BRAIN

When the patientwas warned of the

oncoming stimulation andwas asked to try to keep his

fingertips extended, he could notprevent the evoked movement

and commented, I guess,Doctor, that your

electricity is stronger than my will.

Vocalizationshave been obtainedby stimulation of the

motor area in the precentralgyrus and also of the supple-mentary motor area in both

hemispheres. The response usu-ally consists of a sustained orinterrupted cry with a vowel

sound which occasionalyhas a consonant

component.

A.

B.

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THE SYSTEMS FOR PUNISHMENT AND REWARD

The perception or expectancy of pain can be frightening, and in somecases when ESB produced localized or generalized discomfort, patientshave expressed concern about continuation of the exploratory procedures.In addition to the natural fear of possible discomfort, there may have beena component of primary anxiety which would be difficult to evaluate.

In one of our female patients, stimulation of a similar area in the thala-mus induced a typical fearful expression and she turned to either side,visually exploring the room behind her. When asked what she was doing,she replied that she felt a threat and thought that something horrible wasgoing to happen. This fearful sensation was perceived as real, and shehad a premonition of imminent disaster of unknown cause.

A typical example was J.P., a charming and attractive 20-year-old girl with ahistory of encephalitis at the age of eighteen months and many crises of tem-poral lobe seizures and grand mal attacks for the last ten years. During depthexplorations, it was demonstrated that crises of assaultive behavior similar tothe patients spontaneous bursts of anger could be elicited by radio stimulationof contact 3 in the right amygdala. A 1.2 milliampere excitation of this pointwas applied while she was playing the guitar and singing with enthusiam andskill. At the seventh second of stimulation, she threw away the guitar and in afit of rage launched an attack against the wall and then paced around the floorfor several minutes, after which she gradually quieted down and resumed herusual behavior.

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Pleasure is not in the skin beingcaressed or in a full stomach, butsomewhere inside the cranial vault.

The first case was V.P., a 36-year-old female with a long history of epilep-tic attacks which could not be controlled by medication. Electrodes wereimplanted in her right temporal lobe and upon stimulation of a contactlocated in the superior part about thirty millimeters below the surface,the patient reported a pleasant tingling sensation in the left side of herbody from my face down to the bottom of my legs. Repetition of thesestimulations made the patient more communicative and flirtatious, andshe ended by openly expressing her desire to marry the therapist.

The second patient was J.M., an attractive, cooperative, and intelligent 30-year-old female who had suffered for eleven years from psychomotor and grand malattacks that resisted medical therapy. Electrodes were implanted in her righttemporal lobe, and stimulation to one of the points in the amygdala induced apleasant sensation of relaxation and considerably increased her verbal output,which took on a more intimate character. This patient openly expressed her fond-ness for the therapist (who was new to her), kissed his hands, and talked abouther immense gratitude for what was being done for her.

The third case was A.F., an 11-year-old boy with severe psychomotorepilepsy. After six excitations, point LP located on the surface of the lefttemporal lobe was stimulated for the first time, and there was an openand percipitous declaration of pleasure. Hey! You can keep me herelonger when you give me these; I like those. Then LP was stimulatedagain, and the patient started making references to the facial hair of theinterviewer and continued by mentioning pubic hair and his having beenthe object of genital sex play in the past. He then expressed doubt abouthis sexual identity, saying, I was like thinking if I was a boy or a girlwhich one Id like to be, Following another excitation he remarked withevident pleasure: Youre doing it now, and then he said, Id like to be agirl. The balance between drive and defense may be modified by ESB,as suggested by the fact that after one stimulation the patient said with-out apparent anxiety, Id like to be a girl, but when this idea was pre-sented to him by the therapist in a later interview without stimulation,the patient became markedly anxious and defensive.

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We may conclude thatESB can activate andinfluence some of thecerebral mechanismsinvolved in willfull behav-ior. In this way we areable to investigate theneuronal functions relat-ed to the so-called will,and in the near futurethis experimentalapproach should permitclarification of suchhighly controversial sub-jects as freedom, indi-viduality, and spontane-ity in factual termsrather than in elusivesemantic discussions.

A two-way radio communication system couldbe established between the brain of a subjectand a computer. Certain types of neuronalactivity related to behavioral disturbancessuch as anxiety, depression, or rage could berecognized in order to trigger stimulation ofspecific inhibitory structures.

It would be naive to investigate the reasons for ariot by recording the intracerebral electrical activi-ty of the participants, but it would be equallywrong to ignore the fact that each participant hasa brain and that determined neuronal groups arereacting to sensory inputs and are subsequentlyproducing the behavoral expression of violence.

The old dream of an individual overpowering the strength of a dictator byremote control has been fulfilled, at least in our monkey colonies, by acombination of neurosurgery and electronics, demonstrating the possibilityof intraspecies instrumental manipulation of hierarchical organization.74

ETHICAL AND SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

The balance between social duties and individual rights is decidednot by the individual but by customs and laws established by thegroup.

When importantmedical information can be obtainedwith negligiblerisk and withoutinfringing on indi-vidual rights, theinvestigator hasthe duty to usehis intelligenceand skills for thispurpose. Failureto do so represents the neglect of professionalduties in someway similar tothe negligence ofa medical doctorwho does notapply his fulleffort to the care of a patient.

A knife is neither good

nor bad; but itmay be used by

either a surgeon or an

assassin. Scienceshould be neutral,

but scientistsshould take sides.The mind is not astatic, inborn enti-

ty owned by the individual and self-

sufficient, but adynamic organiza-

tion of sensory perceptions of the

external world, correlated

and reshapedthrough the in-

ternal anatomicaland functional

structure of the brain.

Human health has improved in a spectacular way precisely becauseofficial agencies have had the knowledge and the power to influenceour personal biology, and it should be empasized that health regula-tions are similar in dictatorial and in democratic countries.

We are now on the verge of a process of mental liberation and self-domination which is the continuationof our evolution. I want to emphasize that human happiness is a relative value and depends as much onmental interpretation as on enviromental reality. The direction of the colossal forces discovered by manrequires the development of mental qualities able to apply intelligence not only to the domination ofnature but also to the civilization of the human psyche.

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