Public - Conditioned Research Drugs and Hypnosis

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In this and the follcJwing arti-cle two research pS1/chologistsdebunk B01M 01 the exoticmethods oj suggestion attrib-uted to the Communists andball1/hooed fo r commercial use.

CONDITIONED REFLEX, DRUGS AND HYPNOSISIN COMMUNIST INTERROGATIONSLeonard RUden

The dramatic confessions of persons brought to trial by theCommunists and the pro-Communist sentiments expressed bysome Americans released from Communist pr isons have led tomuch speculation about Communist use of Pavlovian conditioning techniques, drugs, hypnosis, and other exotic meansof controlling human behavior. This speculation presupposesthat behavioral scientists participate in the formulation anddevelopment of Communist control methods.

A specific investigation of this supposition has been undertaken. The findings of this investigation are that scientistshave not participated. The uniformity of control methodsthroughout the Communist countries makes it apparent thatthey have been organized into a more or less formal body ofdoctrine, 1 and it is known that those who use the methods aretrained in the doctrine and try to follow it , but an of the evidence points to the fact that the doctrine was developed an dorganized by the pollce ofilc1als themselves.

The central sta1f of the KGB and its predecessors does no thave any section devoted to psychological or med1ca1 research. .No scientists are.known to have participated iIi the plannJng .of any of itS procedures. I t is said durfug World War nBerta maintaJD.ed a highly secret laboratory .sectiQI! in Mas- -. cow, Pl.whic4- p h ~ ~ J m d ~ t h e r ~ e n t 1 s t s .attempted_to .c _develop new.methods of covert poisoning and.other me8.ns foreHmfnat1D.g or disab11Dg t a r g e ~ individuals. He and his as-

1Por deacriptlon of U1eee metboda M e B1ntJe an d WoUr. "'Com- = .mum.t !nterroptton Uld l'D40cfztDaU0n of "BDemte8 vi. the statee".. . _ '-AKA Arcblws of Reurolog' and PIJchOIoD. AUI'QIt 1958" Vol. .,.. cpp. 115-1'l'- - . - -


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sociates were inspired by the activities of the Gestapo along ,"these lines, and established their laboratory 'pHmaruy in o r d e r ' ~ ~ to keep up with technological advances in the field. I t is reported that the results of this work were disappointing andthe whole outfit was abolished shortly after the war. The physicians who took part in the work were not considered topflight and were looked down upon by KGB officers in general.Soviet and Satellite police officers have an earthy contemptfor psychology in general and for psychologists and psychiatrists in particular. Former secret police informants are unanimous in affirming that no training in psychology or psychiatry is given to officers who attend the KGB schools.Aside from the question of scientific participation in formulating procedures, reports on the actual use of these exotic devices is also negative. There are reports of Communist experimentation with them, bu t no instance of operational useexcept for normal medical purposes.Much of Soviet psychology is concerned with adaptationsof the conditioned reflex concepts of Pavlov, one fundamentalaspect of which is the belief that men can deliberately bemade to develop predesigned types of thought and behaviorunder appropriately controlled environmental conditioDS. Bo-viet laboratories have experimented with a variety of situationsfor the acquisition of conditioned reflexes, and the conditionin g method has proved useful in describing and predicting thelearning of simple behavior sequences. But so far as can beascertained the limited scientiftc applicab1l1ty of conditioningto intelligence operations has never been exploited by the Com-

munists.The KGB has a medical department which is organired along

the lines of the medical departments in our armed forces.. It smlsslon is to take care of the illnesSes of prisoners and KGB personnel . I t does include a few psychiatrists, but no medIcal offi-cer or psychiatrist is ever,used in the interrogation process it-8eu.Their function in relation. to prisoners under interroga-.tion is sbnply that'of evaluating the state of their physical andmental health, advising the interrogator when men are too mtor turthel ' interrogation. and treating prisoners for the effectsof the tortures wblch have been carried out on them. Theysometimes admInister stimulants to Ured or sleepy prI80nersto enable them to continue with. p r o l ~ e d l n ~ t 1 o n S .60

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They may give sedatives to excited prisoners. They u.:se antibiotics, vitamins, and any other available adjuncts ofmedlcaltherapy in the treatment of wounds and illness. But we haveno rellable evidence of any direct medical or psychiatric participation in attempts to elicit information from prisoners or toproduce confessions.

Since the time of the purge trials there have been recurrentreports that the Communist secret police use drugs as a meansof obtaining confessions. All the reports which could be foundhave been reviewed. In no case has it been possible to obtainany substantial evidence that any drug played an importantrole in a known interrogation or confession. Our informants.former Communist secret police officials, state that no drughad been issued to the MVD for use in interrogations as lateas 1953.There is good reason to believe that secret police in the Communist countries, especially those of Czechoslovakia and Russia, have experimented with the use of all the commonly knownpsychochemicals and so-called "truth drugs." The drugs ofpotential importance in interrogations fall into three categOries, stimulants, hypnotics, and hallucinogenic agents.The stimulants, in general, have th e e1Iect of increasing wakefulness and alertness at the expense of creating tremulousness, feelings of anxiety and overactivity. Caftein, benzedrine,and dexedrine fall into this category. There are a number ofderivatives of benzedrine which have essentially the same action. "Aktedron," a synthetic benzedrine derivative, has beenused in Czechoslovakia and Southeast Europe. Co1Jee and benzedrine derivatives are sometimes administered to tired or

sleepy prisoners in order to wake them up enough so that theinterrogation can be carried on. They have been used i! l this. manner in Eastern Europe, -in RUssia, and in Cb1na. . In andof themselves they have no important effect in producingconfessions. Used in combination with a system of psycholog-. Ical and physiofogical pressUres tliey wm in Inany cases accel- :erate and exacerbate the profound fattg:ue, confusion, ofcritical judgment, aDd breakdown of resistance which Is aconsequence of the tun course ofcontrol t e c h n 1 q ~ e s .

The so-Canect "hrimOuca- -do-DOt actually prodUce 1iypnoids. -They are s l e e p - p ~ u ~ ~ c h have a moderately In- . . -0-- -- - - -- . - - - - - --- . - -S E ~ 61

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toxicating effect in small doses. The barbiturates such as nembutal and phenobarbital fall into this category. So-called.. ruth serums," sodium amytal or sodium pentothal, are rapidly acting barbiturates administered by vein. When thesedrugs are given in the proper dosage, they have a relaxing andbefuddling effect similar to that produced by moderate amountsof alcohol. Under some circumstances, individuals intoxicatedby these drugs become loose in their talk. But they have noeffect in producing truth, and persons under their 1n1luencecan resist their action to the same extent that they can resistthe action of alcohol There is no evidence that the Communists have effectively or extensively used amytalinterviews asa means of extracting confessions, although it is quite probable that they have experimented with this maneuver. Thehypnotic drug which is most frequently mentioned as a Communist tool is scopolamine, a naturally occurring substancelong known in medical science. I t is one of the ingredients inthe "twilight sleep" medication used by obstetricians on womenin labor. It, too, has an intoxicating and befuddling effect insmall doses, an effect which would be diftlcult to distinguishfrom that of the profound fatigue, sleep loss, undernourishment, anxiety and confusion produced by the usual Communist control techniques.

In every instance in which there is direct evidence that Communist pollce have given hypnotic and sedative drugs to prisoners, they have administered these drugs for the purpose ofcalming and relaxing excited and fatigued Individuals. American physicians would be likely to use these drugs in a similarmanner for the same reason.

The hallucinogenic agents have likewise been known fora long time. Marijuana falls into this c a ~ o r y . Persons un-der the 1n1luence of these agents have a disturbance of theirthought processes wblch can be profoundly disorganizing tothem. During the past few years LSD-25 and mescaline (aderivative of -a Mex1cim plant) -b8:ve-attracted-much -attention -because of their use in experimental psychi8.UY. I t is knownthat the RussiaDs, ute other inteWgence services, have investigated both of t h ~ substances, but there is-no evidence thatthey have ever used_them in attempts at o p e r a ~ interrogation.

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I t should be emphasized that the covert administration ofany drug (stimulant, hypnotic, or hallucinogenic agent) canproduce an impact on the individual undergoing the stressof prolonged imprisonment and interrogation which goes be-yond merely accelerating the fatigue, disturbed judgment, andother effects of the usual prolonged control pressures. Thecovertly administered drug can make the prisoner feel that theinterrogation is affecting him more than it really is. I t maymake him feel that the interrogator is more powerful or morepresCient than he really is , or that the situation has becomemore intolerable and inexorable than it is in fact. -

This impact can be exploited by an interrogator to increasethe prisoner's cooperation, providing the interrogator is sufficiently perceptive and appropriately flexible in his approach.To what extent this fact is known to the Communists we can-no t say. I t s likely, however, that so long as they continue toemploy the doctrinaire approach of their present imprisonment-interrogation procedure they will not have sufficient flexibility to exploit this aspect of drug effects.Another question that recurrently arises is whether prisonersat the time of police confession are in a state of hypnosis. Noevidence of the use of hypnotists or of hypnotism many of th eCommunist confession procedures has been found. At the timeof his Gestapo-like experiments, it is said that Beria experimented with the use of hypnosis also. Our informers statethat the experiments were a fallure and the attempts did notcontinue.Although formal hypnotism is not used, the confession routine as it has been described does create in those exposed to I t

an increased degree of pliability and suggestibility. I t is notclear to what extent the Commun.ists are aware of this andpurposefully exploit it . -

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Public - Conditioned Research Drugs and Hypnosis