Report: CIA interrogations [torture] under Bush likely to have caused brain damage

[babylonsister]

:nuke:

Report: CIA interrogations informed by bad science

By PAMELA HESS
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- The CIA's harsh interrogations are likely to have damaged the brains of terrorist suspects, diminishing their ability to recall and provide the detailed information the spy agency sought, according to a new scientific paper.

The paper scrutinizes the techniques used by the CIA under the Bush administration through the lens of neurobiology and determines the methods to be counterproductive, no matter how much the suspects might have eventually talked.

"Solid scientific evidence on how repeated and extreme stress and pain affect memory and executive functions (such as planning or forming intentions) suggests these techniques are unlikely to do anything other than the opposite of that intended by coercive or enhanced interrogation," according to the paper published Monday in the scientific journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

In the paper, Shane O'Mara, a professor at Ireland's Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, wrote that the severe interrogation techniques appear based on "folk psychology" - a layman's idea of how the brain works as opposed to science-based understanding of memory and cognitive function.

O'Mara told The Associated Press on Monday he reviewed the scientific literature about the effect of stress on memory and brain function after reading descriptions of the CIA's Bush-era interrogation methods. The methods were detailed in previously classified legal memos released in April.

"The assumption is that the (methods) are without effect on memory, or indeed facilitate the retrieval of information from memory," O'Mara said.

But overwhelmingly, scientific literature shows the opposite: Chronic stress and trauma - the likely result of the CIA's methods, particularly for long-term prisoners, according to O'Mara - can damage the hippocampus, the part of the brain that integrates memory.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CIA_INTERROGATION_STUDY?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[spanone]

1. not to mention death.

[sakabatou]

2. Definitely.

[JDPriestly]

3. This paper is right. I have observed that my memory is less reliable

when I am under stress. It is as if the stress hormones block the parts of my brain that remember things. It feels like that.

[babylonsister]

4. Mine is, too, definitely. nt

[lunatica]

6. I attribute that to the narrowing of blood vessels due to tension and constriction

When stressed we tend to hold our breath more, breath shallowly and have our muscles tighten up. It probably works in the same way with capillaries and blood vessels and veins. So our physiology concentrates our blood flow into the vital organs in it's response to the adrenalin which is constantly spilling into the bloodstream. It has to be a major stress out for our brain functions too.

What I found helps is soothing music during work hours, especially if the job is stressful. I partularly like Enya and her genre of music in the afternoons. I can literally feel my muscles kind of pop as they relax. I can actually feel a rush of physical well being at least once during the day.

[Ian David]

5. This is why they're being indefinitely detained and aren't being allowed on CONUS soil.

They don't want people to see what we've done to both the guilty and INNOCENT people.

[KansDem]

7. Didn't Gonzo say it's "torture" only if it results in "organ failure?"

How about "partial organ failure?" I mean, it's not like the whole brain fails, just part of it...

Do I really need the :sarcasm: similie?

[babylonsister]

8. Yes, he hasn't weighed in on this, has he. Bet he won't. nt

[mopinko]

11. i was wondering about that wording myself.

take a look at jose padilla. his brain is about as close to destroyed as you can get and not be in a vegetative state.

[gratuitous]

9. That's not a bug, it's a feature

We're operating on the totally erroneous premise that torture was used to elicit actionable intelligence. Of course, that's what the torturers and their bosses told us, so it's understandable why we would think that. The real reason the Bush administration authorized and carried out torture is because they're a bunch of sick, sadistic bastards who enjoy fucking people up just for fun, and because they can.

What are you gonna do about it? Nuthin'! They hope.

[Zoeisright]

10. Jesus Christ, Bush and his handlers are evil.

I wish there was a hell so they could burn in it.

[Soylent Brice]

12. K&R

[Gman2]

13. Who needs a throwdown weapon, just make them blank. Accuse them of

siding with satan at the fall.

[leveymg]

14. This is exactly what I've been saying since Day One - waterboarding scrambled memories, and that

effect was entirely known. The effect was most likely also the purpose. See:

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