According th the Daily Utah Chronicle, Jonathan Moreno, bioethics adviser for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, told a lecture audience that oxytocin could be used by DARPA for "brain manipulation," a form of brainwashing that would be less harsh -- and more effective.
Link: Author shares insight on link between neuroscience, government
One of the leaders in neuroscience development is the corporation DARPA, which is currently in the process of developing a "head web," a helmet that conducts non-invasive brain monitoring that could be used to measure brain waves while soldiers are in combat.
Moreno said the government is also working on developing a "war fighter"-a human manipulated by drugs to be a more efficient soldier.
<snip>
Another one of these drugs is Oxytocin, which potentially could be used in interrogation situations and would make people less inhibited and trust whoever is interrogating them.
This is definitely a scary thought, and contributes to a growing meme about using oxytocin as a drug to manipulate others. It should be noted, though, that skilled interrogators -- and salespeople and con artists -- already maninpulate our neurochemistries, getting that oxytocin flowing and building trust with social engineering.
Candy and flowers, anyone?
Moreno's book, "Mind Wars: National Security and the Brain," is scheduled for publication this fall.
