Technical Prepenad For Releas§ MORE TAINOFGEPHY§-00789R003100200001-5 ll. BACKGROUND (U) (U) With regard to this proposal, AMP can be divided into two broad categories: @ Anomalous Cognition (AC): The awareness of information that is considered otherwise shielded from all known sensory channels. ©® Anomalous Perturbation (AP): The perturbation of physical matter under conditions of complete physical and sensorial isolation. 1. Historical Perspective (U) (S/NF) Serious government-funded research of both these domains began in 1973 when the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) initiated a modest effort to determine if a genuine anomalous phenomenon could be verified and to assess the degree to which it could be applied to general intelligence problems. Through fiscal year 1990, a variety of intelligence organizations from the military services and the De- fence Intelligence Agency (DIA) had supported predominantly application-oriented research pro- grams at SRI International in Menlo Park, CA. (S/NF) Beginning in fiscal year 1986, the U. S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) initiated the first coordinated, long-term examination of AC and AP phenomena. This program had three major objectives: @ Provide incontrovertible evidence for the existence of AC and AP. Determine the physiological and physical basis for AC and AP. © Determine the degree to which AC data could be integrated into the intelligence community. (S/NF) The results and conclusions from the Army program were: © The first objective had been partially met. An information transfer anomaly exists (i.e., AC) that can not be explained by inappropriate protocols, incorrect analyses, or fraud; however, there was insuffi- cient evidence to conclude if AP exists. @ Significant progress had been made in meeting the second objective. For example, (1) The central nervous system (i.e., the brain) of individuals with known AC ability appeared to re- spond to isolated AC stimuli. These responses were similar to those observed when their eyes were stimulated directly. (2) Two physical models have been constructed. One (called Decision Augmentation Theory) sys- tematizes the data of over 600 separate experiments spanning 22 years in the open literature and suggests a possible physical transfer mechanism for AC data. The other is a speculative funda- mental physical model for the type of information that is sensed by AC. (U) Under the same research program, a number of different physical systems were examined for their susceptibility to putative AP effects. They included single-cell algae, single alpha particles, and elec- Approved For Releag@BOYEAT/NOPRGARPS6-00789R003100200001-5 2
Technical Arnsovald For ReleasGHOGRET? NOE OQURB-00789R003100200001-5 tronic devices such as random number generators and piezoelectric strain gages. However, in these carefully controlled experiments, some with experienced AP subjects, no evidence of AP was observed. 2. Recent Program (U) (S/NF) Beginning in February 1991, DIA initiated a comprehensive, 18 month, investigation of AMP at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). In that program, basic research was de- fined as research that is primarily oriented toward understanding the physical, biophysical, physiologi- cal, and psychological mechanisms of AC. Applied research was defined as research that is primarily directed toward improving the output quality of AC data. (S/NF) The primary thrust of that effort was to: @ Prepare a comprehensive, integrated, 5-year research plan @ Conduct basic and applied research that supported operational applications of AMP. Experiments included investigations of central nervous system responses to AC stimuli and physical properties of AC targets. Acomplete description of all the experiments and their results can be found in technical final report.!” We summarize here, however, three major findings. (S/NF) We found a significant correlation between the quality of AC data and a single physical target prop- erty, the total change of Shannon entropy. Should this result be verified in a formal replication attempt, then it can be easily integrated into further laboratory studies and guide the selection of targets that are likely to yield positive results in operations. (U) In the same experiment, we determined that it is not a requirement of AC functioning for an indi- vidual (i.e., sender!) to observe directly an intended AC target. (U) The results of our megnetoencephalograph investigation is less clear. We uncovered a flaw in the math- ematical analysis that prevented us from determining if the central nervous system responds to remote stim- uli; however, we are currently re-analyzing the data with better techniques. The results of that analysis will be available as part of an extension of the original work. (S/NF) In very preliminary trials, we observed possible AP effects in special wave detectors. 3. Proposed New Effort (U) (S/NF) This proposal suggests two major experimental efforts and a variety of theoretical and other exper- imental investigations. We propose to improve the measurement of psychophysiological parameters to op- timize the likelihood of observing response to remote stimuli. Because of a direct application potential, we propose to replicate our earlier finding: determine if the total change of Shannon entropy is a valid intrinsic property of AC targets. The remainder of this document describes our proposal in detail. rs * References may be found in Section V beginning on page 18. + For a definition of terms, please refer to the Glossary in Section IV on page 17. Approved For Release SH @AET /M@IROMBI00789R003100200001-5 3
Technical Fxpposatd For Release UHW2LAS SII Bibb 96-00789R003100200001-5 Ill. APPROACH (U) (U) Each heading in this section includes numerical references to the statement of work (SOW) con- tained in solicitation MDA908-92-R-0164. 1. Basic Research (SOW 6.1) (U) (U) Basic research of AMP is defined as that activity that is primarily designed to understand the pa- rameters of and theoretical basis for AMP. 1.1 Blophysical Measurements (SOW 6.1.1) (U) (U) Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) will conduct two different biophysical in- vestigations. SAIC will: © Determine if the dominant alpha rhythm is affected by remote and isolated stimuli. © Determine if the electrical properties of the skin act as indicators of AMP. 1.1.1 Electroencephalograph Measurements (SOW 6.1.1.1-6) (U) 1.1.1.1 Objective (UV) (U) The objective of this effort is to perform electroencephalograph (EEG) measurements for the pur- pose of identifying neurophysiological parameters that correlate with anomalous cognition (AC). To achieve this goal, the behavioral setting for the EEG measurements should match, as closely as possible, that of a usual AC session. 1.1.1.2 Background (U) (U) Ina series of EEG experiments conducted at SRI International beginning in 1974, the central ner- vous system (CNS) of individuals was found to respond to remote and isolated visual stimuli (i.e., a flashing light).234 In the first experiment, during randomly interleaved 10-second epochs (i.e., trials), either a flashing light (16 Hz) or no light was present in a sensorially and physically isolated room. Sig- nificant decreases of occipital alpha power of isolated receivers were observed by Rebert and Turner.” Two replications were conducted in collaboration with Galin and Ornstein at the Langley Porter Neu- ropsychiatric Institute. As reported by May et al., the results were inconclusive; the first replication confirmed the Rebert and Turner finding, a decrease of alpha power concomitant with the flashing light, but the second replication attempt found an increase in alpha power.* (U) Under another program in FY 1989, SRI International and the Biophysics Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory conducted an experiment using the magnetoencephalograph (MEG) technique. This experiment was designed as a conceptual extension of the May et al. EEG experiment, although there were significant differences in the protocol. Two types of stimuli were randomly presented to an isolated sender while MEG data were collected from a receiver. The experimental stimulus (i.e., re- mote stimulus) was a 5-cm square, linear, vertical sinusoidal grating lasting 100 milliseconds. The se- Approved For Release 49$$O4/A8S SU-HEB96-00789R003100200001-5 4
Technical Regosed For Release 29DBOUAS SIFHED96-00789R003100200001-5 cond stimulus, a control stimulus (i.e., pseudostimulus), was simply a time marker corresponding to a blank screen in the data stream, and was also delivered to the sender. There was no change in the alpha power, as reported by May et al., but a post hoc analysis revealed a root-mean-square average phase shift of the dominant alpha frequency.” A key result of that experiment was that similar “anomalous” phase shifts were obtained for the remote stimuli and the pseudostimuli. Three candidate explanations for these results were suggested. The observed phase shifts might have been: @ Spurious (i.e., statistical deviations within chance expectations) e Electromagnetic artifacts © Evidence of anomalous cognition (U) In order to determine which of these three candidate explanations was correct, SAIC replicated the study in Los Alamos during 1992. In the replication experiment, ten times the amount of data from the 1989 study was collected, including an equal number of control runs, which contained an equal number of trials with no receiver present under the MEG to check for possible electromagnetic artifacts. (U) As of August 1992, the final results of our MEG investigations are pending. Using the same analytical techniques that were used in the 1989 study, we did not observe significant alpha activity concomitant with remote stimuli; however, we realized, after the fact, that the 1989 analytical technique contained a subtle flaw. We were attempting to measure instantaneous phase shifts of the dominant alpha rhythm in the pres- ence of considerable noise (i.e. the signal-to-noise ratio was approximately 0 decibels). Under this circum- stance, the variance of the phase is primarily determined by the noise (i.e, the Crammer-Rao relation- ship®). Thus, if there were phase shifts related to the remote stimuli, we would not have seen them, as shown by the Crammer-Rao relationship. (U) Aside from the technical difficulties associated with the Crammer-Rao relationship, all of our earlier attempts to identify CNS correlates to AC did not contain any concomitant behavioral measure of AC, and the conditions under which experiments were conducted were not similar to those known to be conducive to the production of AC data. For example, there is no evidence that a flashing light constitutes a valid AC target. It is also likely that when EEG electrodes are attached to a receiver's scalp or if a receiver is asked to recline face down in a MEG laboratory, that the conditions for the receiver are not optimal. Therefore, we have no independent measures that AC functioning occurred in these experiments. 1.1.1.3 Proposed Experiments (U) (U) We propose to design and conduct experiments to measure CNS responses to AC-stimuli, and since we will not be initially concerned about source localization, we will not immediately require the special proper- ties of a MEG, and thus, realize a significant cost savings. Should the proposed experiments warrant, how- ever, we will provide access to appropriate MEG technology. EEG technology is capable of addressing the specific variables in the Statement of Work. In addition, we are able to observe all areas of the brain, albeit with less spatial resolution, with a single measurement—a significant labor/cost savings. (U) Specifically, we will remedy the problems that were described above in a series of EEG experiments that © Use stimuli that are identical to those in standard AC experiments e@ Demonstrate CNS correlates to these stimuli when they are directly presented to receivers @ Provide a potential for independent, but concomitant, behavioral evidence for AC Approved For Release ON€214A5 SIFIED 96-00789R003100200001-5 5 ey,