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ASSESSMENT OF SOVIET ELECTRICAL BRAIN
STIMULATION RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS
SGI
I
Life Sciences Division
OSI/CIA
PREFACE
Electrical
stimulation
of
the
brain
(ESB)
is
the
process
of applying
electrical current
to the cortex and deep
structures of the brain through
electrodes implanted by means of stereotaxic surgcry_. The electrodes are
insulated
except
for
a
small
area around
the
tip,
and
application
of
electrical current allows the experimenter to stimulate a predetermined area
of
they brain.
The subsequently evoked
behavior
is
observed and any
changes in the subjects' somatic or mental state arc attributed to the effec t
of the electrical stimulatio n. ESB
is most frequently employed in the US
and Soviet Union to aid the neurological conditions of tremor and spasticity
found in patients with hyperkinesis, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. The
Soviets are reported to have used ESB on “ normal” subjects, those who arc
not
ill
or otherwise impaired,
to
elicit
a behavior
response.
This study
attempts to assess the status of Soviet research in this field and to gauge jJhp
progress,
if any,
they may have made
in
applying ESB
techniq ue^To
controlling human behavior.
CONCLUSIONS
It:
is
believed
that
in
the USSR
normal human
beings have been
used
for electrical
brain
stimula-
tion experiments.
The Soviets appear to have less stringent regulations
on scientific experiments with normal human beings
than does the West and therefore have an advantage,
since any
breakthough
in
understanding how ESB
affects complex human behavior will most likely result
from experiments with human subjects.
A
survey
of
Soviet
resea rch
on
electrical
brain
stimulanbn~to^
no evidence th at t lie
Soviets
have
been
able
to
develop
methods
of
controlling complex human behavior
through ESB,
nor that they have found significant applications of
electrical
brain
stimulation
techniques
beyond
standard therapeutic uses.
SUMMARY
In
1968
it
was
reported
that
the
Soviets
were
studying
the
effects
of
electrical
stimulation
on
normal human
brains.
This
report, and ensuing
re-
ports,
prompted
speculation
that
the
Soviets
were
attempting
to
develop
methods
of
controlling
an
individual’s behavior or motor responses.
The Soviets declared in 1951 that one aim of their
physiological
research programs was
to develop the
ability
to
damage,
repair, and
control
the
central
nervous system at will. During the late 1.950s and early
1960s when Soviet scientific research changed rapidly,
it was noted that the Soviets revitalized their interest
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in
the biophysics
of behavior and
were devoting a
larger portion of their resources to the study of human
behavior than was the West.
The method of chronic use of imbedded electrodes
in humans was introduced in the USSR in 1962 by Dr.
Natal’ya Bekhtereva, a leading Soviet neurophysiolog-
ist
with an
international
reputation.
In
1966
at
a
meeting of French and Soviet scientists Dr. Bekhtereva
reported
she was using over 200 human subjects
to
study complex aspects of human behavior, memory,
and cncephalographic measurement. At that time the
physical and mental health of the subjects was not
mentioned.
In
1968,
however,
at an
International
Symposium
devoted
to
research
on
the
Central
Nervous
System,
Bekhtereva
and
Dr.
Natalya
Zavalova
stated
that
normal
humans
had
been
subjects
in
experiments
employing
depth
electrode
implants.
According
to
Bekhtereva,
not
all
of
the
human
subjects
for
her
experiments
were
ill
or
otherwise
impaired.
Dr.
Zavalova
claimed
to have
discovered
that pilots took significantly
less time
in
correcting an emergency situation during flight when
electrodes implanted in their brains were stimulated.
In 1972 Dr. M.L. Shik, in studying animal physiology
and
locomotion
at
the Gclfand
Institute, Moscow,
reported
that
electrical
stimulation of the midbrain
evoked many complex motor behavior activities. Dr.
Shik expressed a worry that such
research might be
misused
by
Soviet
authorities
to
control
human
behavior
by
appropriate
application
of
brain
stimulation techniques.
The
Soviets
use
basically
the
same
surgical
techniques
as the US
for implanting
electrodes and
positioning the electrodes in the brain.
Although
Soviets
scientists have observed
a large
variety of responses from motor effects to emotional
reactions
there
is
no
evidence
that
they
have
developed
methods
of
controlling
complex human
behavior through ESB.
DISCUSSION
Soviet experimentation on electrical stimulation of
the brain with normal human subjects has prompted
speculation that this technique is being developed as a
means of controlling behavior. On the one hand, there
is concern that the behavior of people might be shaped
by
stimulation
of brain
areas
controlling muscular
movements, while on the other hand,
it
is speculated
that
the human capacity
to
resist
control could be
effectively
eliminated
by
the
administration
of
powerful
rewards
and
punishments
delivered
electrically directly to the brain. Although numerous
physiological
laboratories
arc
actively
engaged
in
studies
of
animal
physiology
involving
electrical
stimulation experiments, the Institute of Experimental
Medicine in Leningrad is the only institute reported to
be
studying
the
effects
of
electrical
stimulation on
mentally
and
physically
ill
and
normal
human
subjects.
Although the status of ESB research on animals has
progressed steadily in the Soviet Union, such research
in humans has only recently been done.
Prior to the
early
1960s
there
was
virtually
no
research
being
conducted
in
the
Soviet Union on implantation
of
recording or stimulating electrodes
in the subcortical
regions of the human brain. This hesitancy was in part
possibly the result of an aversion to the type of medical
experiments performed by the Nazis during WYVIL
Nevertheless,
in
1951
the
Soviets openly stated that
one aim of their physiological research programs was
to develop the ability to damage, repair, and control
the central nervous system at will.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s the nature of
Soviet
scientific
research changed
rapidly. Growing
scientific
interest
in
military
and
civilian
space
activities,
along
with
an
emphasis
on
scientific
competition with the US, gave impetus to more varied
scientific
experiments.
Soviet
withdrawal
from
the
rigidly Pavlovian-bound research philosophy led to a
revitalized
interest
in
the
biophysics
of
behavior,
particularly with regard to the bioelectrical features of
subcortical areas of the brain. In the opinion of several
prominent
Western
scientists
who
attended
a
symposium on Soviet research on the central nervous
system
and
behavior
in
1958,
the
Soviets
were
devoting a larger portion of their manpower, financial,
and
institutional
resources
to
the
study
of human
behavior than was the West. By
the mid-1960s this
shift
in
emphasis
of
Soviet
philosophy
and
accompanying
research
was
also
reflected
in
the
widespread
use
of depth recording
in humans. The
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method
of
chronic
use
of imbedded
electrodes
in
humans was introduced in the USSR by Leningrad
researcher Natalya Petrovna Bekhtereva in 1962.
Since
data
obtained
in
experimental
studies
in
animals cannot entirely explain the physiology of the
human brain, experiments done with human subjects
provide the most valid data. Most Western scientists
adhere
to
strict
rules
limiting
their
electrode
implantations
for
diagnostic
purposes.
Similarly,
much of the research on electrical stimulation of the
brain
in
the
Soviet
Union
has
been
conducted
concurrently
with
the
basic
clinical
activity
of
diagnosing and
treating
patients,
particularly
those
suffering from severe movement disorders manifested
in
Parkinsonism
and
epilepsy.
In
these
eases,
electrodes are implanted to locate more precisely the
target
site
in order
to make
it
possible
to
destroy
smaller amounts of brain
tissue. One Soviet scientist
has allowed such electrodes to remain implanted
for
periods of several months. A US scientist who visited a
physiology
laboratory
in
Leningrad
in
1968
and
observed
a
depth
electrode
implantation
in
a
Parkinsonian
patient,
reported
that
the
depth
electrode implantations were left in place for up to 6
months. According
to the scientist, this was standard
practice. Even though there have been eases in the US
in
which
electrodes have been
left
in
place
for 6
months
in
treating
Parkinsonian
and
epileptic
patients,
it
is
not standard
procedure.
Usually
the
electrodes are left in place no longer than a month on
the average.
Some of the most sophisticated brain implant work
is reportedly being done by Bekhtereva, a specialist in
electroencephalography (EEC). During her earnest
the
Leningrad
Neurosurgical
Institute
(from
I9o4-
1962),
Bekhtereva
used
depth
electrodes
for EEG
analysis.
While
at
the
Neurosurgical
Institute
she
started using electrodes for stimulation of the brain. In
1962
the
Soviet
Academy
of
Medical
Sciences
transferred
her
to
the
Institute
of
Experimental
Medicine
where
she
was
placed
in
charge
of
the
Department
for Applied Neurophysiology.
She was
later appointed Director of the Institute and in 1972 it
was reported that she headed a research team of 100
professionals and several hundred technicians. There,
she has implemented a program which concentrates
on human brain work involving the implantation of
electrodes in the brain for varied periods of time.
The Soviets probably also with “normal subjects”—
those
with
no
physical
or mental
impairment
to
assess the possibility of controlling behavior for other
than
therapeutic
purposes.
Bekhtereva
reported
in
1966 at a meeting of French and Soviet scientists that
there were 200 human subjects at her Institute with
deep
implanted
electrodes
participating
in
experi-
ments
on
stimulation
control
of human
behavior,
memory
and
cncephalographic
measurement.
Her
basic
premise
was
that
the
experimentation
was
necessary for the study of illnesses. When questioned
on
the number
of
subjects by
a US
scientist who
suggested
that
she meant 20
rather than
200,
she
reportedly emphasized that the figure was in excess of
two hundred. When questioned again in 1968, at an
International
Symposium
on
the
Central
Nervous
System, Bekhtereva would only reply that the subjects
were all Parkinsonian or epileptic patients and that the
number was in excess of 100. However, a distinguished
Western
scientist
reported
that
in
an
informal
discussion,
Bekhtereva
indicated
that
not
all
her
subjects were physically
ill or otherwise impaired.
In
the
opinion
of
a
US
neurophysiologist,
if
Bekhtereva poses a requirement to the chairman of the
Soviet Academy
of
Medicine,
the Academy could
arbitrarily transfer the required number of patients to
her
for
research purposes.
If
in
fact Bekhtereva has
experimented with normal human subjects,
it is highly
improbable that these subjects were volunteers. Unlike
Western
medicine,
obtaining human
subjects
for
experimentation has not presented a problem in the
Soviet
Union.
In
the
late
1.950s
Vasiliy
V.
Parin,
director of the Institute of Normal and Pathological
Physiology, admitted to a visiting Western colleague
that obtaining human
subjects
for experiments was
absolutely no problem. The
use
of
coercive,
often
painful,
medical
treatment
under
the
guise
of
psychiatric
rehabilitation
reportedly
has
been
employed
in
the
Soviet Union
to
silence
political
dissenters. Prisoners have been injected with drugs that
produce
a
variety
of
reactions
from
Parkinson s
syndrome to stupor.
In addition, some prisoners arc
reportedly threatened with the use of electrical-shock
“therapy.” Thus, it would probably not be unusual for
Soviet neurophysiologists to perform experiments with
electrical
stimulation on human
subjects
from
the
prison population.
The
Soviets
reportedly
also
are
willing
to
use
military subjects for electrical stimulation of the brain
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