‘Mind control’ is a topic that comes up frequently nowadays, especially in the entertainment industry. In fact, we would not be wrong if we say that we have not seen it used for very good purposes until now. In general, we see that this method is used in the world of cinema and games to ensure that large masses are controlled for evil purposes.
When we look at the productions on this subject, it is remarkable that they usually take place in the distant future. But did you know that while mind control seems distant to us even today, it was successfully implemented in the 1960s? Let’s take a closer look at the experiment of Jose Delgado, who undersigned this and became the focus of numerous criticisms.
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Who is Jose Delgado in short?
The Spanish scientist, whose full name is José Manuel Rodríguez Delgado, worked at Yale University. Born in 1915, Delgado wanted to pursue a career in medicine.
He completed his doctorate in 1936, after which he was captured in the Spanish civil war. In this context, he had to do his doctorate again. This time he turned to the field of physiology.
He was keen to learn the secrets of the brain. But he learned what he didn’t want from the very beginning.
Delgado, who saw the famous neurologist John Fulton damage the frontal lobe of the chimpanzees’ brains, saw this as quite inappropriate. It should be noted that this later contributed to the lobotomy method.
After all, Delgado’s aim was to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s and epilepsy without damaging the brain.
So what was his suggested method?
Delgado believed that with the help of his Stimoceiver device implanted in the brain, neurological problems that cause both personal and social problems could be solved.
As examples of these situations, we can show epilepsy and being prone to violence for no reason.
Animal studies were carried out first.
At this point, a certain amount of electrical signals were sent to certain parts of the brain, allowing certain actions to take place. You can see the results of this in the headings below.
Here, the animal is allowed to turn left and right.
Here, too, we can see that the aggression is instantly removed.
Moving the eye to the right with electrical signals
And finally, cognitive control of hunger.
Surprising results from other chimpanzees:
Delgado applied this method to a monkey who was constantly disturbing the other chimpanzees in his cage, and placed the switch that activates the electrical signal inside the cage.
Seeing that this key calmed the aggressive creature, a female soon noticed and started using it, and the cage became more peaceful for those inside.
In another experiment, a receiver was implanted in a female chimpanzee named Paddy. It was observed that the initial signal was reduced by 50 percent, thanks to the receiver, which detects a certain signal (causing crises) received by the chimpanzee’s amygdala and, whenever this signal is detected, produces another signal that makes the creature uneasy in response.
This gave rise to hopes that it would help alleviate the crises people are experiencing.
Electrodes placed in the brain were monitored through monitors. In this way, it was possible to observe which action caused which movement.
At least that was the case at first. So there were cables running from the subjects’ heads to the big screens.
However, this both restricted the subjects’ range of motion and increased the risk of infection.
As a solution, he created receivers that can be controlled by radio signals.
In this way, the cable problem was saved.
Delgado, who had the animals perform certain movements, did not get the same results in human experiments.
Because here, Delgado’s aim was to find a cure for neurological diseases, as we said before. In this context, he could not find out in which part of the brain epilepsy plays a role.
He also said that the brain is more complex than he thought.
What happened as a result of these experiments that failed to achieve their purpose?
A 36-year-old woman with epilepsy began dating researchers after Delgado’s treatment.
In addition, an 11-year-old boy, who also has epilepsy, had a rather sullen expression before the treatment, but became very friendly after the treatment. This boy also has an unknown interpretation of “I want to be a girl”.
Delgado wondered one day how angry bulls that were specifically produced for wrestling would respond to this experiment.
In a few days, with the help of assistants, the bulls were sedated using anesthesia and the aforementioned receiver was implanted into their brains. In total, there were 4 bulls specially produced for wrestling.
Facing the bull in the ring, Delgado used the device in his hand just as the bull was about to hit him, and the bull headed in the other direction as you can see in the video. Moreover, his aggressive behavior seems to have disappeared.
After that, we can say that Delgado gained his real fame. Because after the experiment, he was receiving messages from numerous media outlets.
When you hear Delgado, don’t think of the ‘mad scientist typing’ that brutally experiments on people and ignores them.
While it is quite possible, let’s give the objective part. Aware of the inconsistency of this treatment, Delgado turned down a large number of volunteers. “What about the animals he’s been experimenting with up to this point?” Let me state before I say.
In the scientific world, you cannot hear a single comment about whether this issue is ethical or not. Delgado disapproved of what Fulton did. You may not approve of what Delgado did. Here, his aim was to find solutions to diseases such as Parkinson’s.
Let’s not pass without mentioning the connection between 2022 and the 1960s:
At that time, our tradesmen (come of the word) brothers/sisters were making things up like “Delgado will put a chip in our brains”. Conspiracy theorists became even more concerned when they saw the military providing financial support to Delgado.
However, Delgado replied that these sponsorships were not malicious.
It is even known that a woman who has nothing to do with him filed a million-dollar lawsuit against Delgado for implanting a chip in his brain.
The only thing that has changed today is the names.
What happened then?
The health minister in Spain asked Delgado to return to Spain and attend medical school in Madrid. This is “Am I going to mess with you?” It wasn’t like an escape. For Delgado, the offer just wasn’t meant to be rejected.
Delgado, who moved back to America after a while, passed away in 2011.
- Sources: NLoM, Scientific American, Today I Found Out, The American Lobotomy,
- GIFs
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