“We are entering an era where the brain itself could become a battlefield.” Two researchers say mind-altering “brain weapons” are no longer just fiction

Sophisticated and deadly “brain weapons”, which can attack or modify consciousness, perception, memory or human behavior, are no longer just fiction, argue two British academics cited by The Guardian newspaper, according to News.ro.

Michael Crowley and Malcolm Dando, from Bradford University, are to publish a book which, in their opinion, should be a wake-up call to the whole world. This weekend they will travel to The Hague for an important meeting, arguing that the human mind represents a new frontier in warfare and that urgent global action is needed to prevent neuroscience from becoming a weapon.

“Sounds like science fiction,” Crowley said. “But the danger is that it becomes scientific reality.”

The book, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, explores how advances in neuroscience, pharmacology and artificial intelligence are combining to create a new threat.

“We are entering an era where the brain itself could become a battlefield,” Crowley said. “Tools to manipulate the central nervous system – to sedate, confuse or even coerce – are becoming more precise, more accessible and more attractive to states.”

The book traces the fascinating, if terrifying, history of government-sponsored research into chemicals that act on the central nervous system (CNS).

When was such a “brain weapon” used

During and after the Cold War, the United States, the Soviet Union and China “actively sought” to develop weapons that act on the CNS, Crowley said. Their purpose was to cause prolonged incapacitation of persons, including “loss of consciousness or sedation or hallucinations or incoherence or paralysis and disorientation”.

The only time a CNS weapon was used on a large scale was by the Russian Federation in 2002 to end the Moscow theater siege. Security forces used fentanyl derivatives to end the siege, in which armed Chechen militants had taken 900 spectators hostage.

Most of the hostages were released, but more than 120 died from the effects of the chemical agents, and an undetermined number suffered long-term injuries or died prematurely.

Since then, research has made significant progress. The researchers claim that there is the possibility of creating much more “sophisticated and targeted” weapons, which would have been unimaginable in the past.

“The same knowledge that helps us treat neurological disorders could be used to disrupt cognition, induce compliance, or even, in the future, turn people into involuntary agents,” Dando said.

A new 'holistic arms control' framework

The threat is “real and growing,” but there are loopholes in international arms control treaties that prevent it from being effectively countered, they say.

Dando is Emeritus Professor of International Security at the University of Bradford and a renowned expert on biological and chemical weapons control. Crowley is Honorary Senior Visiting Researcher at the Department of Peace and International Development Studies at the University of Bradford.

This weekend, the two will travel to The Hague, in the Netherlands, where an international body called the Conference of States Parties (CSP) will meet for its 30th session. The PSC oversees the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The book argues for a new “holistic arms control” framework instead of relying on existing arms control treaties. It outlines a number of practical steps that could be taken, including the establishment of a working group on CNS acting agents and wider incapacitating agents. Other proposals relate to training, monitoring and definitions.

“We need to move from a reactive to a proactive governance,” Dando said.

Both recognize that we are learning more and more about the brain and central nervous system, which is beneficial to humanity. They stated that they are not trying to hinder scientific progress, but to prevent malicious intent.

“This is a wake-up call. We must act now to protect the integrity of science and the sanctity of the human mind,” Crowley said.