Could Deep-Brain Stimulation Fortify Soldiers’ Minds?
From: Scientific American - 09/04/2014
By: S. Matthew Liao

As many as 20 percent of war veterans return from combat in Afghanistan and
Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression,
according to a 2008 report from the RAND Corporation. Many experience
constant nightmares and flashbacks and many can’t live normal lives. For
significant number of veterans, available medications do not seem to help. In
2010, at least 22 veterans committed suicide each day, according to the
Department of Veterans Affairs. In her book, Demon Camp, the author Jen Percy
describes damaged veterans who have even resorted to exorcism to alleviate
their PTSD symptoms.

DARPA wants to develop the next-generation, deep brain stimulators (call them
DBS+) that do not require user input and that can a) read and monitor the
brain’s activities in real-time using neural recording, and b) intervene in
these activities in an automatic way through electrical stimulation.

DARPA's officially stated goal is to treat soldiers who have PTSD and other
related neurological disorders. However, once DBS+ is developed,
theoretically it could also be used to fortify soldiers’ minds. For example,
DBS+ could be used to pre-empt PTSD. Suppose that a soldier has just
experienced a potentially traumatic event. DBS+ could be used to detect and
categorize the emotional reaction in the amygdala. Like tsunami warnings,
there could be different categories. If DBS+ detected a Category 4 reaction,
it would automatically reduce the activity in the amygdala to a certain
degree. If DBS+ detected a Category 5 reaction, it would slow the amygdala to
a halt.

Once DBS+ is developed, it could also be used to modulate other emotions.
Suppose that a soldier is about to enter combat. DBS+ could be used to
reduce/remove fear and/or increase courage by increasing adrenaline in the
soldier, much like psychotropic drugs such as amphetamine that some soldiers
now use.

Read the entire article at:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/2014/09/04/could-deep-brain-stimulation-fortify-soldiers-minds/

Links:
BRAIN Initiative
http://www.nih.gov/science/brain/

Deep Brain Stimulation for Movement Disorders
http://professional.medtronic.com/pt/neuro/dbs-md/prod/