Page 28 - 200810 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - October 2008

28 Project MKULTRA & Ewen Cameron 28 Project MKULTRA & Ewen Cameron Ewen Cameron and The Allan Cameron’s Use of applications of ECT. Thus, Cameron was not Ewen Cameron and The Allan Cameron’s Use of Memorial Psychiatric Electroconvulsive Therapy alone in his repeated use of ECT. Page and Memorial Psychiatric Electroconvulsive Therapy Russell, however, only recommended daily Institute: A Study in administration of ECT, as did Kennedy and Institute: A Study in Research and Treatment Cameron’s use of electroconvulsive Ancell. Mukherjee, Sackeim, and Schnur Research and Treatment therapy would likely be judged barbaric by the (1994), in their review of 50 years of use of Ethics standards of today, as ECT is now used in a ECT, report that in the studies they looked at, Ethics Continued From Page 25 much more humane way than it was in the past. "treatment frequency varied from twice weekly Continued From Page 25 As Holmes (1997) explains, before ECT begins, to a 5-days-per-week schedule" (p. 172). This is the patient is administered both a strong Cameron, meanwhile, was becoming still a much lower rate of application than increasingly extreme in his attempts to develop sedative and a muscle relaxant. The purpose of Cameron was using. As such, Cameron’s use of psychic driving into a successful therapeutic the sedative is to ensure that the patient is the treatment two or three times daily does technique. Some patients were still able to resist unconscious when their convulsions begin and appear extreme. In 1985, Public Health Reports the treatment, and consequently Cameron was the purpose of the muscle relaxant is to reduce advised that "[r]egressive ECT (administration not quite getting the results he wanted. He violent muscular contractions during the of a large number of treatments during a short began using electroconvulsive therapy in convulsion. Indeed, Holmes (1997) states that period . . . ) is ‘no longer an acceptable association with psychic driving, and referred to "[b]efore muscle relaxants were used, patients treatment’ . . . and multiple-monitored ECT . . . this as "depatterning". His aim was to often broke bones during the convulsions" (p. has not been demonstrated to be sufficiently disorganize disturbed or resistant patients, to 268). The strength of the electrical current that effective’" (p. 549). allow psychic driving to have its full effect. He is used varies between 70 and 150 volts, and Another consideration is the voltage believed that "you could regress patients, lasts from between 0.1 to one seconds. used in the application of ECT. As Strain, particularly schizophrenics, back to their Treatment is usually administered three times a Brunschwig, Duffy, Agle, Rosenbaum, and infancy" (Gillmor, 1987, p. 56). This was done week, and if the patient has not responded Bidder (1968) point out, "electrical parameters by administering ECT at much higher levels within five to eight administrations of ECT, "it have been demonstrated to be a factor in than it had ever been applied before. Under is usually concluded that ECT will not be memory loss" (p. 294). This is significant Cameron’s plan, patients received ECT "up to effective, and it is stopped" (p. 270). Cameron, because many former patients at the Allan three times daily" (Gillmor, 1987, p. 56), and in contrast, administered much higher doses of reported chronic memory loss (Collins, 1988). this pattern of treatment would continue for ECT. Gillmor (1987) reports that Cameron had Cameron again, however, used a voltage thirty days (Collins, 1988). After this, he would been overseeing use of ECT at the Allan comparable to that of Page and Russell attempt to "repattern" his patients with psychic Memorial since 1951, but he "…felt that a more (Gillmor, 1987), and even within the range driving. However, by this point, the patient was forceful application of it might produce more currently used (Holmes, 1997). Frankel (1975) often "unable to walk or feed himself, and [was] impressive results" (p. 55). Rather than and Strain et al. (1968) both report use of the likely incontinent" (Gillmor, 1987, p. 56). administering a single shock to the patient, he same voltage, with Strain and his associates Despite the objections of some of his would shock the patient six times in rapid administering the shock for two seconds instead colleagues, Cameron carried on trying to perfect succession (Collins, 1988). He would apply this of just one. his psychic driving technique (Gillmor, 1987). technique -known as a "Page-Russell", after its Overall, then, Cameron was not using a In 1961, he lost the financial support of the inventors - twice a day for thirty days in a shock that was too severe for his patients to SIHE, and by 1964, his treatments were typical attempt to depattern one of his patients. handle. Where he became extreme in his use of beginning to prove useless. He himself referred At times, patients would even receive three ECT was in the frequency of application. Even to psychic driving as "a ten-year trip down the treatments a day (Gillmor, 1987). Cameron used if he believed that a "more forceful application . wrong road" (Gillmor, 1987, p. 136). He left the a current of 150 volts, which lasted for one . . might produce greater results" (Gillmor, Allan Memorial later that same year. second. At the Allan Memorial, patients 1987, p. 55), he should not have increased the Fifteen years later, a group of nine received anywhere from 30 to 150 treatments of number of applications so greatly in such a short former patients at the Allan Memorial brought ECT. period of time. I believe that this was suit against the CIA for funding research that unconscionable. It shows a complete lack of led to harm of the patients at the Allan (Collins, regard for the well being of his patients, and a 1988). Their lawyer, American civil rights lack of understanding of the treatment that he lobbyist Joseph Rauh, wanted to settle out of was using. Cameron can perhaps be forgiven for court because of the advanced age and declining not knowing beforehand what the effects of his health of his clients (Collins, 1988). However, use of ECT would be; one of Cameron’s the CIA was willing to neither settle nor successors defended him, saying that negotiate. Rauh subsequently filed a formal "Cameron’s work must be viewed from a complaint, requesting one million dollars per historical perspective and should not be judged plaintiff. He then tried to get the Canadian in light of current ethical practices" (Robertson, government to support the plaintiffs in their suit cited in Gillmor, p. 139). However, Cameron against the CIA, [but] to no avail. During the should have been able to recognize the adverse filing of depositions, "CIA and U.S. Justice effect that his ECT use was having on his Department lawyers . . . were . . . stopping patients, and he should have ceased what he was testimony where they could on the grounds that doing long before lack of funding forced him to it might be damaging to national security" It is easy to see that Cameron was more do so. (Collins, 1988, p. 220-21). The Canadian extreme in his use of ECT than psychiatrists are government still would not help, passively today. However, to determine if Cameron was Continued pn Page 30 saying they "couldn’t release any American- misguided in his use of ECT, we must compare originated documents without the approval of how his contemporaries used ECT, and how its correspondent" (Collins, 1988, p. 221). The ECT use changed after Cameron developed his CIA offered a "nuisance settlement" of $25,000 technique. The most obvious difference per plaintiff, which was summarily refused. between Cameron’s application and current use Finally, in 1988, the case went to trial. The of ECT is the number of shocks administered. lawsuit, however, was fruitless; the CIA never Page and Russell, two British doctors, had paid any money to any of the plaintiffs, nor did developed the afore-mentioned Page-Russell they issue an apology. technique, in which patients received a series of shocks, each four seconds apart (Gillmor, THE ‘X’ ZONE NEWSROOM 1987). Two American doctors, Kennedy and www.xzonenews.com Ancell, also were testing the effects of multiple