Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:53:44.142Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Ethics, Science and Mind Control: J. M. Rodríguez-Delgado’s Legacy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2016

Juan Antonio Vera*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Murcia (Spain)
Francisco Martínez-Sánchez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Murcia (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Juan Antonio Vera Ferrándiz. Dpto. de Psicología Básica y Metodología. Campus de Espinardo. Universidad de Murcia. Aptdo. 4021. 30080. Murcia (Spain). E-Mail: [email protected]

Abstract

This work analyses the evolution of the scientific visibility of the neurophysiologist José Manuel Rodríguez Delgado. It examines the longitudinal evolution from 1955 to 2013 of an article (Delgado, Roberts, & Miller, 1954) studying the neurological basis of learning and motivation and compares it with a coetaneous article (Olds & Milner, 1954) with a similar subject and methodology. Both studies have been essential in Psychology. This work analyses the number of times each article has been cited between 1955–1984 and 1985–2013. The results show that the visibility of James Olds and Peter Milner’s article (expressed in number of citations between 1955–1984 and 1985–2013) has longitudinally increased (p < .001), whereas the number of citations received by José Manuel Rodríguez Delgado et al.’s article has significantly reduced (p < .001). The results are discussed and the low visibility of Delgado’s article is explained through historical and social factors, including the growing concern about compliance with bioethical and research guidelines and the controversial media projection of the Spanish scientist, not by the intrinsic value or the scientific repercussion of the compared articles.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baumeister, A. (2000). The tulane electrical brain stimulation program. A historical case study in medical ethics. Journal of the History of the Neurosciencies, 9, 262278. http://dx.doi.org/10.1076/jhin.9.3.262.1787 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benabid, A. L., Pollak, P., Louveau, A., Henry, S., & de Rougemont, J. (1987). Combined (thalamotomy and stimulation) stereotactic surgery of the VIM thalamic nucleus for bilateral Parkinson disease. Applied Neurophysiology, 50, 344346. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000100803 Google ScholarPubMed
Bergfeld, I. O., Mantione, M., Hoogendoorn, M. L. C., & Denys, D. (2013). Cognitive functioning in psychiatric disorders following deep brain stimulation. Brain Stimulation 6, 532537. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2013.01.003 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blackwell, B. (2012). Obituary. Jose Manuel Rodiguez Delgado. Neuropsychopharmacology, 37, 28832884. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npp.2012.160 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blackwell, B. (2014). Jose Delgado: A case study. Science, hubris, nemesis and redemption. International Network for the History of Neuropsychopharmacology. Retrieved from International Network for the History of Neuropsychopharmacology Webpage http://www.inhn.org/fileadmin/previews/Case_Study_Delgado.pdf Google Scholar
Bowart, W. H. (1978). Operation mind control. New York, NY: Dell.Google Scholar
Bittar, R. G., Kar-Purkayastha, I., Owen, S. L., Bear, R. E., Green, A., Wang, S., & Aziz, T. Z. (2005). Deep brain stimulation for pain relief: A meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 12, 515519. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2004.10.005 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Breggin, P. (1972/1982). The return of lobotomy and Psychosurgery. In Edwards, R. B. (Ed.), Psychiatry and Ethics (pp. 350388). Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.Google Scholar
Carlsson, A., Lindqvist, M., & Magnusson, T. (1957). 3, 4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine and 5-hydroxytryptophan as reserpine antagonists. Nature, 180, 1200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/1801200a0 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Christopher, P. P., Leykin, Y., Appelbaum, P. S., Holtzheimer, P. E., Mayberg, H. S., & Dunn, L. B. (2012). Enrolling in deep brain stimulation research for depression: Influences on potential subjects’ decision making. Depression and Anxiety, 29, 139146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/da.20916 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coffey, R. J. (2009). Deep brain stimulation devices: A brief Thecnical history and review. Artificial Organs, 33, 208220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1594.2008.00620.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delgado, J. M. R. (1965b). Neurological mechanisms in epilepsy and behavior. Final report to the Office of Naval Research on Contract SAR/Nonr 609 (08) – NR 101–320. New Havem, CT: Yale University School of Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/613571.pdf CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delgado, J. M. R. (1952). Permanent implantation of multilead electrodes in the brain. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 24, 351358.Google ScholarPubMed
Delgado, J. M. R. (1965a). Evolution of psysical control of the brain. James Arthur lecture on the evolution of the human brain. New York, NY: The American Museum of Natural History.Google Scholar
Delgado, J. M. R. (1969). Physical control of the mind. Toward a psychocivilized society. New York, NY: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Delgado, J. M. R. (1982a). Autobiografía intelectual de J. M. Rodríguez Delgado [Intellectual autobiography of J. M. Rodríguez Delgado]. Anthropos, 12, 57.Google Scholar
Delgado, J. M. R. (1982b). Bibliografía y actividad investigadora de J. M. Rodríguez Delgado [Bibliography and research activity of J. M. Rodríguez Delgado]. Anthropos, 12, 817.Google Scholar
Delgado, J. M. R., Roberts, W. W., & Miller, N. E. (1954). Learning motivated by electrical stimulation of the brain. American Journal of Physiology, 179, 587593.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Faria, M. A. Jr. (2013a). Violence, mental illness, and the brain –brief history of psychosurgery. Part 2 –From the limbic system and cingulotomy to deep brain stimulation. Surgical Neurology International, 4, 75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Faria, M. A. Jr. (2013b). Violence, mental illness, and the brain–brief history of psychosurgery. Part 3 –From deep brain stimulation to amygdalotomy for violent behavior, seizures, and pathological aggression in humans. Surgical Neurology International, 4, 91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fins, J. J. (2003). From psychosurgery to neuromodulation and palliation: History’s lessons for the ethical conduct and regulation of neuropsychiatric research. Neurosurgery Clinics of North America, 14, 303319. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1042-3680(02)00118-3 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fins, J. J. (2004). Neuromodulation, free will and determinism: Lessons from the psychosurgery debate. Clinical Neuroscience Research, 4, 113118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cnr.2004.06.011 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fins, J. J. (2009). Deep brain stimulation: Ethical issues in clinical practice and neurosurgical research. In Krames, E. S., Peckham, P. H., & Rezai, A. R. (Eds.), Neuromodulation (pp. 8191). London, UK: Academic Press-Elsevier.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, J. (2013). A history of deep brain stimulation: Technological innovation and the role of clinical assesment tolos. Social Studies of Science, 43, 707728. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0306312713483678 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haan, H. J. De (2010). Origins and import of reinforcing self-stimulation of the brain. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 19, 2432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hariz, M, I. (2012). Twenty-five years of deep brain stimulation: Celebrations and apprehensions. Movement Disorders, 27, 930933. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mds.25007 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hariz, M. I., Blomstedt, P., & Zrinzo, L. (2010). Deep brain stimulation between 1947 and 1987: The untold story. Neurosurgical Focus, 29, 110. http://dx.doi.org/10.3171/2010.4.FOCUS10106 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hess, W. R. (1962). The biological aspect of psychology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Hess, W. R. (1964). The biology of mind. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Horgan, J. (2005). The forgotten era of brain. Scientific American, 293, 6673.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hull, C. L. (1943). Principles of behaviour: An introduction of behaviour theory. New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts.Google Scholar
Hunt, C. C (2006). Carlton C. Hunt. In Squire, L. R. (Ed.), The history of neuroscience in autobiography, (Vol. 5, pp. 353380). Burlington, MA: Academic Press-Elsevier.Google Scholar
Krack, P., Hariz, M. I., Baunez, Ch, Guridi, J., & Obeso, J. A. (2010). Deep brain stimulation: From neurology to psychiatry? Trends in Neurosciences, 33, 474484. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2010.07.002 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacLean, P. D. (1949). Psychosomatic disease and the ‘visceral brain’: Recent developments bearing on the Papez theory of emotion. Psychosomatic Medicine, 11, 338353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martínez-Sánchez, F., & Palmero, F. (2004). Entrevista a José María Rodríguez Delgado [Interview with José María Rodríguez Delgado]. INFOCOP. Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos, 20, 5359.Google Scholar
Mashour, G. A., Walker, E. E., & Martuza, R. L. (2005). Psychosurgery: Past, present, and future. Brain Research Reviews, 48, 409419. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresrev.2004.09.002 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, N. E. (1958). Central stimulation and other new approaches to motivation and reward. American Psychologist, 13, 100108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0042452 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, N. E. (1973). Commentary. In Valenstein, E. S. (Comp.), Brain control: Critical examinations of brain stimulation and psychosurgery (pp. 5368). New York, NY. Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Nauta, W. (1973). Foreword. In Valenstein, E. S., Brain control: A critical examination of brain stimulation and psychosurgery (pp. 719). New York, NY: Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Olds, J., & Milner, P. (1954). Positive reinforcement produced by electrical stimulacion of septal area and other regions of rat brain. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 47, 419427. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0058775 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osmundsen, J. A. (1965, May 17). “Matador” with a radio stops wired bull: modified behavior in animals subject of brain study. The New York Times, pp. 120.Google Scholar
Rice, Ch. E. (2005). The research grants program of the National Institute of Mental Health and the golden age of American academic psychology. In Pickren, W. E. & Schneider, S. F. (Eds.), Psychology and the National Institute of Mental Health: A historical analysis of science, practice, and policy (pp. 61111). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
S. Rep. No. 94–755 (1976). Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with respect to Intelligence Activities. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Sironi, V. A. (2011). Origin and evolution of deep brain stimulation. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 5, 42. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2011.00042 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snyder, P. J. (2009). Delgado’s brave bulls: The marketing of a seductive idea and a lesson for contemporary biomedical research. In Snyder, P. J., Mayes, L. C., & Spencer, D. D., Science and the media. Delgado’s brave bull and the ethics of scientific disclosure (pp. 2540). San Diego, CA: Academic-Press-Elsevier.Google Scholar
Snyder, P. J., Mayes, L. C., & Spencer, D. D. (2009). Science and the media. Delgado’s brave bull and the ethics of scientific disclosure. San Diego, CA: Academic-Press-Elsevier.Google Scholar
Spence, K. W. (1952). Clark Leonard Hull: 1884–1952. The American Journal of Psychology, 65, 639646.Google ScholarPubMed
Squire, L. R. (2014). The history of neuroscience in autobiography, (Vol. 8). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, R. F. (1999). James Olds: 1922–1976. Biographical memoirs of National Academy of Sciences, (Vol. 77., pp. 246263). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Valenstein, E. S. (1973a). Brain control: A critical examination of brain stimulation and psychosurgery. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Valenstein, E. S. (1973b). History of brain stimulation: Investigations into the psychiology of motivation. In Valenstein, E. S. (Comp.), Brain control: Critical examinations of brain stimulation and psychosurgery (pp. 143). New York, NY: Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Valenstein, E. S. (1974). Persistent problems in the psysical control of the brain. James Arthur lecture on the evolution of the human brain. New York, NY: The American Museum of Natural History.Google Scholar