2 new studies on 'Havana syndrome' find no cause, but suggest link to mental health

[C C]

https://www.sciencealert.com/havana-synd...n-analysis

INTRO: Since 2016, more than 1,000 US government personnel stationed internationally have reported hearing intrusive sounds and feeling pressure on their heads, followed by symptoms like intense headaches, dizziness, and cognitive dysfunction. Ever since federal employees stationed in Havana, Cuba, first reported these anomalous health incidents (AHIs), Havana syndrome has been the media's go-to term for the condition.

US researchers led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) now report they have found no significant differences in brain scans or other biological tests between people with Havana syndrome and healthy controls.

Though the results provide little insight into a possible biological explanation for the symptoms, the authors emphasize there are multiple factors to consider when interpreting these findings.

"A lack of evidence for an MRI-detectable difference between individuals with AHIs and controls does not exclude that an adverse event impacting the brain occurred at the time of the AHI," says NIH neuroscientist Carlo Pierpaoli, first author of one of the studies.

"It is possible that individuals with an AHI may be experiencing the results of an event that led to their symptoms, but the injury did not produce the long-term neuroimaging changes that are typically observed after severe trauma or stroke.

"We hope these results will alleviate concerns about AHI being associated with severe neurodegenerative changes in the brain."

[...] The studies have been published in JAMA, here and here..... (MORE - details)

[Magical Realist]

"It is possible that individuals with an AHI may be experiencing the results of an event that led to their symptoms, but the injury did not produce the long-term neuroimaging changes that are typically observed after severe trauma or stroke.

So what? The weapon targets the auditory and vestibular systems, not the brain (see below). I just saw a 60 Minutes segment on new evidence uncovered as to who might be behind these high energy acoustical attacks on national security personnel and their families. They also include more firsthand accounts of the devastating effects of these attacks on personnel. I am now totally convinced it's a real weapon being used by Russia to strategically remove US govt agents from service and from continuing their anti-Russian missions. Here's the whole segment in its entirety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdPSD1SUYCY

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6383299/

[Zinjanthropos]

Watched the segment last night and first thing I thought of was A Clockwork Orange and the Ludovici Psychological aversion therapy treatment. From Google: The Ludovico Technique is nothing more than giving the subject a Pavlovian association between evil acts and discomfort/sickness/etc. through conditioning and training.

I wouldn’t put anything past the CIA, including a possibility that the employees had some kind of test, brain analysis, performed on them with or without their knowledge to see if they measured up to some standard. The side effects coming out now, who knew? They’re not going to admit it if so.

[Magical Realist]

Watched the segment last night and first thing I thought of was A Clockwork Orange and the Ludovici Psychological aversion therapy treatment. From Google: The Ludovico Technique is nothing more than giving the subject a Pavlovian association between evil acts and discomfort/sickness/etc. through conditioning and training.

I wouldn’t put anything past the CIA, including a possibility that the employees had some kind of test, brain analysis, performed on them with or without their knowledge to see if they measured up to some standard. The side effects coming out now, who knew? They’re not going to admit it if so.

Not likely. 20 children of victims of Havana Syndrome have suffered the same effects. Damage most likely inflicted either at home or when traveling with them.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/havana-synd...022-06-26/

[Zinjanthropos]

Watched the segment last night and first thing I thought of was A Clockwork Orange and the Ludovici Psychological aversion therapy treatment. From Google: The Ludovico Technique is nothing more than giving the subject a Pavlovian association between evil acts and discomfort/sickness/etc. through conditioning and training.

I wouldn’t put anything past the CIA, including a possibility that the employees had some kind of test, brain analysis, performed on them with or without their knowledge to see if they measured up to some standard. The side effects coming out now, who knew? They’re not going to admit it if so.

Not likely. 20 children of victims of Havana Syndrome have suffered the same effects. Damage most likely inflicted either at home or when traveling with them.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/havana-synd...022-06-26/

Interesting that they are children of victims. Parents had advanced notice of syndrome, probably talked about at home, kids listen. Finding it very difficult to believe someone is targeting their kids and no one else.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_psy...ic_illness

[stryder]

There are certain things that don't add up.

For instance one of the supporting pieces of evidence is a literal translation of "a non-lethal energy weapon"
in a supposed Russian internal communication. I'm apprehensive that was a real document as most governments like to use their codewords and callsigns for particular things rather than being so literal.

There is also the point that if it was a weapon, then they would have a target. (namely a person or people) This looks more like they've targetted some in general area which they might not have even known was on the premises. That would imply the equipment/technique is actually more about deepdiving whats on site.

e.g. Security cameras, microphones, electrical wiring, hidden safes, RFIDS, pipework etc

It's just the level of scanning used is not good for anything biological in the area (human or domesticated pet)

[Magical Realist]

Finding it very difficult to believe someone is targeting their kids and no one else.

Because a CIA conspiracy theory is just so much more believable..

---

That would imply the equipment/technique is actually more about deepdiving whats on site.

Why would somebody go thru the trouble of "deepdiving" what's on site in the homes of national security personnel and in hotel rooms? Doesn't make sense.

[C C]

[...video...] Greg Edgreen who ran the military investigation told us he had the Pentagon support, but in the Trump and Biden administrations he says the bar for proof was set impossible high.

Just as Russian operatives interfere in elections and are using harder-to-trace technologies to amplify propaganda against military funding for Ukraine in the United States and Europe, they could be spreading ridicule about Havana Syndrome to discredit any investigations pointing their way.

The best approach to get the mainstream establishment in the US to ignore a particular issue or source slash explanation for something is to incrementally frame _X_ as a wild conspiracy. By flooding social media outlets with comments by influencers and bogus opinionators.

Even Steven Novella has refrained from having any strong conclusions about it: https://theness.com/neurologicablog/what...-syndrome/

Few if any with a hard-core, credible reputation can publicly endorse the "spy attack" theory even if they wanted to. Which is the very situation the Kremlin would want to engineer.

Thanks to the wired world of today, psychological manipulation has leaped to the forefront of warfare. (Find and know how to play on your enemy's cognitive vulnerabilities and ideological blind-spots.)