In 1978, I went to Guyana on a fact-finding mission. By the time I returned, more than 900 people died. I was almost one of them. By Jackie Speier.

An unusual detective story. By Ed Yong.

Once we move beyond brainwashing as an explanation for people’s behaviors, we can actually learn quite a bit about why individuals are drawn to new ideas and alternative religions or make choices at odds with their previous lifestyles. By Rebecca Moore.

Many parasites can control the behavior of their hosts -- sometimes in very gruesome ways. A new article published today describes some of the sophisticated interactions between a variety of parasites and their hosts, and highlights how the new field of neuro-parasitology could provide insights into the neurological basis for behavior and decision-making. (May 1, 2018)

In 2018, everything is a metaphor. By Ed Yong.

Forty years after revelations that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency funded brainwashing experiments on unsuspecting Canadians, the Trudeau government is continuing a pattern of silencing the victims, a lawyer for one of the families says. By Harvey Cashore, Lisa Ellenwood, Bob McKeown.

How we fill gaps in our everyday experiences. By Slavoj ŽIžek.

A fungal parasite that infects ants and manipulates their behavior to benefit the fungus’ reproduction accomplishes this feat without infecting the ants’ brains, according to a study led by Penn State researchers. By Chuck Gill.

The long, strange history of Soviet mind control experiments. By Giovanni Vimercati.

In 1976, the Peoples Temple founder was courted by Bay Area politicos, praised by a famed newsman and invited to meet with Washington luminaries. Five others — a Bay Area congressman, three American journalists and one of Jones’ ex-disciples — had been shot and killed at a nearby airstrip… By Kevin Canfield.

If I asked how you train your mind, what would you say? “I read a lot.” “I meditate for an hour every day.” “I journal every night.” If any of those things are true, then you’re doing a great job of feeding your mind. But what happens when you feed yourself and don’t workout? You get flabby. People who hit the gym regularly have bodies that show it. The same is true for people who condition their minds. Conditioning isn’t about feeding your brain new information or finding productivity “hacks,” it’s about creating a training routine for your mind.

It’s Russian dolls of nature’s manipulators: a wasp that fools oak trees to make it a crypt to live in is in turn made to drill a route out of the crypt by another wasp.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and related disorders are difficult to beat, because our fears can resurface. Could a transplant of young brain cells help? By Alice Klein. [Warning: Animal cruelty]

Scientists typically control the behavior of a lab mouse by enticing it with food or repelling it with puffs of air. When I gathered with my colleagues in a Stanford University lab, however, we had a more direct way: We took command of its brain with a shining light. Implanted in that mouse’s brain was a device about the size of a peppercorn. When we used our wireless power system to switch it on, the device glowed with a blue light that activated genetically engineered brain cells in the premotor cortex...

It might come down to the same network theory that rules computer science and economics. (Oct. 19, 2016)

A clever experiment pinpoints the brain region involved in taking the perspective of our future selves or that of others. By Catherine Caruso.

A video captures the dark side of insect mind control. By Katherine Harmon Courage.

Controlling the minds of others from a distance has long been a favourite science fiction theme – but recent advances in genetics and neuroscience suggest that we might soon have that power for real... By Catriona Houston.

If you think all of your memories are real and accurate, think again. By Julia Shaw. (June 13, 2016)

Yet from 1955 to 1965, this building was the site of “Operation Midnight Climax” — a top-secret mind-control program in which CIA agents used hookers to lure unsuspecting johns from North Beach bars to what they called “the pad,” then dosed the men with LSD and observed the X-rated goings-on through a two-way mirror while sitting on a portable toilet swilling martinis... By Gary Kamiya.