---
category: Psychology & Behavioral Science
created: 2026-06-03
summary: The application of electric current to the brain to produce seizures, used
  as both a psychiatric treatment and, in D. Ewen Cameron's depatterning protocol
  at the Allan Memorial Institute, as a tool to erase memories and break down personality
  structures.
tags:
- Concept
- CIA
- MKULTRA
- DewenCameron
- BehavioralControl
updated: 2026-06-03
---

Electroshock is a psychiatric technique in which electric current is applied to the brain to induce seizures. In standard professional practice, doctors gave a single dose of 110 volts lasting a fraction of a second, once a day or every other day. [D. Ewen Cameron](/people/d-ewen-cameron/) at the [Allan Memorial Institute](/organizations/allan-memorial-institute/) used a form 20 to 40 times more intense, two or three times daily, with power turned up to 150 volts. Named the Page-Russell method after its British originators, Cameron's technique featured an initial one-second shock causing a major convulsion, followed by five to nine additional shocks in the middle of follow-on convulsions. Even the originators limited treatment to once a day and stopped when patients showed "pronounced confusion." Cameron welcomed impairment as a sign the treatment was working.[^1]

[Morse Allen](/people/morse-allen/) of [ARTICHOKE](/programs/project-bluebird-and-project-artichoke/) explored the use of electroshock to produce amnesia and extract information, noting that portable, battery-driven electroshock machines had come on the market. He stated that while it "would not be feasible to use it on any of our people because there is at least a theoretical danger of temporary brain damage," it "would possibly be of value in certain areas in connection with POW interrogation." The 1963 CIA Inspector General's report on TSS described the behavioral programs as exploring "the effects of radiation, electric-shock, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and harassment substances."[^1]

[^1]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*, Chapter 8.