CIA Document Reveals 1966 Plan to Use Amytal Interviews on P

CIA Document Reveals 1966 Plan to Use Amytal Interviews on Prison Inmates for Behavior Control Research

A declassified CIA memorandum from October 1966 recommends approval of a grant to study verbal and psychophysiological correlates of altered consciousness during amobarbital interviews, using subjects from a male psychiatric prison ward. The research was part of the CIA's Behavior Control program and aimed to improve interrogation techniques by reducing inhibition concerning critical information.

Published

September 5, 2026

Declassified

Date not listed

Source agency

The Black Vault (FOIA archive)

ciafoia1966planuseamytalinterviewsprison

CIA's 1966 Proposal for Amytal Interviews on Prison Inmates

Control program advanced a proposal that would push the boundaries of consciousness research into the realm of psychiatric prison wards. A declassified record sheet and memorandum, dated 17 October 1966, recommended approval of a new grant to study the verbal and psychophysiological correlates of altered consciousness, specifically through the use of amobarbital—commonly known as Amytal—interviews. The document, released through The Black Vault's FOIA archive, reveals an agency actively seeking to refine interrogation techniques by understanding how verbal behavior shifts under the influence of a barbiturate that was believed to lower inhibitions.

The proposed research was framed as part of the Behavior Control program, with the stated goal of defining behavioral alterations during amytal interviews that could index a subject's cognitive-affective status. Particular attention was to be paid to reducing inhibition concerning critical information—a capability with direct implications for interrogation and assessment. The study aimed to explore changes in verbal behavior…

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Based on the official release at https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/cia-mkultra-collection/

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