Difference between revisions of "Sodium Pentathol"
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| − | '''Sodium Pentathol''' is Abbott Laboratories brand name for ''sodium thiopental,'' a [[barbiturate]]. It is used in medicine as a fast-acting general anesthetic<ref>[http://health.howstuffworks.com/anesthesia4.htm How Anesthesia Works], Eugenie Heitmiller, MD, HowStuffWorks website</ref>. It is often used as part of the process of execution by lethal injection.<ref>[http://www.cya.ca.gov/ReportsResearch/lethalInjection.html Lethal Injection Procedure], California of Corrections and Rehabilitation]</ref> | + | '''Sodium Pentathol''' is Abbott Laboratories brand name for ''sodium thiopental,'' a [[barbiturate]]. In its typical form it is a yellowish-white hygroscopic powder having a garlic-like odor. It is soluble in water and alcohol. It is used in medicine as a fast-acting general anesthetic<ref>[http://health.howstuffworks.com/anesthesia4.htm How Anesthesia Works], Eugenie Heitmiller, MD, HowStuffWorks website</ref>. It is often used as part of the process of execution by [[lethal injection]].<ref>[http://www.cya.ca.gov/ReportsResearch/lethalInjection.html Lethal Injection Procedure], California of Corrections and Rehabilitation]</ref> |
==Use in interrogation== | ==Use in interrogation== | ||
| − | The drug makes the neural membrane more permeable to chloride ions, resulting in general inhibition, starting with the [[cortex]] and working down to the lower [[brain]] regions with increasing biological effect | + | The drug makes the neural membrane more permeable to chloride ions, resulting in general inhibition, starting with the [[cortex]] and working down to the lower [[brain]] regions with increasing biological effect. Because of its effects it is known as a ''truth serum'' and used in interrogation.<ref>[www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2006/Macgee/Web%20Project/truth_serums.htm]</ref> |
At an appropriate dosage, you get just enough neural inhibitory effect to create an alcohol-like disinhibition of normal behavioral restraints. At a higher dosage, but not high enough to cause [[unconsciousness]], you may | At an appropriate dosage, you get just enough neural inhibitory effect to create an alcohol-like disinhibition of normal behavioral restraints. At a higher dosage, but not high enough to cause [[unconsciousness]], you may | ||
Revision as of 23:46, April 14, 2007
Sodium Pentathol is Abbott Laboratories brand name for sodium thiopental, a barbiturate. In its typical form it is a yellowish-white hygroscopic powder having a garlic-like odor. It is soluble in water and alcohol. It is used in medicine as a fast-acting general anesthetic[1]. It is often used as part of the process of execution by lethal injection.[2]
Use in interrogation
The drug makes the neural membrane more permeable to chloride ions, resulting in general inhibition, starting with the cortex and working down to the lower brain regions with increasing biological effect. Because of its effects it is known as a truth serum and used in interrogation.[3]
At an appropriate dosage, you get just enough neural inhibitory effect to create an alcohol-like disinhibition of normal behavioral restraints. At a higher dosage, but not high enough to cause unconsciousness, you may create a stupor and inhibit independent thought and action to a greater extent. The result is that you become more suggestible and less willful. A context for either recalling memories or constructing new ones may then be created by an operator. The actual veracity of the testimony achieved in this manner will be impossible to determine from a single session alone. There is some overlap with the old practice of using ethyl ether to aid in obtaining a psychodynamic 'catharsis,' which may or may not relate to actual events in the patients personal history, and overlap with some aspects of the use of hypnosis for similar purposes.
Notes and references
- ↑ How Anesthesia Works, Eugenie Heitmiller, MD, HowStuffWorks website
- ↑ Lethal Injection Procedure, California of Corrections and Rehabilitation]
- ↑ [www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2006/Macgee/Web%20Project/truth_serums.htm]