WASHINGTON (AP) _ A new scientific paper asserts that the CIA's harsh interrogation program likely damaged the brain and memory functions of terrorist suspects, diminishing their ability to provide the detailed information the U.S spy agency sought.
The paper, published Monday in the scientific journal "Trends in Cognitive Science: Science and Society," says the harsh techniques used by the CIA under the Bush administration were biologically counterproductive to eliciting quality information.
The report says extreme stress, the kind caused by the extended use of waterboarding -- a form of simulated drowning used on three CIA prisoners -- can also cause suspects to make up and believe false memories, a phenomena known as confabulation.
