ScienceInsider dares to contradict thousands of Alias fans with “facts” and “experimental proof” from a neuroscientist who explains why torture doesn’t work:
(Quoted from Trends in Cognitive Sciences):
Brain imaging in persons previously subjected to severe torture suggests that abnormal patterns of activation are present in the frontal and temporal lobes, leading to deficits in verbal memory for the recall of traumatic events. A recent meta-analysis of the relationship between pharmacologically-induced cortisol elevations (in the upper physiological range) concludes that it impairs memory retrieval in humans, as do psychosocial stress-induced cortisol elevations. On the other hand, mildly stressful events generally facilitate recall. The experience of capture, transport and subsequent challenging questioning would seem to be more than enough in making suspects reveal information.
The worse the torture, the harder it is to even remember the facts.