Mind Control Through Neuromarketing: Where Neuroscience and Mass-Consumerism Meet

By M.J. Higby

Guest writer for Wake Up World

Ampulex compressa, also known as the jewel wasp because of its bright coloration, is a gifted neurosurgeon. To achieve its end means of reproduction, the jewel wasp employs, or better yet, enslaves the American cockroach. The way the wasp achieves this would be considered magic, if it weren’t engineered in nature: The wasp begins by paralyzing the cockroach by stinging it in the abdomen, much like an anesthesiologist puts a patient under before surgery. Once paralyzed, the wasp then inserts its stinger, this time into the roach’s brain, moves it around until it finds the right spot, and, once found, injects its venom. Shortly after, once the paralysis has worn off, the roach is able to resume its normal function. The difference, however, is that the roach now follows the orders given to it by the wasp, as if under hypnosis. The wasp then twists off both of the roach’s antennae, which the roach doesn’t resist, to ensure that its slave will not go anywhere. The wasp then searches for a burrow, where she’ll lay an egg. She then goes back to retrieve the roach, grabs it by the stump of one of the antennae, and walks it to the burrow, much like a dog on a leash. With the roach and egg in the burrow, the wasp uses twigs and debris to close up any potential exit. Once hatched, the wasp’s larvae feed on the roach, eventually devouring it entirely, and once mature, the offspring leave the burrow to repeat the cycle.

Analyzing the wasp’s venom, researchers in Israel have discovered that one of the main ingredients is dopamine. It’s been theorized by these researchers that this injection of dopamine inhibits rational decision-making in the roach, most notably its willingness to escape. Essentially, the roach has been robbed of free-will.

Dopamine, known as the reward chemical, is most commonly released in response to something pleasurable. This can be something as simple as getting the grande cappuccino on the way home that we were looking forward to since lunch or something as complex as finally reaching the long-term goal that we set out to accomplish many years prior. Cocaine works by inhibiting the re-uptake of dopamine, thereby increasing the amount present in the synaptic cleft, leaving the user with a feeling of euphoria. Quite possibly, like the cocaine addict, the roach may understand that being a slave to the wasp is bad, but feeling euphoric, it ignores this reality. Without the use of illicit drugs, dopamine is released in response to two things: expectation of something pleasurable and the realization of obtaining something pleasurable. For example, the thought of pasta with lots of garlic, for me, triggers its release, while going to the local Italian restaurant and eating some will further trigger this. This is an extremely important point to remember, as you’ll see later on. The release of this neurochemical is the sole purpose of mass-marketing.

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