Brain imaging weirdness adds to Cuba “health attack” mystery

Enlarge / Picture of the US embassy in Havana, taken on September 29, 2017 after the United States announced it is withdrawing more than half its personnel in response to mysterious health attacks targeting its diplomatic staff. (credit: Getty | AFP)

Forty US diplomats who experienced bizarre sensory episodes and developed a constellation of neurological symptoms while stationed in Cuba have slight differences in their brain structures and connectivity compared with healthy controls, according to an analysis of advanced brain imaging published Tuesday in JAMA.

The imaging adds a fuzzy new clue to the mysterious episodes, which US officials have dubbed "health attacks." From the start, the phenomenon has evoked the idea of an international cloak-and-dagger operation involving clandestine weaponry that has eluded all scientific explanation and hatched countless conspiracy theories.

Beginning in late 2016, diplomats in Havana began reporting puzzling episodes of irritating directional sounds, vibrations, and pressure before falling ill with an array of symptoms. They experienced dizziness, nausea, headaches, balance problems, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), nosebleeds, difficulty concentrating and recalling words, hearing loss, and speech problems.

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