Neural Inhibitor

From The StarCraft 2 Wiki

The Neural Inhibitor is a type of very small Neural implant used on Ghosts to keep them in order, and in some cases, to repress their psychic abilities to stop them from hurting themselves and others, intentionally or unintentionally. The implants are likely similar to Nanites, but much larger and more advanced. Also known as Neuro-adjusters.

Contents 1 Neural Inhibitor Implants 1.1 Aggression Inhibitors 1.2 Psychic Dampener 1.3 Neuro-adjuster 2 Shortcomings

[edit] Neural Inhibitor Implants

Regardless of what these procedures accomplish, their main purpose is to keep Ghosts in check. Normally, Ghosts have a great number of these implants in their brains. The procedure of implanting these inhibitors is very painful and potentially fatal. The operation is very similar to Neural Resocialization, only "much worse." The extraction of the neural implants can also be fatal.

It is unknown how these operations are performed, but it's probable that the would-be Ghost is sedated and that pain ensues after regaining consciousness. Another theory is that they perform these operations on conscious patients, if some neural activity is needed to place the implants. Regardless of the procedure, the pain is probably related to hormones, or rogue electric signals from the implants, as the brain itself has no pain receptors.

The implants used in Ghosts must be significantly more powerful than anything used on Neural Resoc'ed Marines, as they need to contain a much stronger psyche. The main aspects of Resoc is also to remove/suppress/change/overlay memories in addition to making them more susceptible to orders, so the implants would probably only work as a simple enhancer in this case.

The location of Neural Implants in Ghosts could be tracked by Confederate officers, and most likely by the equivalent officers of any Ghost Program, regardless of faction (the Terran Dominion, Kel-Morian Combine, UED and other factions with an economy strong enough to maintain a Ghost Program).

[edit] Aggression Inhibitors

The Aggression Inhibitor is a type of Neural Inhibitor with a specific function that will suppress aggression in Ghosts and prevent them from attacking superiors.

[edit] Psychic Dampener

The Psychic Dampener is a form of Neural Inhibitor that is specifically targeted at the psychic powers of Ghosts. These implants will help the Ghost keep her powers under control, and will also dampen the powers to some extent. If this is completely intentional or not is unknown.

[edit] Neuro-adjuster

It is unknown if Neuro-adjuster implants are the same as Neural Inhibitors, or an additional, stronger version, but they are used on Ghosts that have been disloyal to suppress and reshape their memories and make them more susceptible to orders, which is very similar to a Neural Inhibitor.

[edit] Shortcomings

These Neural Inhibitors come with a lot of shortcomings, such as the fact that the implants can be surgically removed, or in rare cases stop working. When Sarah Kerrian defected, the Confederacy started using memory-wipe techniques instead, which appear to be more reliable and effective. The use of implants has not stopped however, and Neural Inhibitors are still implanted into Ghosts trained after the Brood War.