Mind control

Mind control is any method of influencing the actions of another sentient being. It can range from absolute control, where the subject has no will of his or her own, to more subtle forms, such as suggestion. Some forms of mind control leave the victim aware that he behaved against his will, while others leave him believing that his actions were his own. Mind control can be performed psionically or mechanically. Some Federation species, notably Vulcans, are able to perform very limited forms of mind control, more akin to strong suggestions. Mechanical mind control is beyond the generally available technology of the 24th century (but see neural neutralizer for an example of a 23rd century approach).

Mind control is sometimes referred to as brainwashing, a term called inaccurate by Data in 2367. 

Examples

 * The neural neutralizer was a mechanism briefly employed at the Tantalus Penal Colony. It inhibited selected neural activity in a way that made the subject extremely suggestible.
 * The self-aware computer Landru exerted absolute control over the entire population of Beta III for about 6,000 years. Kirk and Spock destroyed the machine to save their ship, and this freed its enslaved population.
 * Spock successfully induced a guard on Eminiar VII to enter the cell where the landing party was imprisoned to facilitate an escape.   He repeated this feat on a Kelvan, and nearly injured himself in the process; the sophistication of the Kelvan mind temporarily incapacitated him.
 * The aliens Sylvia and Korob, encountered in 2267 on Pyris VII, employed a device called the transmuter to amplify their own will. Among other feats, this permitted them to enthrall visitors telepathically.  Subjects were aware of who they were and their surroundings, but were entirely unable to resist the aliens' will.
 * While restrained, Spock caused a native of Omega IV to operate his communicator, summoning help for the landing party.
 * Romulans working with Commander Sela used a mechanism that interoperated with Geordi La Forge's VISOR interface to brainwash him so he would obey the commands of a Klingon traitor.
 * In 2374, Chakotay was subject to a mind control technique by the Vori that would program him to act against their enemies, the Kradin, by convincing him that they were more malevolent and dangerous than they were.
 * In 2377, Bajoran Vedek Teero Anaydis used mind control in an attempt to incite a Maquis mutiny on the USS Voyager. He had implanted suppressed memory commands into Tuvok at a colony near the Badlands in 2370. The commands were triggered by chant that was subliminally hidden in a letter.