The retired chair of Oregon Health Science University’s psychology department played a role in helping the CIA craft its “enhanced interrogation” program after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Oregonian reported.

Joseph Matarazzo “exhorted his fellow psychologists to use their expertise to help the U.S. government force information out of detainees,” reporter Jeff Manning wrote, citing a new reported commissioned by the American Psychological Association.

Manning said Matarazzo, who is 89, couldn’t be reached for comment Saturday. He had told the Oregonian last December he played no rule in developing the CIA’s interrogation program. A CIA spokesman also said he wasn’t involved.

The report released Friday gave a different picture, Manning reported. For example, Matarazzo concluded sleep deprivation didn’t constitute torture.

He served as an OHSU professor from 1957 to 1996 and is currently emeritus in behavioral neuroscience.

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