El Iblis Shah on Thu, 30 May 96 19:36 MDT |
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nettime: Can you feel it? |
This quote from the New York Times, Tuesday, May 21, 1996, p. B5 was posted to alt.rec.brainwash via IAAP recently. I found this to be a fascinating news article. Check also <http://www.t0.or.at/msguide/cyberwar.htm> El Iblis Shah Subject: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation From: "Donald K. Routh" drouth@umiami.ir.miami.edu To: alt.rec.brainwash, sscpnet@bailey.psych.nwu.edu, spp@macserv.psy.miami.edu, psych-dd@listserv.nodak.edu, Pulsing Magnets Offer New Method of Mapping Brain The technique causes thumbs to twithc and emotions to surge. By Sandra Blakeslee A psychiatrist presses a small, hand-held device over a patient's skull. There is a clicking sound and the patient feels what has been described as a "clawlike" sensation or skin becoming "drawn up." Usually it is not uncomfortable. But bizarre experiences may follow. If the device--a powerful, fluctuating magnet--is placed on a spot over a person's left ear, experimenters say, his right thumb will begin to waggle. Move the magnet back an inch and he gets a vivid sensation of the thumb moving, but his eyes tell him that it remains still. When the magnet is placed at the back of his head, say on the left side, he will perceive a huge blind spot in his right eye. Researchers say the device also produces mood changes--several hours of sadness, or happiness, depending on whether it is placed over the right or left eyebrow. In other experiments, researchers say the magnet has temporarily relieved depression, reduced the jagged movements in people who have Parkinson's disease and eradicated phantom limb pain in amputees. Although it may sound like something advertised on late night television, the technique, called transcranial magnetic stimulation, or T.M.S., is being taken seriously by a small group of neurologists and psychiatrists around the world who are using it as a research tool. All the results are preliminary, and so far the technique has been used only on a very small number of patients with brain disorders, but it shows early promise in two areas. First, it can help map the normal brain. With a single pulse of the magnet, the magnetic stimulation produces functional brain "lesions," small regions of tissue that are temporarily paralyzed. Scientists can use these so-called lesions to locate many behaviors, feelings, sensations and mood centers. Second, the technique may also someday help treat certain brain disorders. Researchers using the technique say that with repeated pulses of energy, the magnet literally jump starts sluggish regions Continued on B8 of the brain, much the way electro-shock therapy does, restoring normal function for hours to weeks. Researchers stress, however, that T.M.S. is highly experimental and if used incorrectly can induce brain seizures in healthy people. The technique exploits the natural interplay between magnetism and electricity, said Dr. Mark George, an expert on brain imaging at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. For example, Dr. George said, if a steady electric current is run through a coil, it will generate a magnetic field, which can be very powerful. Such electromagnets are used to pick up entire automobiles in scrap-metal yards. When the elctric current is turned off, the car falls off the magnet. Similarly, if a coil of wire is moved through a magnetic field, it will generate a flow of electricity, Dr. George said. Such magnetos are used to generate currents for the ignition of internal combustion engines. Transcranial magnetic stimulation exploits the fact that neurons are essentially tiny electrical devices. When a nerve cell is activated, it passes a flow of electrons down its length. Upon reaching the nerve end, the electrons induce the release of chemicals that pass to neighboring nerve cells. Thus stimulated, those cells fire an electric current and the process continues, carrying coded messages throughout the brain.... -- * distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission * <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, * collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets * more info: majordomo@is.in-berlin.de and "info nettime" in the msg body * URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: nettime-owner@is.in-berlin.de