On 27 Jun 2003, Paul C. Smith wrote: > Not an answer, but a related piece... In last Sunday's NYTimes > Magazine > there is a little article about a guy who claims to be able to make > people creative, temporarily, using magnets to turn off conceptual > parts of the brain. > > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/magazine/22SAVANT.html >
Thanks for the url to that interesting article, Paul. The description about "using magnets", although accurate, might suggest that this is some kind of quack apparatus. In fact, it's for real. What the magnetism does is induce an electric current to flow across the cortex, so it's really a way to electrically stimulate the brain without the need for surgery to implant electrodes. Alternatively, you could skip the magnetic induction and just apply an electric current to the scalp. But this is painful, while using magnetism is not. The induced current seems mostly to disrupt brain functioning (a kind of reversible lesion) but it still produces interesting effects, some of which may turn out to be clinically significant. In Canada, for example, TMS is approved for use as a treatment for depression. But mostly, it's a new toy for neuroscientists to play with, if they're lucky enough to have one. I think we discussed this some time ago. I recall I mentioned one of the more intriguing experiments using TMS, one which apparently showed that free will was an illusion. They shifted a subject's finger choice in making a response by turning on TMS. The subject, unaware of the stimulation, incorrectly thought he was making his own decisions. It's: Brasil-Neto, J. et al (1992). Focal transcranial magnetic stimulation and response bias in a forced-choice task. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 55, 964-6. Stephen ______________________________________________________________ Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips _________________________________________________________ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
