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The human brain is squishy; it’s wrinkled; it’s mysterious. It’s also more electrical than you may realize. All over your body, cells use electricity to communicate and to stimulate muscles, but the brain takes this to another level. If the brain was a battery, and you could tap all the electricity the neurons are generating, you’d have enough power to turn on a flashlight. Medical researchers are finding new ways to use the electrical properties of the brain to treat diseases and injuries. Electricity actually has a long history in medicine, dating back at least as far as the ancient Romans. They used a jolt of electricity, from an electrical ray, to treat gout. Electro-shock therapy got a bad name back in the 1960’s. But there's renewed interest in using electricity and high-powered magnets to treat brain diseases. One area where it has gained acceptance is Parkinson's Disease, and another is severe depression. This week, KPLU's Keith Seinfeld takes a close-up look at electricity in the brain.
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The
Electric Brain
 Dr. Peter Nora is opening up the skull of Parkinson's patient John S., during DBS surgery. |
Part one: Deep brain stimulation (DBS), where electrodes are permanently implanted in the brain to emit a constant dose of low voltage electricity. It helps make an over-active area of the brain quiet down. The technology is nicknamed a “pacemaker for the brain.” We follow a Seattle man before, during and after his surgery. Surgeons say the same technology holds promise for treating conditions as diverse as depression and obesity.
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 Dr. Peter Nora and nurse Peggy Shortt prepare to insert an electrode into surgery patient John S. |
Part
two: Deep brain stimulation, continued. John’s story continues
in the operating room, and after his surgery.
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 Reporter Keith Seinfeld tests how it feels to sit in the chair used for TMS at Harborview Medical Center. |
Part three: Magnetic stimulation (TMS), where pulses from a high-powered magnet create a tiny burst of electricity inside the brain – without any surgery. Currently, it’s being tested as an alternative to electroshock therapy, to treat major depression. We meet two patients who tell what a blessing it is to be free from their medications, and a Seattle researcher who is evaluating the new technology.
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 Morpheus is a knee-high robot in the laboratory of Rajesh Rao. Morhpeus takes orders via brain-waves from a human sitting nearby |
Part four: Brain-computer interface (BCI), where electrical wires connect the brain to outside devices, such as a computer or an artificial limb. These devices may usher in the era of bionics and science fiction. They're all years from being widely available to the public, but farther along than you might imagine. In Seattle, researchers are testing implants that detect electrical brain signals and transmit to an outside device. The technologies hold hope for paralytics and amputees, to allow communication or movement.
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