Medicine & Health
neurophilosophy | August 2, 2007
Researchers report in today's issue of Nature that they have improved brain function in a minimally conscious patient by implanting electrodes into his brain.
Schiff et al used deep brain stimulation (DBS), an experimental surgical technique that has previously been used to treat Parkinson's Disease and depression, to increase the level of arousal and motor control in the patient, who had been in a minimally conscious state for more than 6 years.
Neurologists define disorders of consciousness according to specific criteria based on behavioural responses. According to these criteria…
neurophilosophy | July 29, 2007
This artificial big toe, which was found on the foot of an ancient Egyptian mummy, has been dated to 1069- 664 BCE, and is on display at the Cairo Museum in Egypt.
Researchers from Manchester University's KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology have made a replica of the prosthesis to determine whether or not it was of any practical use.
They are seeking volunteers who have had their right toe amputated, in order to test their replica.
"If we can prove it was functional then we will have pushed back prosthetic medicine by as much as 700 years," said lead researcher Jacky Finch.…
neurophilosophy | July 28, 2007Earlier this week, I posted an email I received about a nutritional supplement called EM Power Plus. The makers of this product, a Canadian company called TrueHope, claim that it can alleviate the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
In the comments to that post, PalMD, author of the WhiteCoatUnderground blog, is having what appears to be an on-going debate with Peter Helgason, the quack who emailed me.
Update: PalMD has written about the miracle cure.
neurophilosophy | July 28, 2007
My recent post on prefrontal lobotomy has been the most popular thing on this blog so far, and the comments on it are worth reading.
While searching for more information about lobotomies and the neuroleptic drugs that replaced them, I came across this fantastic webpage at NobelPrize.org, which contains more information about Egas Moniz, the Portugese surgeon who first performed the procedure.
That's where I found this diagram of the instrument designed by Moniz for the prefrontal leucotomies he performed with his colleague. From the diagram, one can see how the instrument (called a…
neurophilosophy | July 25, 2007I received this email yesterday:
Hello,
I just read your post [on augmented cognition] and found it intriguing. I have been experimenting with a nutritional supplement for the past several years which was designed to treat bi-polar disorder (and it works amazing well for that purpose according to all the researchers who have studied it) and have found my capacity to hold way more information (and not go crazy) and maintain my calmness under pressure is greatly expanded.
Some of the rat research neuro-anatomist guys have regrown frontal cortexes in lobotomized rats fed the product and…
neurophilosophy | July 24, 2007
LOBOTOMY (from the Greek lobos, meaning lobes of the brain, and tomos, meaning cut) is a psychosurgical procedure in which the connections the prefrontal cortex and underlying structures are severed, or the frontal cortical tissue is destroyed, the theory being that this leads to the uncoupling of the brain's emotional centres and the seat of intellect (in the subcortical structures and the frontal cortex, respectively).
The lobotomy was first performed on humans in the 1890s. About half a century later, it was being touted by some as a miracle cure for mental illness, and its use became…
neurophilosophy | July 20, 2007
That the removal of an entire hemisphere of the brain can be performed with little or no noticable changes in behaviour is a demonstration of the remarkable adaptability of the human brain.
This procedure, known as a hemispherectomy, is a drastic measure taken to treat severe and intractable epilepsy.
If you think it incredible that someone with only half a brain can function normally, then you won't believe this story from Yahoo News:
A man with an unusually tiny brain managed to live an entirely normal life despite his condition, caused by a fluid buildup in his skull, French…
neurophilosophy | July 14, 2007
This mechanical artificial hand, with fingers that could be moved individually by means of tiny internal cogs and levers, was designed and made almost 500 years ago by Ambroise Pare.
Pare (1517-1590) began working as a battefield surgeon in 1536. When treating gunshot wounds on the battlefield, he often amputated limbs.
Pare treated many amputees during his career. He developed safe and effective methods for amputation, and closely followed the progress of all his patients. He therefore recorded many first-hand accounts of phantom limb syndrome, and, in 1551, provided the first medical…