My medical terminology class is always interesting. I think it is a combination of my instructor and his gruff demeanor
(his last memorable quote to the class was, "It's easier to start an asshole and get nicer, than to start nice and become an asshole...) and the vast array of films and pictures we view which illustrate the various medical conditions and procedures we are learning about.
The film we watched in class was about a man who had Parkinson's disease. His hands and legs shook excessively with uncontrollable tremors. His last opportunity for some semblance of a normal life was an intricate and delicate brain surgery, during which he would be awake and required to talk and move. This type of neurosurgery is called sterotactic surgery, and basically involves the surgeon inserting a probe into the patient's brain through a hole in his skull. The goal is to reach a portion of the brain called the subthalamus, which houses most of the cells that lack the proper chemical to dissipate the muscle contractions and tremors. When this area is reached, the probe burns, or lesions, the brain tissue -killing it- and the tremors subside or ease up.
There are some images and pictures available to help guide the surgeon in the proper placement of the probe, but the primary method the surgeon used was "mapping" the brain using frequencies produced from the electrode. Where do these frequencies come from? That is the fascinating part- the electrodes pick up the electrical impulse that is created when the nerve cell fires a command either from the sensory cell to the brain, or from the brain back down to the muscle. It showed the ossicilations and waves from each impulse on a screen, as well as the audible "buzz" that the cells make when the impulse is picked up.
As the probe is inserted deeper in the brain, each layer of tissue has different cells for different functions, and each cell makes a different frequency and sound. It was amazing! The patient would move his fingers, and the pattern on the screen was an individual moment in time of his cells working to make that function happen, with its own sound and shape.
The surgeon could then find his way based on interpreting these patterns and sounds, and where they fit in for each tissue level. One surgeon interviewed said it was like overhearing various conversations on the subway, but being able to understand them. He also said it was sometimes spooky when they picked up radio waves on the electrodes and could hear music or broadcasts through the patient.
The surgery was successful and enabled the patient to have a considerable amount of improvement in his range of motion and freedom in his lifestyle.
But it got me thinking:
maybe some form of "mind reading" is possible-
If machines can pick up on our cells and how they "talk", why couldn't other humans who are exceptionally sensitive with their cells and how they "talk" and "listen" do the same thing?
Also, isn't it sad how cells, (the most basic building blocks of who we are) can "talk" and communicate-but human beings who are made of millions of these cells coming together to form spectacular body systems,( one of which is motor function) which enables us to process thoughts, move our jaw, articulate our tongues and vocal cords to produce words, can't talk to each other?
Maybe I should be a science fiction writer...
Thursday, March 02, 2006
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