Monday, November 16, 2009

What kinds of operations have used brain implants?

I recently heard a report on "Outlook" (British Radio Program) about a woman who had a disease called "dystopia" (I think) that was alleviated to a large degree by having electrical implants put into her brain. What other diseases have been treated this way and what others might be (are they researching others)? Is there any reason to believe depression or schizophrenia could be affected by electrical stimuli? In a parallel question, has anyone read The Terminal Man and was that based on anything real (electrical implants for epilepsy)?

What kinds of operations have used brain implants?
I don't know about the Parkinson's disease (may be true), but implants (some called "cerebral pacemakers") in the brain are used for disease that pertain to dysfunctions of electrical firing in specific parts of the brain. For example, someone with epilepsy is someone who suffers greatly from debilitating seizures. Electrodes placed in the corpus callosum or hypothalamus (two different areas that cause seizures) of the brain can regulate the 'misfires' that cause the seizures. Another example is tourette's. New technology has allowed doctors to place two separate electrodes in different areas of the basal ganglia (are of the brain believed to be behind tourette's) that calm the signals that cause the misguided signals behind the symptoms of tourette's, by, again regulating "misfires" accross this vital are of the brain.
Reply:I support "Mechanical_P" for his answer since patients with parkinsons have a neuralogical imbalance which offsets rapid signals to the motor nurons there is an implant in the brain which releaves the signals and there is much seen difference in the patient.





I'm only farmiliar with parkinsons
Reply:Mking of a robo cop.
Reply:I saw a report on a news chanel last night (cant remember which one) that stated doctors had implanted electrical stimuli into the brain of a patient who had Parkinsons and it completly offset the electrical imbalance. I have also heard of studies that involved implanting electrodes in the brains of patients with epilepsy.
Reply:a guy had a sort of "pacemaker" implanted b/c he had violent outbursts- it screwed up but it was fixed
Reply:epilepsy, alzheimers


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