Electric shocks help brain recovery

[MrAmsterdam]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien ... 55549.html

Electric shocks to the brain can help stroke patients' recovery

Stroke patients with brain damage can recover more quickly with the help of small electric currents applied to the head from electrodes on the skull, a study has found.
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"The brain is far more dynamic than previously thought ... The connecting fibres of the brain change their structure with training," Professor Johansen-Berg said. "After stroke, there is widespread subtle damage to connecting fibres, far beyond the stroke itself. However, with repeated practice, patients can increase activity in brain areas that have been disconnected," she told the British Science Festival at Bradford University.
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The technique involves placing rubber pads on each side of the skull. Electric currents of around 1 to 2 milliamps are passed from one electrode to the other. Stroke damage usually affects only part of the brain, which means that other areas attempt to compensate by a "rebalancing" process. "This change in the balance of activity is most common in poorly recovered patients. It is possible that rebalancing the brain might provide a route to better recovery," Professor Johansen-Berg said.

[jjohnson]

So, is the headline correct, "...can help stroke patients' recovery", or Professor Johansen-Berg, "...it is possible that rebalancing the brain [via small electric "shocks'] might provide a route to better recovery" ?

This happens all the time with press release articles. The headline writer wants to keep it short and put as positive or audience-attracting a spin on the subject as possible. Reading the article often opens up the can of worms concerning doubts and possibilities, theoretical underpinning, lack of sufficient observational evidence, and cases which are anomalous or may not apply, but for today's reader, grabbing headlines is about all they do.

There are a few headlines in science that express a doubt or announce a new theory, but those are rare, because the audience would rather be entertained than forced to think about something outside their experience or comfort zone.

This article is actually interesting, but one awaits research news about just how the shocks contrinbute to brains and nerves' being able to "rebalance" and recover prior ability, as well as evidence of its having been accomplished successfully.

Jim

[MrAmsterdam]

Hello Mr Johnson,

This article is actually interesting, but one awaits research news about just how the shocks contribute to brains and nerves' being able to "rebalance" and recover prior ability, as well as evidence of its having been accomplished successfully.

Indeed the question is how these shocks would be helpful. The mechanisms behind such assumed remedies must be explained.

But what I see here with my unscientific amateur eyes is a change in the popular view of the human body. It is not only mechanical or chemical perspective that is being questioned, it seems the electromagnetic view on the world is gaining popularity.

The question on the background that has NOT been asked out loud by the modern scientific academics is the following one;

Why are the human brain waves (for example 7.8 Hz) so closely resembling the natural occurring electromagnetic field of the earth - the Schumann resonances ?

[Jarvamundo]

The question on the background that has NOT been asked out loud by the modern scientific academics is the following one;

Why are the human brain waves (for example 7.8 Hz) so closely resembling the natural occurring electromagnetic field of the earth - the Schumann resonances ?

It goes even further than that.... why are shamans, native indians in meditation able to rapidly "center" their brain waves with the frequencies of the Schumann resonances?

There was a medical electrical engineer (Robert "Bob" Beck), who performed experiments with MEG's on the brain waves of native americans and 'chiefs' from hawaian tribes who were able to achieve this synchronization much faster than the norm. I wish i had the reference, but it's worth digging around. To my knowledge this research was in partnership with a medical university... possibly hawaii. Dr Beck was the inventor of the xenon flash tube.

It all seems fairly natural to the EU cosmology, as we are essentially little antennas walking around on a condenser surface. The most efficient natural state of any self-organizing-antenna would naturally fall towards one harmonic of it's environment.

Audio Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wak6wNSdTw