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June 22, 2003
Altered Intelligence
Now this is interesting. A researcher at the University of Sydney is conducting experiments that seem to show that "people undergoing transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, could suddenly exhibit savant intelligence -- those isolated pockets of geniuslike mental ability that most often appear in autistic people."
Hooked up to the machine, 40 percent of test subjects exhibited extraordinary, and newfound, mental skills. That Snyder was able to induce these remarkable feats in a controlled, repeatable experiment is more than just a great party trick; it's a breakthrough that may lead to a revolution in the way we understand the limits of our own intelligence -- and the functioning of the human brain in general.
Can I volunteer to become a test subject....say during my algebra test on Monday?
All silliness aside, this could be a big breakthrough in our understanding and treatment of autism, as well as certain mental illnesses like schizophrenia....and other unrelated uses.
Last year, the Brain Stimulation Laboratory at the Medical University of South Carolina received a $2 million government grant to develop a smaller TMS device that sleep-deprived soldiers could wear to keep them alert. ''It's not 'Star Trek' at all,'' says Ziad Nahas, the laboratory's medical director. ''We've done a lot of the science on reversing cognitive deficiencies in people with insomnia and sleep deficiencies. It works.'' If so, it could be a small leap to the day it boosts soldiers' cognitive functioning under normal circumstances.
Kinda scary if you start really thinking about potential uses in the wrong hands, actually....things Orwell could never have imagined. Talk about the potential for increasing the differences between the haves and have-nots....and for actual mind control.
Maybe I should spend today figuring out to which part of my head I should duct tape AA batteries for my test tomorrow?
Nah, I think I'll spend most of the day studying instead.
Posted by Rita at June 22, 2003 06:26 AM
Comments
They use TMS on some Parkinson patients
Posted by: Da Goddess at June 22, 2003 07:20 AM
With my luck, it would make me a chess master or enable me to learn a foreign language in a day, but I would forget how to dress myself.
Posted by: Jim - Parkway Rest Stop at June 22, 2003 07:37 PM