Nick
23-06-2006, 03:23 AM
Yesterday's Globe & Mail, a national newspaper, contained an article on motor cortex stimulation for chronic pain:
"An electrode is surgically implanted on the dura...A thin wire, running under the skin, connect sthe electrode to a battery-powered 'neurostimulator' implanted near the collarbone.
The electrode emits an electrical signal which passes through the dura to the motor cortex, the region of the brain governing movement and sensations. The stimulation of the motor cortex also seems to have an effect on deeper areas of the brain. For reasons which are not fully understood, the electrical activity seems to dampen the sensation of pain."
I found the stimulation of the motor cortex especially interesting. A consummatory act in the absence of movement, perhaps?
Nick
"An electrode is surgically implanted on the dura...A thin wire, running under the skin, connect sthe electrode to a battery-powered 'neurostimulator' implanted near the collarbone.
The electrode emits an electrical signal which passes through the dura to the motor cortex, the region of the brain governing movement and sensations. The stimulation of the motor cortex also seems to have an effect on deeper areas of the brain. For reasons which are not fully understood, the electrical activity seems to dampen the sensation of pain."
I found the stimulation of the motor cortex especially interesting. A consummatory act in the absence of movement, perhaps?
Nick