More Science Fiction Tech Becomes Real

[selenite0]

A direct brain treatment is looking effective for severe pain, Parkinson's, depression, and OCD.

The treatment is known as deep-brain stimulation, which involves placing implantable electrodes into specific parts of the brain that are functioning abnormally. The electrodes emit pulses of electrical stimulation to block the abnormal activities in the brain, which cause symptoms like pain, movement problems, obsessions and anxieties associated with psychiatric disorders.

I hope everyone working on this has read Crichton's The Terminal Man. He shows that same tech being used to treat a serial killer, writing in 1972. It goes badly because the researchers, while trying to distract him from his psychotic impulses, wind up providing positive feedback for them. Oops. A cautionary tale for brain docs.

There's clearly much more research needed before this becomes a practical treatment. The study they hung the news article on reported improvement in the depression of "four of six" patients. So they're nowhere near being statistically signficant results. But if we're getting a good grasp of the mechanics of the brain we'll be in a position to make huge gains down the line.

Comments

[aeddie.livejournal.com]

Don't forget all they cyber-punk novels where direct brain implants had skill and personality modifcation sockets or direct control of vehicles.

[selenite.livejournal.com]

Well, the first of those was Neuromancer in 1984. There was a short story called "Cyberpunk" in 1983 but he just had a laptop, no implants. So Crichton had a good head start.

[aeddie.livejournal.com]

I wasn't talking about timing just some of the consequences.

See also: Robinson, Spider: MindKiller.

[tmc4242.livejournal.com]

And of course if they get the electrodes worked out so they don't cause infections or other direct medical problems, we'll no doubt see the wirehead problem from Niven's "Known Space" books crop up.

Instant really really happy and I just don't care is a very appealing concept to some. Probably with disastrous consequences for some too.

That's in Ringworld, published in 1970.