Would you let someone get into your head?
It may seem like something out of science fiction, but in fact, brain zapping is already being used to treat patients, with some success.
However, if the idea of letting someone “scramble” your brain sounds scary, I thought so too when I nervously agreed to let them do it while making a television documentary.
I had parts of my brain deliberately turned off, an experience that was both fascinating and disturbing (and a real insight into what could happen if you had a stroke).
Brain zapping (or neuroelectrostimulation, to give it its proper name) involves sending electrical impulses to the brain to alter the brain’s electrical activity.
The effect depends on which area of the brain it targets.
I signed up for a form known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS.
TMS involves applying a device, which looks a bit like a table tennis bat, to different parts of the head. It creates highly focused magnetic pulses, which generate an electrical current that alters the activity of the parts of your brain closest to the device.
It has previously been shown to help with memory loss in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. According to research from Boston University published in the journal Nature Neuroscience in 2019, just 25 minutes of treatment was enough to significantly improve memory in older people, and the effect lasted up to 50 minutes.
The researchers said electrical stimulation (delivered through a tight-fitting cap covered in electrodes) helped return brain waves in older people to a youthful, coordinated pattern that promotes better recall.
While more research is needed into its use in dementia, TMS is already being used in the NHS to treat depression.
In 2015, the National Institute for Care Excellence approved a technique called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a way to treat major depression (it is believed to work by creating a “jamming” signal that blocks feelings of low mood ).
And now, a new study, published earlier this week by the University of Nottingham, showed that using MRI to guide treatment could relieve symptoms for up to six months (double the time shown in previous research).
The key was using the scans to identify the exact area of the brain that needs treatment.
A few years ago, when I was making a TV documentary about the brain, I went to see Joe Devlin, now a professor of cognitive neuroscience, at University College London (UCL), to find out what it was like to have TMS applied to my motor system. Cortex. This is the part of the brain that governs fine movements (the idea was to demonstrate the power of TMS in activities such as writing) and speech.
Joe would use a powerful magnetic field to temporarily alter specific areas of my brain.
If the UCL team hadn’t already done this dozens of times, I’m not sure I would have accepted this, and I admit I’m quite nervous (and a little anxious) at the thought of letting anyone mess with my brain.
Despite my fears about brain fog, when the device turned it on, it actually felt a little like someone hit my head with a stuffed toy.
Dr. Michael Mosley had parts of his brain deliberately disabled using neuroelectrostimulation, or brain zapping.
Using the TMS device, Joe first blocked my ability to move my fingers, which was very strange: I tried to write on a notepad, but my fingers just wouldn’t obey me, it was completely impossible to control them. As soon as I turned off the device, I was able to do it easily.
Similarly, I tried to touch my nose with my finger. How difficult could that be?
But when the machine was on, I was in danger of putting my eye out: I could move my hand but with no real control. I tried again: bam, my finger missed my nose and hit my cheek.
The device only worked on hands if it was applied precisely to the area of the brain that controls hand movement (one centimeter to the left or right) and there would be no effect. Basically, the intense magnetic field floods the neural pathways of the motor cortex, making me lose control. It was almost like a stroke, only temporary.
This was graphically demonstrated to me when the device was applied to the area of the brain that controls speech.
I started by trying to count to ten, but when the machine was on, the words just wouldn’t come out.
But like I said, the effect was only temporary and there were no side effects after my session. (When used in the dementia study, they reported mild short-term side effects, including headache and malaise; rare side effects of rTMS include fainting and seizures.)
So would I do it again, as therapy, not just out of curiosity? Maybe researchers think they could use it to combat addictions, and as someone with a serious problem with chocolate, I’d definitely be a willing guinea pig…
Additional reporting by Thea Jourdan.