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Banjo Used In Brain Surgery
Ponca City, We love you writes "Legendary bluegrass musician Eddie Adcock has undergone brain surgery to treat a hand tremor, playing his banjo throughout to test the success of the procedure. Adcock suffers from essential tremor, a condition where there is a continuing deterioration in areas of the brain that control movement, causing a tremor that usually appears when the person tries to act or move. Deep brain stimulation can be used to treat the movement difficulties of both Parkinson's and essential tremor by sinking an electrode into the thalamus, a deep brain area that is part of the motor loop — a circuit that helps coordinate movement. Surgeons placed electrodes in Adcock's brain and fitted a pacemaker in his chest, which delivers a small current that shuts down the region of his brain causing the tremors. The most sensible thing to do was to tweak the system while Adcock was playing the banjo to optimize the effect for the thing that's most important to him."
And if you were a fan of that musician searching for stories about him, what different tag would you try?
...for this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyKvD-4IxOY
(Now imagine the brain surgeon trying to work with that going on...)
Oliver Sacks has anecdotes in his book Musicophilia about patients that have lost all interest in music, or even consider it irksome noise. Things could have been worse after brain surgery than just losing the ability to play the banjo. It's crazy to think how malleable our interest in or capability for music could be.
The mans name is Adcock.
I was told that to really appreciate music, you have to get inside the head of the musician. This wins...
Yes, they're that immature.
"It's not Lupus, now go fry his brain."
Did anyone else find the title more interesting without reading the summary?
to stay conscious while his head was cracked open. :-)
Either that, or a lot of nitrous oxide...
...can now breathe a sigh of relief.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
...this means when i have the surgery i will be enjoying some self loving, in the form of hand pleasure. "The most sensible thing to do was to tweak the system while Adcock was playing the banjo to optimize the effect for the thing that's most important to him.""
the bariatric surgery retractor and the spinal pedicle screw have successfully been used to perform "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" by the Soggy Bottom Boys
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Actually this isn't that unusual. In nerosurguries where the goal is not to correct some gross defect (e.g. cancer, stroke, railroad spike in a frontal lobe) the subject is often kept awake while the surgeon uses a probe to see if they can stimulate the neurological event that they're trying to surpress. I've seen it mostly with things like epilepsy, but I've been following the deep brain stim research, and it seems completely logical that they'd use the same methodology for that procedure.
That being said, watching a video (oh yes, there are videos) of someone with a big chunk out of the top of their head chattering away while a bunch of surgeons stand around behind them, poking at their brain...Lot of times the stimulation will create neurological artifacts...Memories, smells, lights...It's truly bizarre to watch. Not for the weak of stomach. //Former cognitive science major. Didn't much care for neuroanatomy.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
Moot point; I would not be looking for musician stories on a mostly-science/technology site.
Sure thing. Here's your money back, asswipe.
off a skyscraper, which one hits the ground first?
A. Who cares?
Disclaimer: It's All Been Said Before.
Q: What's the difference between a banjo and a trampoline?
A: People take off their shoes before jumping on a trampoline.
Q: Ever hear someone say, "Hey, there's that mansion where that famous banjo player lives?"
A: No, and you never will
Actually, the electrodes are placed into the Subthalamic Nucleus (STN), not the thalamus itself which would probably block movement altogether. The STN is thought to play a role in delaying motor activity during high conflict win/win situations (e.g. deciding to eat pizza or pasta if you really like both) which is overactive in patients with Parkinson's disease. Thus, inactivating the STN through electric stimulation increases movement capabilities. However, this comes at the cost of making premature decisions in those high conflict situations. Ref.: Frank, 2006.
There's gotta be a Steve Martin joke in here somewhere.
Table-ized A.I.
They could insert an electrode to stop the part of her brain that makes her talk. She'd definitely be talking through the entire procedure, so they'd have incentive to get it done right quick.
I am currently trolling on slashdot to test the success of my brain surgery. So far everything is just fi ~2 ,'`~ s asb a77777777777
Table-ized A.I.
I find this both increible and humbling at the same time... incredible because of the patient's bravery and the surgeons ability to get in there and treat his condition. But humbling because it seems like a car engineer repeatedly reving an engine when trying to work out where some squeek or somesuch is coming from. Perhaps one day we'll have scanners that can analyse brain function and guide tiny little robots to make repairs - rather than cut the top of someone's head off while they play the bango.
Either the name of the next rock band or a new video game... honestly, I'm hoping for the video game.
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
... if this is a pretty blonde girl from Minnesota or Wisconsin doing this on me. Sign me up.
- Arwen, I'm your father, Agent Smith.
- Well, you're just Smith, but my father is Aerosmith!
El Kabong gets the first credited use of a banjo in brain surgical procedures.
I just hope no one from Slashdot forum has to undergo such a procedure as Adcock did. They might allow you to play with your banjo in the operating room but with their hobbies tending towards masturbation and all... Well you get the idea..
-*ZIP ZIP ZAP!*- "Giggidy Giggidy! Right there doc! Hold whatcha got!"
The title should read "Bango used DURING surgery" not "Bango used IN surgery"
Dueling Brain-Stems??? Gotta love it! Anyone for "Devil Went Down to Thalamus"? Ok, I'll stop here.
Yeah, because brain surgery isn't something nerds would be into at all, now is it?
:)
You'll have to excuse the rest of the readers for not listening to the same radio stations that you do.
an accordion player. Else there might've been an "accident".
Best Slashdot Co
... now the RIAA will have operatives dressed as nursing staff to slap cease and desist orders on any brain surgeon who tries to replicate this.
by health insurance companies. My father needs Deep Brain Stimulation for his Parkinson's. He's talked to a surgeon at UW-Madison who specializes in it and says he can get ~85% of his mobility back.
Problem is, my dad doesn't have $75,000 laying around to get it done. My mother is considering selling the house....
Now you honestly tell me that we don't need socialized health care when they're paying $1800 a month in insurance with ridiculously high co-pays and some of their meds aren't covered at all. This is sick. My father's retirement is being spent keeping him alive and functioning for a measly 10 more years (he was diagnosed at 47!).
This reads like an episode of House!
The most sensible thing to do was to tweak the system while Adcock was playing the banjo to optimize the effect for the thing that's most important to him.
HA! Yeah, until he discovers his penis no longer works!
I guess in this case, the banjo tuned him.
Not if he doesn't know what he's missing.
Waiting for ad.doubleclick.net...
But I find meaningful details interesting, rather than stupid random crap. YMMV.
Jackhammer. Now that's news.
Or how about: "Good thing he doesn't play the tuba".
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
If anyone is wondering about the type of surgery being performed, here is a link describing it: http://mdc.mbi.ufl.edu/candidate/candidate-whatisdbs.htm
With Deep Brain Stimulation, the patient is often awake for as much of the surgery as possible. The surgeries usually can be done in a morning or an afternoon.
Here is a video of a DBS surgery: http://www.or-live.com/vanderbilt/2319/
The banjo player must not die!
Yes, they're that immature.
Listen buddy, your low UID doesn't mean you're not one of us!
Take that noobs!
"Legendary Blue Grass musician Eddie Adcock has undergone brain surgery to treat a hand tremor, playing his banjo throughout to test the success of the procedure. Adcock suffers from essential tremor, a condition where there is a continuing deterioration in areas of the brain that control movement causing a tremor that usually appears when the person tries to act or move. Deep brain stimulation can be used to treat the movement difficulties of both Parkinson's and essential tremor by sinking an electrode into the thalamus, a deep brain area that is part of the motor loop a circuit that helps coordinate movement. Surgeons placed electrodes in Adcock's brain and fitted a pacemaker in his chest, which delivers a small current that shuts down the region of his brain causing the tremors. The most sensible thing to do was to tweak the system while Adcock was playing the banjo to optimize the effect for the thing that's most important to him."
Yikes!
The day Eddie Adcock was mentioned on /. - great musician though!
-Frank
ried that the Beverly Hillbilies were entering the surgical suites with cutting-edge (or, bleeding edge) music...
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Adcock: Can I play the banjo anymore?
Dr. Zaius: Of course you can.
Adcock: Well I couldn't before!
...welcome our 70 yr old, cyborg banjo playing overlords!
May Eddie keep pickin' and grinning for many good years to come.
...for a #5 scalpel godamnit!
Will someone PLEASE fire that nurse!
This is perfekt opportunity for "In Sowjet Russia..." joke!
Ahh - My eye!
The doctor said I'm not supposed to get Slashdot in it!
and he wants to know if he'll be able to play the banjo if the surgery is a success. The doctor reassures him that he will. The guy is amazed and says "that's incredible! I never could figure it out before."
Work Safe Porn
Wouldn't having a hand tremor be considered a bonus in that situation?
"That being said, watching a video (oh yes, there are videos) of someone with a big chunk out of the top of their head chattering away while a bunch of surgeons stand around behind them, poking at their brain...Lot of times the stimulation will create neurological artifacts...Memories, smells, lights...It's truly bizarre to watch. Not for the weak of stomach. //Former cognitive science major. Didn't much care for neuroanatomy."
But it would have been more interesting if they had been poking this brain.
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
Among the search for penisface on Google, there is Elmo...
When you think about it, the doctors actually created a type of banjo-playing cyborg out of Eddie.
Now that's definitely news for nerds, eh?
I wonder if Eddie has the kind of sense of humor to make Borg jokes out of it? (Resistance to banjo music is futile...)
Anyone else picturing the guy playing this? Mind you, it probably wouldn't sound as sinister on the banjo.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
From my own brief foray into banjo picking, it sounds like the patient is playing a song called -- I am not making this up -- "Cripple Creek."
...on whose shoulders everyone else is standing. SDs readership has never heard of him, but he's a pioneer and still a great player. A nice guy too, and a good teacher. He did a terrific banjo workshop at my school when I was an undergrad, and kept showing us licks and cracking us up with stories, for hours past the scheduled time.
Dueling Banjos, we have Dueling Hemispheres.
--ThoraX695
Once again Michael Crichton paves the way for neuroscience. Cf. The Terminal Man, 1972. They planted electrodes in his brain to keep him from having seizures, blacking out, and beating people up. Then he went into a feedback loop, tipped over and started beating people up again. And I'm wondering, why doesn't the army do that? Seems it would help with the killin', pure and simple.
when he stops playing altogether!
When he was re-installing Spock's brain.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spock%E2%80%99s_Brain
McCoy then tries the Teacher on and discovers how to perform a "reverse brain transplant" on Spock. McCoy conducts the surgery and nearly manages to do so within the three-hour time limit that the implanted knowledge lasts. Mr. Spock provides some assistance himself after McCoy reestablishes his capacity to speak verbally.
You kids today don't know how good you have it with your "plots" and your "effects."
buh buh buh buh buh buh buh buh ummm maow maow buh buh ummm maow moaw
He could have played "spoons"...
I have a friend who constantly gets those mixed up... "it's not brain science" she says, or "it's not rocket surgery."
But if you're repairing a spacecraft, is that "brain surgery" or "rocket science"?
I was surprised to read that it was an actual banjo. This being slashdot I figured Banjo was some Linux derivative.
Could it have been (from www.musicroom.com): Cuckoo's Nest, Dark Hollow, Farewell Blues? Or maybe some classics like Oh! Susanna or Swing Low, Sweet Chariot? Or perhaps, a classical selection like Beethoven Mandolin Sonata In C Major? Or did he just punt and play Deliverance?
I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
I think it's great and all, that they can help the guy. But doesn't this seem a bit.... Low Tech? Sure, it's brain surgery, and it takes "mad skillz" to do that properly, but think about it.
If I may be so bold as to make a car analogy -
It's like the mechanic taking the hood off the car, strapping himself to the engine, telling you to drive down the road, and banging on the engine in different spots and having you yell when the funny noise stops.
I sincerely hope that some day we truly understand the brain more than just Zap-it-until-it-acts-right. Seriously.
My father-in-law had electroshock therapy years ago to treat depression. He wrote a note to himself so that when he woke up he would know his name, where he was, and why he was there. Come on, man, that ain't right.
Flappinbooger isn't my real name
How many of you when you read the title had "Dueling Banjo's" the theme from Deliverance in your head? How many more of the did what I did and immediately had an image of GW pop into your head?
I'm sorry, I'm to tired to be witty at the moment so this message will have to do.
If I have to have a procedure, better it be Adcock than Subtractcock!
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
Damn kids... :p
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Or how about: "Good thing he doesn't play the tuba".
s/tuba/pipe organ/
The most sensible thing to do was to tweak the system while Adcock was playing the banjo to optimize the effect for the thing that's most important to him.
So . . . they calibrated his brain?
Where can I go to get a brain tuning optimized for programming computers and playing games? I see huge potential in this. Scary potential, true, but huge all the same.
A couple generations of this and "specialist" and "idiot savant" will be synonyms :-)
sigs are hazardous to your health
I had heard they were bringing back the Beverly Hillbillies. I can now rest assured that the soundtrack will be authentic.
Sometimes I wonder how many of the low UIDs are just scripts that search for conversations relating to UID number!
I'm calling prior art on this one. Marilyn Manson used a guitar in brain surgery on Garth Brooks in Celebrity Deathmatch Season 1. Many saw it as a fantastic success, but Hanson disagreed...
...has been used in brain surgery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLCL
-=Maggie Leber=-
I now have precedence for bringing my banjo to my next colonoscopy...
Impetuous! Homeric!
Perhaps I have been replaced by a small shell script... ;)
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
it's 'for all intents and purposes', not 'for all intensive purposes'. 'whom' is a word, but it's objective, meaning it's a noun that acts as the recipient of an action or an object of a preposition. the 'who' in 'who cares' is subjective, as it is the subject of the sentence or action in particular. /grammar lesson
Yeah, that would be just like you, Bill. Replacing yourself with a shell script. I'll probably do the same when the time comes.
I know tobacco is bad for you, so I smoke weed with crack.