The Magnetic Way To Painless Brain Stimulation

EE 26 June 1987 THE MAGNETIC WAY TO PAINLESS BRAIN STIMULATION by Anthony T Barker, BEng PhD CEng MIEE (Department of Medical Physics Er Clinical Engineering • Royal Hallamshire Hospital • Sheffield) Ever since the work of Galvani and Volta in the 1790s it has been known that nerves and muscles can be stimulated by electric currents. Indeed, the whole neuromuscular system of the body is an intricate elec- trical signalling network. Sensory nerves transmit im- pulses from the extremities of the body to the brain and cen- tral nervous system to pass on information such as tempera- ture, force, pressure, texture and vibration. Motor nerves transmit signals in the opposite direction, from the brain to the muscles, to control bodily movement. Electrical stimulation is a widespread and standard clinical tool for the investigation of disorders of the nervous system. Perhaps its most com- mon application is to measure the speed at which signals travel along nerves. If a nerve is stimu...