Animals with implanted electrodes in their brainshave been made to perform a variety of responseswith predictable reliability as if they wereelectronic toys under human control. - Dr José M. R Delgado Yale University School of Medicine The once-human being thus controlled would be thecheapest of machines to create and operate. - Curtiss R. Schafer Electrical Engineer In the field of brain physiology, I think it [ESB] is themost exiting single discovery....I am almost frightenedto say what I think might come of this.... - Dr Robert H. Felix Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health Man is possessed by an almost overwhelming desire - some insist thatit is actually an instinct - to explore, to pit himself against the unknown... - - - p 146: - - - Where are the new frontiers? The oceans? - - - And so, perhaps, space? - - - Are there no other possibillities? Yes - one. And it could prove to bethe most significant wilderness of all, a frontier which, if 'conquered', couldobviate the 'need' for all other frontiers. This is the frontier calledthe 'mind'; some of the pioneering excursions into this (until recently) almostentirely uncharted world are described in this and the subsequent chapter. Exploratory progress in this realm has been such to date that Dr Carl R.Rogers, professor of psychology at the university of Wisconsin, has been movedto state that 'we have in the making ... a science of enormous potentialimportance, an instrumentality whose social power will make atomic energy seemfeeble by comparison'. Dr B. F. Skinner takes a similar view: 'Science,' hesays, 'is steadily increasing our power to influence, change, mould - in a word,control - human behaviour.' So does Dr Robert S. Morison of theRockefeller Foundation: 'Knowledge of human behaviour,' he observes, 'isbecoming organised and accumulative ... It is becoming scientific....It is notto early to prepare ourselves for the day when there will be a behaviouralscience which will make it possible the control of human behaviour with a highdegree of precision.' That day, in fact, appears to be dawning. What man will make of it remains tobe seen. This frontier, more than any other, has a potential for exploitation bythe self-serving and the shortsighted. If wisely p 147:managed, however, it can provide the greatest return of all, something thatis often yearned for but seldom attained: peace of mind, possibly even mindleached of its destructive urges. Electronic Stimulation of the BrainThought the 'battle for men's minds' is being waged on several fronts,attention here is focused on the approach that promises the most dramaticresults: electronic stimulation of the brain. ESB, as it is called, provides ameans of 'mapping' the mind, of locating within the brain the specific sites atwhich various categories of emotion, feeling, action and thought originate. Morethan this, ESB provides a means of exerting some control over thosefeelings and actions. It can even help reactivate parts of the brain that haveceased functioning because of disease or trauma, induce immense pleasure,override 'intractable' pain and, for a finite period, enable one to releiveone's past, even the most remote, 'unremembered' past. Recent rapid development in ESB technique follows-upon what was rather a slowstart. Direct electrical stimulation of the brain, in fact, dates back nearlytwo centuries to the experiments of Volta, Galvani, du Bois-Reymond and others,who discovered that the brain is more susceptible to electronics than to obscurechemical forces ('animal spirits', they were called) that were in vogue up tothat time. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, battlefield brain surgeonsused crude electronic probes that would curl the hair of today's neurologists inan attempt to locate damaged brain tissue. They would simply stick wires intothe brain, apply the electrical voltage and wait for some response, a twitchhere, a kick there, an erection, excessive salivation, etc.; if noresponse was forthcoming, the surgeon would assume brain damage in the areaunder stimulation. Then he would generally take scalpel in hand and excise theaffected tissue - usually to rather horrible effect. This medical 'technology' lay mercifully dormant for decades after the war -until Dr Walter R. Hess, a brilliant Swiss neuro-physiologist, devised themodern technique of electrode implantation in 1932, demonstrating in the processthat nearly all of man's functions and emotions can be influenced by electricalstimulation of specific cerebral areas. 'For the first time,' observes Dr JoséM. R. Delgado, one of the foremost practioners of ESB research, 'it was revealedthat psychological' p 148:manifestations like rage do not depend exclusively on sensory inputs andphysiological stimulati, but can be induced by electrical currents applieddirectly to the brain. Although these findings did not produce a significantimpact on philosophical thinking, in retrospect they may be considered asimportant as the nineteenth century demonstration that the contraction of a frogmuscle did not depend on circulating spirits and could be controlled by physicalinstrumentation.' Epoch-making as Hess' work was, it wasn't until nearly twenty years laterthat he received the Nobel Prize for his discoveries. And it is only now thatESB is coming into its own as a routine procedure in animal studies, on a muchsmaller scale as yet, as a clinical tool for treatment of human disorders. As aresearch tool alone, it is invaluable, for it makes possible, for the firsttime, physiological exploration of the conscious mind. Presenting the annual James Arthur lecture on 'The Evolution of the HumanBrain' in 1965, Dr Delgado, a professor of physiology at the Yale UniversitySchool of Medicine, cautioned that ESB is not a panacea for all of man's woes,'but I do beleive', he declared, 'that an understanding of the biological basesof social and antisocial behaviour and of mental activities, which for the firsttime in history can now be explored in the conscious brain, may be of decisiveimportance in the search for intelligent solutions to some of our presentanxieties, frustrations and conflicts. Also, it is essential to introduce abalance into the future development of the human brain, and I think that we nowhave the means to investigate and influence our own intellect.' Wiring the BrainTo understand fully the impact ESB may have in the very near future, it isimportant first to understand something of the actual technique of implantingelectrodes in the brain. Thousands of laboratory animals, including cats, rats,dogs, dolphins, bulls and even crickets, have been wired, some with more thanone hundred electrodes. Dozens of humans, most of them suffering from seriousdiseases or mental disorders, have been similarly wired - some with scores ofelectrodes and for periods in excess of a year. To date, electrodes have beenleft intact in lab animals for more tahn five years without any visible illeffects. The procedure for implanting electrodes in humans (basically the same as foranimals) goes like this: air or radiopaque material is p 149:injected into the intracerebral spaces inside the skull so that the variousparts of the brain can be visualised by means of X-rays. A metallic skullcap -called a stereotaxic machine - is attached to the head with three or four littlespikes that penetrate the scalp. Then X-rays are taken from various angles. ESBexperiments during recent years have provided increasingly detailed maps of thebrain, thus making it possible to pinpoint the exact areas they wish tostimulate. They make geometrical calculations, using the X-rays and thereference-point grids on the stereotaxic apparatus, to get three-dimensional co-ordinates for positioning of electrodes. When the desired target is fixed, the subject is further anaesthetised andsmall burr holes are drilled into his skull at the appropriate points.Micromanipulators on the stereotaxic machine are used to guide the hair-likestainless steel electrodes through the holes, sinking them to the desired depthin the brain. Some of these electrodes are only a millionth of an inch indiameter - small enough to be placed inside an individual nerve cell.Even the larger electrodes, however, leave the brain function unimpaired and areentirely painless because the brain itself has no sense of 'feel'. Once theelectrodes are in place, their exposed ends are attached to small terminalsockets that are cemented to the scalp. Electrical current, measured inmilliamps in most cases and discharged at the tips of the electrodes, providingthe desired stimulation of the brain. Originally, the electrical wires feeding into the sockets were connected tobulky consoles that were immobile for all practical purposes. This had obviousdisadvantages since it didn't permit spontaneous movement and, of course,restricted the subject to a small area. Deranged individuals and rambunctiouslab animals, moreover, often tried to rip the electrodes out of their skullswith less than felicitous results. To circumvent these serious problems andachieve a more natural man-machine symbiosis, technicians developed stimulatorspackaged in collars, small backpacks and little boxes that fit securely on thecrown of the head. These contain batteries, transistors and timing devices toregulate and control the stimulation. They also serve as receivers, tuned topick up radio signals from remote operators who can regulate the tempo andintensity of stimulation in whatever way they desire at any given moment. Researchers at the Yerkes Primate Centre in Atlanta have developed p 150:a head unit that is even equipped with a solar cell so that free-swingingmonkeys need never come in for a recharge. Emphasis is very much onminiaturisation, and Yale's Dr Delgado and his colleagues have developedportable instrumants tiny enough to fit inside the head bandages of their humanpatients. Some of them conceal their electronic headgear under wigs and hats.Very soon researchers hope to have terminal devices that can be wholly implantedunder the scalp. But whatever the gear, the result is much the same. Whencurrent is discharged into the brain, the patient reacts. He may be induced tosleep or to work happily. In many cases the patient forgets that he is beingartificially stimulated. At any rate he never feels that he is doing somethingagainst his own will. Stimulated to make a specific motor action, he 'feels'that he himself created the stimulation. Government by 'Electroligarchy'The incredible power that one can exert over an individual's actions andemotions with ESB has given rise to some alarm. What works for lower animals inthis realm can also be made to work for man. Most scientists assume, of course,that this technology will remain in (their) benign hands, ushering in anew eraof 'electronic nirvana'. But if the technology should fall into decidedlyunscrupulous hands (and this must certainly be considered a possibility), then astrange and fearful world would result. An electrical engineer named Curtiss R. Schafer alluded to this verypossibility in a paper he presented before the National Electronics Conferencein Chicago some years ago. Half in jest, he proposed that computer-controlledelectrodes be implanted in the brains of babies a few months after birth,robotising them for life. 'The once human being thus controlled would be thecheapest of machines to create and operate,' he pointed out. 'The cost ofbuilding even a simple robot, like the Westinghous mechanical man, is probablyten times that of bairing and raising a child to the age of sixteen. Otherscientists have admitted the possibility that governments could try to controlcitizen behaviour by techniques of ESB. The vision of a society controlled by such a government is not pleasant tocontemplate - yet it is certainly as 'realistic' as that envisioned by AldousHuxley in his famous novel Brave New World, in' p 151:which the masses were bio-chemically stratified via the sort ofgenetic engineering that is already becoming possible in laboratories around theworld. An electronically contrived Brave New World, however, might actually beeasier to achieve. The stratification here, of course, would be somewhatdifferent, as the following scenario will demonstrate: To begin with, let us imagine a conspiracy participated in by a small groupof powerful men who seek to 'optimise' society. Noting the fantastic potentialof ESB, they envision themselves at the top of an electronically sustainedsocio-structure that might be called the Electro-hierarchy. The conspirators,let us say, are leading figures in the military-industrial complex who want torun the society in the same way that they run their factories and armies. Butnow, instead of having to worry about personnel incentive programmes, waste,time-consuming interoffice bickering, in-house pilfering and philandering,insubordination, the costly ritual of hiring and firing and so on, they needonly punch buttons and transmit the appropriate signals to achieve everygeneral's, manager's, president's, premier's dream of the efficient society.These Electrooligarchs might comprise, say, forty or fifty individuals whosebrains would remain entirely untouched. On their orders, however, everyone elsewould have varying numbers of electrodes implanted in his or her skull. The Electrons, the second rank in such a society, might comprise 10 per centof the population with fifty implanted electrodes each. Remotely programmed andcontroled by the Electroligarchy, they would exhibit unswerving allegiance totheir 'masters'. The Electrons, however, would be society's most creativecomponents. The Electroligarchy would be clever enough, in a corporate way, togive Electrons their heads - at least to the extent that they could still comeup with innovations and discoveries with which to enrich society, such as itwould be. The Electrons would be drawn from the society's reserve of scientists,economistst, scholars, poets and other 'thinkers'. They would not be socontrolled that they could no longer experience unhappiness or some of the otheremotions that often goad individuals on to do creative things. But theirpotential for hostility and rebellion would be considerably attenuated. And ofcourse, like all the members of the Electroligharchy, they would be programmedto 'forget' that they had been partially robotised. Positrons might occupy the next rung down the ladder, possibly comprising p 152:30 per cent of the population. Each would possess some two hundred embeddedelectrodes. These individuals would make up the white-collar support contingent.The positrons would help put the theories, plans and projects of the Electronsinto practice. They would be less imaginative and less intelligent than theElectrons, hence more closely controlled and regimented. They would becharacterised by dedication, driven by the desire to implement the goals set bythe Electrons. Emotionally, they would be wholly positive thinkers, enthusiasticcomponents of the machine; the more they accomplished, the more pleasure theywould receive electronically. They would possess none of the Electrons'negativism, but they would maintain minimal personalities, if only to make themmore palatable to the Electrons with whom they would have to make frequentcontact. At the lowest level might come the Neutrons, 60 per cent of the populationwith five hundred electrodes each. These would be the blue-collar people, thefactory workers, the soldiers, secretaries, bus drivers, all those engaged inrepetitive, often menial tasks. They would be cheaper and more reliable thanautomatic equipment and mechanical robots. They would, in fact, be completelyrobotised so that they could dig ditches all day and love every minute of it, ifneed be. Even assuming that a centralised computer of sufficientcomplexity and sophistication to effect such a system is possible,implementation would still remain a major obstacle. It would almostcertainly be a mistake, however, to assume automatically that it would beimpossible to implant electrodes in everyone's brain. It might berelatively easy provided people could be persuaded to undergo implantationvoluntarily. In a world rapidly growing accustomed to artificial externaland internal prostheses, spare-part surgery and organ transplants, the idea ofimplanting metal wires in the brain is bound to become less and less 'foreign'and repugnant. And to push the campaign along, our Electrocrats might offer anumber of incentives, perhaps tax deductions or even cash 'rewards'. Possiblythe implant programme could be ballyhooed into a matter of 'national security',so that refusal to participate would call one's patriotism into question.Instantaneous communications and electronically augmented 'will to resist theenemy' could be some of the selling points. More likely, however, is the possibility that people will opt for theimplants in order to 'cash in' on a new form of electronic entertainment. p 153:As we shall see later in this chapter, the so-called 'pleasure centres' ofthe brain can be wired in such a way that one can create, with the mere push ofa button, an almost orgasmic state of euphoria or cause the individual tohallucinate as vividly as if on LSD. With computer programming it may bepossible to create within the mind synthetic experiences of almost anydescription. In addition, it may prove possible to transmit electronically codedinformation directly into the brain via the implanted electrodes, creating aradical new approach to education. Dorman D. Israel, as Fellow of the Institute of Radio Engineers, forexample, predicts that brain implants will be much sought after around the turnof the century to implement new means of communication (direct electronicsthought transference) and enhance creative capabilities. Writing in theProceedings of the IRE as if from the perspective of the year 2012, DrIsrael notes that by bthe year 2000 people will be able to transmit theirthoughts over substantial distances 'but always by appointment - a mostfortunate limitation. By 2012, he goes on, things will have advanced to thepoint that 'newborn infants can be operated upon and the latestsubmicroelectronic equipment installed in the brain and at certain criticalpoints in the spinal column so that they are almost certainly assured not onlyof the benefits of full non-radio communicative powers but also there is reasonto beleive that their scientific creative ability will be enhanced. Logicallyenough, this operation must be performed within two weeks of birth because ifthe infant is only slightly exposed to contact with its family who still havenot completed their "unlearning"' and readjustment (to the new technology), hemight never become a good subject for the modern system of communication.' Sizeable segments of society may already have undergone electrodeimplantation by the time the 'takeover' plot is first hatched. By simplycommandeering the by then existing computer-co-ordinated system, theElectrocrats would find that most of their work had already been done for them.When the individual dials into the central computer from his own homerequesting, say, pleasurable experience number 547Z, he may then receive insteada carefully contrived series of electronic impulses that instil in him anunswerving loyalty to his unseen masters. Or possibly the stimulation hereceives might simply obliterate his will to resist a physical takeover or fillhim with a completely debilitating p 154:fear of authority. That dramatic behavoural control is possible with ESB andhas, in fact, been demonstrated in several laboratories as we shall see. ElectrosleepLike nuclear energy, ESB possesses a fantastic potential for good as well asevil. Having conceded the substantial potential for abuse of this newtechnology, let us proceed to look at the other, more hopeful side of the coin.In the course of ESB experimentation, scientists have discovered that all of thebrain's functions - the autonomic, the somatic and the psychic - are susceptibleto electronic control. As Dr Delgado puts it, in 'exploring intracerebralphysiology, we are reaching not only the soma but also for the psycheitself'. Consider the influence that can now be exerted over the autonomic systemwhich resides largely in the hypothalamus, that deep, dark elemental area of thebrain that controls our most basic and primitive needs. It helps regulate bloodpressure, heart rate, respiration, hunger, sleep, sex and many other things.Appropriately placed electrodes can alter all of these functions. Cats that havejust eaten a large meal can be stimulated to gorge themselves even further,completely ignoring their already distended stomachs. Others, literallystarving, can be electronically induced to ignore food placed directly undertheir noses. The diameter of their pupils can be electrically controlled as ifthey were the diaphragms of cameras. The doctors can willfully alter theanimals' blood pressure and heart rate with precision. Scientists see many benefits accruing from this sort of control over basicfunctions. They can, to begin with, get a better understanding of how thesefunctions work and what can go wrong with them, thus arriving at more effectivecures for diseases of metabolism, the heart, circulation and so on. Somethingcalled 'electrosleep', for example, has come to rescue of numerous humaninsomniacs, though to date most clinical work has been with external electrodesattached to the scalp. In lab work, however, internal electrodes have been usedon animals with encouraging results. At the Yerkes Primate Center in Atlanta, Dr Adrian Perachio, aneurophysiologist, is conducting a series of ESB experiments for NASA which mayresult in abetter understanding of what happens to sleep patterns during spacetravel. Variations in acceleration and gravity p 155:seem to affect and perhaps inhibit one critical phase of sleep known as therapid-eye-movement (REM) phase, during which most of our dreams occur. Humansand lab animals deprived of REM sleep exhibit bizarre and often psychoticbehaviour; this indicates to some scientists that REM is as essential to life asfood and water. Some researchers now claim to be able to stimulate REM sleep atwill. This suggests that we may one day be able to cut down substantially on ourtotal sleep time. Why? Because many beleive that other sleep phases are merelyincidental to the critical REM stage (which constitutes only 24 per cent ofhealthy sleep time). Thus, if REM could be artificially induced on a routinebasis, perhaps through self-stimulation of implanted electrodes at the desiredtime, one might be able to reduce the period of slumber by 50 to 75 percent. On the other hand, it might be useful to prolong sleep electronically too. Ifat the same time heart rate, body temperature and other life functions wereslowed down by the proper stimulation of the hypothalamus and other cerebralstructures, a state of suspended animation might result, the likes of whichcould come in handy on extended spase journeys. This sort of 'hibernation', atany rate, now appears far more feasible than that sort invisioned by cryogenic(deep-freezing) suspension. ElectroprosthesesSomatic functions have yielded even more dramatically than the autonomic toESB. These are th motor functions, movements of the body and its extremities,which can be controlled by stimulating various parts of the cerebral cortex. InDr Delgado's experiments animals were induced to 'move the legs, raise or lowerthe body, open or close the mouth, walk or lie still, or tirn around'. He foundthat the animals took all of this very much in stride, seemingly unaware of theoutside interference. Cats stimulated in such a way that they would suddenlyhave to raise a hind leg would go right on purring. Nor would they stumble orfall. 'However', Dr Delgado observes, 'if we tried to prevent the evoced effectby holding the hind leg with our hands, the cat stopped purring, struggled toget free, and shook its leg,' indicating that the stimulatory command is apowerful one. A number of researchers are working to put this sort of motor control topractical effect. Perhaps the most impressive results to date have p 156:been achieved by Dr Lawrence R. Pinneo and his associates at the StanfordResearch Institute. Dr Pinneo is using ESB as an 'electrphrosthetic' devicewhich he hopes will help paralyses stroke victims move again. Work is stillconfined to lab animals but its applicability to humans is apparent. The bestthing about electroprosthesis is that it does not require any sort of artificiallimb or external attachment. Instead, parts of the brain not damaged by thestroke are stimulated to produce purposeful movements. Computers are used tocontrol the sequence of stimulatory events emanating from as many as sixtyelectrodes, permitting the animal to move about in a co-ordinated and almostnatural fashion. 'With a little training,' Dr Pinneo points out, 'the animal canbe given a set of switches that tell the computer what set of movements toproduce; thus he can enter into control of his own behaviour.' For those interested in the specifics of the experimental electroprosthetictechnique, Dr Pinneo and his colleagues (Dr J.N. Kaplan and E.A Elpel of theStanford Research Institute, and P.C. Reynolds and J. H. Glick of the StanfordUniversity School of Medicine) have prepared a paper entitled 'ExperimentalBrain Prostheses: Methods and Possibilities'. In it, they write: This technique involves permanently attaching an electrode guidance platformto the paralysed monkey's skull while the monkey is anaesthetised an in astereotaxic instrument. The platform is made of dental acrylic and contains anarray of holes through which electrodes can be inserted into the brain withstereotaxic accuracy. It is aligned above the monkey's head with the stereotaxicapparatus and is attached to the skull with screws and acrylic dental plastic.The skin below the platform is removed so that electrodes can be inserteddirectly through the skull without piercing the skin first. ..After application of alocal anaesthetic, a small hole is drilled throughthe skull using a hole in the platform as a guide. The hole in the skull is madeon the side contalateral to the cortical lesion, i.e., on the same side as theparalysed limb, because most limb movements evoked by stimulation in the brainstem occur on the same side as the stimulation. An electrode is lowered into thebrain in 1-mm steps throught the hole in the skull. Motor responses tostimulation are initially tested at each step as the electrode is lowered. p 157:After each location is found that produces a distinct elementary motorresponse, electrodes are permanently fixed by bending the electrode on top ofthe platform and attaching it to the platform with acrylic. The electrode isthen connected to an Amphenol plug that is housed in a box made of acrylic. Thebox is attached to the guidance platform with screws and is removed from theplatform only when electrodes are inserted into the brain. In Bruno (one of thelab monkeys) thirteen locations were founsd that upon stimulation producedmovement in his paralysed right arm. Movements in this limb included rotation ofthe wrist, arm turning in towards the body from the shoulder, arm straight outfrom the body, rotation of forearm out from the body at the elbow, flexion ofthe thumb and several other elementary movenments.- -end of quotation fromPinneo et all The Stanford team uses a LINC-8 digital computer to programme and operatethe implanted electrodes. The total bio-cybernetic system consists of (1) a ten-channel programmable brain stimulator (more channels are possible for futureexpansion to accommodate any number of electrodes);(2)the LINC-8 computer withappropriate interfacing equipment; (3) the software programmes controling thesystem; and (4) the animal itself. The information needed to produceagiven set of movements is encoded, in each case, in a table format calledTIMETABLE. Fed into the computer, TIMETABLE specifies the pattern of stimulatoryevents needed to produce the desired motions. The TIMETABLE repertoire can bealtered simply by addressing the computer via teletype. The system also featuresa magnetic tape input so that TIMETABLE configurations, once proved effective inevoking a specific movement, can be stored for future use and instantaneousretrieval. This is what makes it possible to put together a chain of movementsthat closely approximates natural, co-ordinated bodily motion. Complex as thewhole system sounds, it has been simplified to the point that, as noted, themonkey can himself operate a small set of switches. With proper training thisenables him to control his own movwmwnt. He learns, for example, that if hewants to raise his right arm he is to push one switch, if he wants to moverapidly forward he is to push another switch, and so on. Dr Pinneo expects to implant as many as 240 electrodes in the brain stem,making possible even more sophisticated cyberntic organisms. He points out,however, that with this much hardware in the brain p 158:there is bound to be some significant damage to brain structure. Hence he isnow looking for means of achieving deep brain stimulation without implantedelectrodes, a means that would, in addition, permit stimulation of deep brainsites without simultaneous stimulation of intervening brain tissue. 'In order tostimulate at one point, and one point only and to produce no damage tointervening tissue,' he notes, 'it is evident that the intensity of thepenetrating energy must be below that necessary for tissue stimulation at everypoint except the desired focus of stimulation. This obviously means that two ormore sources of energy must be used where each can be focused to a point, andwhere the point of focus is the site of stimulation. It also means that at thepoint of focus, the two or more beams of energy must be able to add, in phase,in order to provide a total intensity sufficient to stimulate the tissue at thatpoint.' A single energy source sufficient to stimulate the target site, in otherwords, is no good because it would also be sufficient to stimulate allintervening sites. External stimulators of the future may combine a variety ofenergy forms, including electric current, electromagnetic radiation (especiallyat microwave or higher frequencies), ultrasonics and laser beams. ElectrovisionDr Pinneo and others, including Dr Wendell J. S Krieg, a NorthwesternUniversity anatomist, are hopeful that similar electroprosthetic programmes canbe established for the blind. Though actual experimentation has only begun, DrKrieg hopes to help the blind see through the use of light-sensitivephotoelectric cells wired directly to the brain. The miniaturised cells, he says, could be worn on the patient's head, perhapseven incorporated into hats. Electrodes feeding out of the cells would bepermanently implanted in ythe portion of the brain that interprets vision. As amodest start, Dr Krieg proposes a system capable of detecting and transmittingthe shapes of letters so that the blind person would perceive a continuousseries of letters and words - in the same manner that the normal person readsthe news that is flashed in lights at Times Square. From here, he says, morecomplex systems could be devised so that pictures resembling animated cartoonscould be viewed. Eventually the system could be refined to the point where itwould be possible for p 159:the subject to perceive variations in light, detect the presence of doors,windows, approachin objects and so on. 'He would be enabled to move rapidly and safely and to throw away the whitecane, which is little more than a tradition or a warning,' says Dr Krieg. Headds that such systems are feasible since the process for stimulating the visualportion of the cortex is well known. He obseves that electrode implants can alsobe useful in overcoming hearing losses and, like Dr Pinneo, notes thepossibilities for the use of ESB in restoring movement to paralysed or injuredlimbs. 'It is a comparably easy matter with a myograph to analyse the exact timesequences of all the muscles of the limbs while walking,' he says. 'By playingsuch a record on a stimulator connected to the proper muscles, each muscle couldbe made to contract at the right time and the result would be normalwalking.' Dr Pinneo and associayes have been at work now for more than ten years on anapproach to visual prosthesis or 'electrovison'. So have a number of Britishresearchers, notably G. S. Brindley and W. S. Lewin, who have actually begunworking with the human. Brindley and Lewin, in one effort to overcome blindness,implanted eighty platinum electrodes into the brain of a fifty-two-year-oldnurse suffering from glaucoma and retinal detachment. The patient was able to'see' a small spot of light, and the British investigators beleive that properprogramming of the stimulative events will enable the blind to avoid obstaclesand possibly read print. The Stanford team is trying for even better results: 'to reproduce normalvision by making the visual system act as it would physiologically with lightstimulation of the retina'. Dr Pinneo and his group have now formulated a theoryof 'brightness' vision and are making headway in their effort to replicate someforms of it electronically. As presently envisioned, the prosthesis system, onceperfected, will be much like that for stroke. With computer control, Dr Pinneosays, 'we should be able to present a three-dimensional mosaic of stimulatedpoints representing the entire visual field....For the present, we will onlyconsider black and white representation.' Nobody is yet ruling out, however thepossibility of eventually achieving artificial colour vision. The cost and size of computers of sufficient complexity to control theseelectrprostheses are, at present, considerable. But Dr Pinneo points to therapid progress in the miniaturisation of electronic componentry as a way aroundthese difficulties. Thanks, in part, to the p 160:space programme, he thinks we will ultimately have 'practical, relatively lowcost, general purpose computers small enough to be worn or carried by a humanbeing as part of his clothing'. ElectrosexIntriguing as the electrosomatic devices are, it is the psychic andbehavioural functions of the brain that are the most spectacularly controlled byESB. This was demonstrated by Dr James Olds, who was the first to discover theso-called 'pleasure centres' of the brain while experimenting with rats atMcGill University in Canada. The nature of the pleasure induced by stimulatingthese centres (located in a variety of areas) seems to transcend that associatedwith mere food, drink or sex. The stimulation seems to result in a sort ofsuper-euphoria or hyper-ecstacy that causes the animals to forget mor jejeunepleasures. Rats, in one experiment, were 'wired for pleasure' and then permitted topress the stimulating lever themselves. And press it they did - some at theastounding rate of 5000 times per hour! Some of these sybarites kept it up fortwenty-four hours a day for periods of up to three weeks, taking only thebriefest rat naps and scant seconds for food and drink. Conventional sexualintercourse was completely forsaken: 'Electrosex', it seems, combines the bestof all possible pleasures. It was discovered, in the course of stimulating human brains to controlcertain disorders, that man, too, is possessed of these pleasure centres. DrRobert G Heath of Tulane University and Dr Delgado have both reported thisphenomenon in man. Dr Delgado notes that some patients undergoing stimulationsuddenly began discussing sexual matters. Several engaged in flirtatiousactivity that was out of character with their normal behaviour. Most surprising,several of the stimulated subjects expressed their desire to marry the doctor(regardless of whether they were of the opposite sex). Though the subjects who experienced changes in the sexual ideation apparentlyexperienced pleasurable feelings, they are not necessarily the same, intensefeelings that kept the rats up day and night pressing the pleasure pedal. Otherhuman subjects, however, have experienced similar pleasures. One man,equipped with one of Dr Heath's intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) devices,for example, was particularly fond of pressing one of the buttons on theportable device. According to the reports on this patient, 'the feeling [thatresulted] was good; it p 161:was as if he were building up to a sexual orgasm'. Dr Heath observed that,'regardless of his emotional state and the subject under discussion in theroom', the pressing of this particular button 'was accompanied by the patient'sintroduction of a sexual subject, usually with a broad grin. When questionedabout this, he would say. 'I don't know why that came to mind, - I just happenedto think of it.'' 'The stimulation was a highly effective sexual aphrodisiac andthe patient called upon it frequently. Experiences of possibly even greater intensity have been reported by some ofDr Delgado's subjects. One woman, while undergoing stimulation of a pleasurecentre in the brain, found it impossible to control herself. Her mood wouldabruptly switch from its usual serenity to one of euphoric giggling andlaughing. She could only describe what it was that she was feeling as 'pleasanttingling sensations of the body'. Another patient, who was generally silent,would spontaneously exclaim such things as 'Hey! You can keep me here longerwhen you give me these,' when apparent pleasure centres were stimulated. Just as self-involvement and inward-looking attitudes have been found tocharacterise many drug-induced 'highs', self-orientation seems to accompany theelectrically induced pleasure state, at least initially. Some have noted,however, that this preoccupation with internal pleasures gives way withsustained stimulation and pleasurable feelings are expressed, instead, in anincreasingly outward direction. Hence, Dr Delgado says, 'a shift frompleasurable thinking to friendliness and to sexual ideas has been observed insome cases'. Electroanalgesia and ElectroanaesthesiaJust as pleasure can be induced by ESB, so can pain be suppressed.'Electroanalgesia', however, generally utilises the implantation of electrodesin the spinal column rather than in the brain itself. Dr C. Norman Shealy, chiefof neurosurgery at the Gunderson Clinic in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and hiscolleagues have perfected electroanalgesic techniques to the point that they arenow being applied to humans. Electronic painkillers are important because theygive strong promise of being useful even in overwhelming the 'intractable' painof incurable cancer and they free the patient´suffering any sort of intensivepain from the need to take massive doses of addicting narcotic analgesics. p 162:Dr Shealy and his associates have discovered that stimulation of certainareas of the spinal cord can be highly effective in blocking intense pain. Since'intractable' pain has been found to originate in diffuse structures, theyselected those areas in the spinal cord where sensory nerve fibres are packedtightly together. This enables them to achieve maximum stimulation with aminimum amount of impalnted hardware. The basic research that preceded clinical application of the electroanalgesictechniques involved cats. They were wired with electrodes and then subjected tovarying degrees of pain. 'Normally,' Dr Shealy notes, 'pinching the tail or pawof the animals leads to meowing and vigorous withdrawal. Similarly, the catsflick an ear to avoid a hot soldering iron. However, when a pulsed DCcurrent...is applied to a dorsal column electrode over the cervical cord, theanimals allow prolonged pinching and intensive heat to the point of tissuedamage with no apparent discomfort. They remain alert during the stimulusand sometimes will sit contentedly licking themselves during the dorsal columnstimulation.' Dr Shealy's first human patient was a seventy-year-old man suffering thesevere pain of an inoperable lung cancer. After implantation of a single spinalelectrode (with intermittent stimulation at .8 and 1.2 Volts), both incisionaland original pain were innediately and completely extinguished. This wasaccomplished, moreover, without paralysing any part of the patient's body. Thepatient, Dr Shealy reports, 'maintained good movement of his legs, andvibration, position, touch and pinprick sensations were intact'. Pain recurredfrom time to time but could be immediately obliterated again simply by alteringthe frequency of the electronic stimulation. At no time did the patient requirethe accustomed narcotics. The patient died two days after the stimulation was initiated - but forreasons entirely unassociated with the electrode implant. 'The initial resultswere so encouraging,' Dr Shealy reported with regard to this first case, 'thatit seems reasonable that technical problems can overcome to make this apotentially practical method for releif of pain.' Since the mid-sixties anumber of others have benefited from electroanalgesia, some now for periodsmeasured in years rather than days. Dr Shealy's second patient, for example,received relief for two years, even though she was suffering from extensivepelvic cancer. His third patient was a fifty-five year-old man who had beenalmost completely confined to bed for seven years when seen for treatment. Thispatient p 163:suffering crippling pains in his legs due to infection of a spinal disc. Nowhe is able to walk and swim freely, thanks to a single tiny electrode implantedin his spinal cord. Whenever he feels a pain developing, he just pushes a buttonon a miniature transmitter he carries with him and current pulses into the nervefibre via a tiny receiver implanted beneath the skin. The current 'jams' thenerve fibres in much the same way that radio frequencies can be 'jammed' toprevent transmission of a message. In this case, however, the 'message' that isbeing intercepted is pain. Among others wired with self-stimulating units, like the one described aboveare individuals suffering from mulltiple sclerosis, severe muscle spasms andvarious carcinomas. Some use the stimulation constantly -so far without illeffect. As before, Dr Shealy reports, 'light touch remains intact as doesvibration and position sensation. Patients are able to walk without difficulty.Bladder and bowel functions are not affected. Erections and ejaculations arepossible during stimulation. The lack of any significant complications in thepatients who have been treated... should now allow application of this treatmentto large number of patients with chronic pain states.' Electroanaesthesia though not so far advanced, may eventually prove to be ofequal value. Hundreds ide every year from the toxic effects of chemicalanaesthetic agents; many others suffer severe side effects from their toxicqualities. For most, of course, the chemical anaesthetics are neither fatal norsignificantly damaging, but they are hard on the system and do take a long timeto be eliminated from the body. Electric current, on the other hand, can produceunconsciousness almost instantaneously - without any hangover effect once theoperation is complete. Dr John Waycott, of the Imperial Chemical Research Laboratory in GreatBritain, predicts that electroanaesthesia will be a routine hospital techniquein the not too distant future. When that day comes a patient requiring generalanaesthesia will be taken to the operating room fully conscious, wired therewith external scalp electrodes and put to sleep with the mere flick of a switch.Once the operation is over, the patient is just as quickly revived, this time bysimply turning off the current. Though electroanaesthesia has been used manytimes, a few complications remain to be smoothed out. For one thing, care has tobe taken to avoid induction of muscle spasms, a consequence of too much current.In other instances, lungs sometimes cease functioning because of the stimulationand have to be artificially ventialted during the operation. Dr Waycott,however, is confident that these problems will p 164:be overcome with more research into the use of various wave forms andcurrents and with more precise positioning and use of the externalelectrodes. Other notable medical applications of ESB include suppression of epilepticseizures and narcolepsy. Dr Heath has equipped patients suffering from thesemaladies with 'wireless' self-stimulating transmitters with which they 'fire' atwill their implanted brain electrodes. When they feel a seizure coming on or (inthe case of narcolepsy) feel that they can no longer remain conscious theymerely push buttons on their pocket transmitters and thus quickly correct theimbalance in question. Dr Pinneo is also at work on ESB approaches to problemsof consciousness and thinks that even certain forms of mental retardation mightbe vulnerable to electronic therapy. 'Our approach to both of these deficits is based on the concept of thereticulars actvating system of the brain stem,' he explains, 'by which efficientnormal behaviour is a function of the level of consciousness, or "arousal". Byelectrical stimulation of various areas of the brain, such as the nucleusreticularis, the inferior thalamus and the caudate nucleus, sleep-like statesmay be produced which in many ways mimic the level of alertness of mentallyretarded children or animals. Conversely, electrical stimulation of themesencephalic reticular formation produces arousal, even in an anaesthesisedanimal, while destruction of this area produces coma-like behaviour. To date,our experiments using programmed brain stimulation have been minimallysuccessful in controlling level of arousal both upward and downward. It stillremains to be seen whether this type of stimulation will affect learning rate ina retarded animal, or return to consciousness an animal suffering fromexperimental coma.' ElectrosociologyViolence and affection, like plea´sure andpain, are proving susceptible to electronic manipulation. Indeed, even some ofthe most deep-seated patterns of social interaction can be radically alteredwith ESB. Some inkling that ESB might have an 'electrosociological' value came as earlyas 1928 when the pioneering Dr Hess discovered that normally gentlse cats couldbe instantaneously driven to states of intense hostility by stimulating certainparts of their brains. The moment the stimulation, ceased, so díd the hostility.Then in the mid-1950s, Dr Delgado p 165:demonstrated that one animal can be electrically driven to attack anotheranimal - without ancillary provocation. In one of the first experiments in thisarea, Dr Delgado utilised two cats that had always been on friendly terms. Thesmaller cat was equipped with brain electrodes implanted in a cerebral structureknown as 'tectal area'. When electrically stimulated, the smaller cat wouldimmediately launch a fierce attack on its larger companion. Even when the largecat began to retaliate with powerful, slashing blows, the small cat persisted.Not until the stimulation was stopped would it withdraw. Normally a cat beatenin a battle will go to considerable lengths to avoid the victor. But here thesmall cat, even though it always lost, fearlessly launched new battles everytime it was stimulated in the tectal area of the brain. Initially friendly relations were reestablished after each battle, but graduallythe larger cat began to regard the other with constant hostility.Subsequentexperiments with cats proved that the sort of rage that is electronicallyprovoked is not an all-pervasive, blind sort of hostility but, as DR Delgadoputs it, 'selective and intelligently directed'. Where there were only two cats,the smaller would vent its rage on the other cat, even if it were larger, but ifthere were a number of cats available it would carefully select as its opponenta less forbidding foe. And, rather tahn just tear into its target, thestimulated cat would intelligently choose the best moment for attack,approaching the 'enemy' with care, adapting its motions to those of the othercat. In other words, brain stimulation of this sort does not obliterate normalpatterns of behavioural hostile performance; it 'simply' evokes those responsepatterns where they would not normally exist at all. The sort radical societal changes that can be affected by ESB has best beendemonstrated in experiments with monkeys, animals that maintain very rigid'rules' with regard to their social interactions. Theirs is a highly autocratic society, in which domains and territories arefirmly fixed. In each, the strongest monkey sets himself up as the 'boss' or thedictator, reserving for himself first choice of the females, the best food andthe most space, while demanding from the others total subservience andsubmissiveness. Could the boss monkey's wellestablished dominance be attenuatedelectronically? And, if so, how would the other monkeys in this group react? Researchers found that stimulation of various parts of the brain, notably therostral part of caudate nucleus, seemed to nullify p 166:threatening, dominant behaviour. They strapped normally vicious rhesusmonkeys into restraining chairs and stimulated this part of their brains. Themoment they did so, the monkeys stopped their aggressive behaviour. They becameso docile that the experimenters were even able to put their fingers in themonkeys' mouths. Hostilities were resumed as soon as the stimulation ceased. Boss Monkeys were then returned to their domains and stimulated by remotecontrol for five seconds every minute. The change in the 'dictator' wasimmediately apparent to the other monkeys, who slowly but surely began movinginto territory generally reserved exclusively for the boss. Even after the othermonkeys had taken all of his territory, the boss initiated no attacks. Ingeneral, he was content to sit back and play a subordinate role. Shortly afterstimulation ceased, however, he reasserted his absolute authority. In one of the most intriguing variations of this experiment, Dr Delgado againwired one of the boss monkeys so that electronic stimulation could overide hisnormal aggressiveness and authoritarianism. But this time he placed thestimulating lever in the cage with the monkeys. Curious creatures, theynaturally began pressing it. After a number of trials they began to notice thatthey could literally switch off the monkey's aggressive behaviour simply bypressing the lever - and they did so frequently! Humans might sometimes wishthat their own leaders could be controlled as effectively. Indeed, we have herea complete reversal of the situation envisioned earlier in this chapter, inwhich the autocrats 'wire' a subject population in order to 'optimise' itspproductivity. If the power-obsessed minority could be wired first, it'sconceivable that the majority could get along together in a world free ofnuclear brinkmanship, organised military aggression and threats of aggression.Conceivable. Dr Delgado has demonstrated that even snorting bulls can be 'tamed' with thepush of a button. In what has to be one of the most flamboyant experiments todate, Dr Delgado wired a bull with electrodes and, after it had recovered fromthe surgery, challenged it in the bullring with a red cape. Concealed behind thecape was a small radio transmitter. Dr Delgado waited until the bull was in fullcharge and only a couple of yards away - then he pushed a button on thetransmitter and instantly reduced El Toro to a benign Ferdinand. The bull threwout its front legs and came to a grinding halt just inches from its target. p 167:In still other experiments - these at the Yerkes Primate Centre -the meekhave been made the aggressors. Three monkeys were placed together: a boss, afemale and a subordinate male. As always, the female immediately sided with theboss, completely ignoring the smaller, weaker male. The latter stood meekly byuntil researchers remotely stimulated an area of its hypothalamus known toexcite aggressive behaviour. Immediately it sprang into action, advancing on theastonished boss with increasing ferocity. Ultimately it forced the autocrat intoa corner and a position of subservience. With an alacrity that must have furtherhumiliated the deposed boss, the female immediately switched her allegienceto the male she had previously spurned. 'Obviously, this study also showedsomething about the nature of the female,' was the wry observation of one of theYerkes researchers. Surprisingly, the new boss remained dominant even afterstimulation ceased, the old boss having apparently lost facepermanently. In another of these experiments at Yerkes, the boss was stimulated into astate of rage. One moment he was being groomed in the arms of his beloved; thenext moment he was chasing her with murderous rather than amorous intent. Because of the dramatic results that were obtained in the animal experiments,doctors decided to apply ESB to certain human subjects who were given toattacks of unreasoning rage. Some who yielded to the treatment had ten-yearhistories of rage attacks in which they would assault acquaintances or chancepassers-by with deadly weapons and wreck whatever happened to be within easyreach. A team of doctors in Boston have treated a number of such patients atMassachusetts General Hospital and Boston General Hospital. The medical team,consisting of Dr Vernon Mark, Dr William Sweet, Dr Frank Ervin, Dr George Bach-y-Rita, Dr Rioji Hagiiwara, electrical engineer Gerhard Weiss and Dr Delgado,describes these cases in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases:
Yet another brain-damaged patient, a woman, attacked her husband more thanfive hundred times in aperiod of six years, battering him with chairs, dishesand a variety of blunt instrumants. Yet even such violent cases proved treatablewith ESB, which could often be used to ward off these rage attacks or reversethem completely after their onset on any given occasion. Electromemory and 'The Dream Machine'It was in the course oftreating brain-damaged individuals that Dr Wilder Penfield hit upon one of themost astounding properties of ESB. He was probing the brain of a woman withepilepsy at the Montreal Neurological Institute, trying to discover which areaswere affected, when he noticed that stimulation in certain regions caused thewoman to 'relive' various events in her life. At times she thought she wasgiving birth to one of her children all over again. The detailed accuracy withwhich this patient, and others on whom Dr Penfield subsequently operated,recalled experiences, some dating back to early childhood, stunned the surgeon.'No man can, by voluntary effort,' he declared, 'call this amazing detail backto memory.' Dr Delgado, who has also observed this phenomenon in a variety ofcases, calls what occurs 'experimential hallucinations'. The electronicallyinduced experiences qualify as hallucinations because, as Dr Delgado describesthem, they often 'appear more real and vivid than when the p. 169:events actually happened. It is as if the patient had a double life, one inthe past recalled by the electrical stimulation, and another in the present'.The patients not only see and feel things out of their past but even hear andsmell them. It has been suggested that 'electromemory' may become a valuabletool in psychoanalysis, far outdistancing hypnosis as a means of bringingforgotten experiences to the surface. The hallucinations are called 'experiential' because they usually have somebasis in past experience. On some occasions, however, subjects have takenbizarre ESB 'trips', experiencing things they couldn't possibly have livedthrough in the past. This, coupled with the fact that it is possible tostimulate selected parts of the brain sequentially to create various states ofmind, suggests that artificial experience might eventually become available tothe consumer. It is possible to visualise 'dream machines' that would replacetelevision and cinema. Even the average household might one day be equipped withsuch a device: a small console linked to a central computerised memory orexperience bank that could be connected to the consumer's electrode terminalsfor the price of a few cents in electricity. Then the tuned-in consumer wouldhave only to dial the code nuber of his desired experience - whether it might benight in bed with his favourite actress (guaranteed to be successful) or aprecarious climb up Mount Everest (also guaranteed to be successful). It doesn'ttake much imagination to see how the phrase 'Live Better Electrically' couldcease to be a mere advertising slogan. It was this sort of arrangement that Daniel E. Noble, vice-chairman of theboard of Motorola, Inc., had in mind when he coined the phrase 'electronicnirvana'. The same sort of 'library of vicarious living experiences' that hevisualised for the turn of the century has been imagined by Arthur C. Clarke.With a nod to ESB progress, at the end of his book Profiles of theFuture, Clarke states that 'artificial memories, if they could be composed,taped and then fed into the brain electronically... would be a form of vicariousexperience far more vivid (because affecting all of the senses) than anythingthat could be produced by the massed resources of Hollywood. They would, indeed,be the ultimate form of entertainment - a fictitious experience more real thanreality.' When that day comes, the 'frontier' man seems to require will be only a fewbursts of electricity away. |