20.04.2011The brain under electrical power: Modern methods of artificial brain stimulation

Prof. Dr. Klaus Funke, Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Our brain is constantly under electrical power, as neurons process information by means of electrical signals. Therefore, it is also possible to excite nerve cells artificially by electricity. When you think of brain stimulation, perhaps you imagine the electric shocks that Jack Nicholson had to suffer in the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest“. However, this form is only used as a last choice for very heavy, pharmacologically not treatable psychosis. In his presentation, Prof. Dr. Klaus Funke gives an overview of various methods of brain stimulation from implanted electrodes to electromagnetic stimulation and explains their medical importance.