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Observe neurosurgeons using electrodes to detect electrical activity in an epileptic patient's brain


Observe neurosurgeons using electrodes to detect electrical activity in an epileptic patient's brain
Observe neurosurgeons using electrodes to detect electrical activity in an epileptic patient's brain
Serious cases of epilepsy may be treated by surgery that removes the areas of the brain that cause seizures.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Transcript

NARRATOR: A surgical team has assembled here to operate on the most complex structure known to humanity--a human brain. The patient in this case is a twenty-year-old woman with epilepsy. She is subject to what might be called electrical storms in her brain which cause seizures. The surgeons must locate and remove the source of the storms. To do so, they conduct a careful exploration using electrodes on the surface of her brain. The electrodes detect the electrical activity of various areas. This activity is then recorded on a graph and displayed on a video monitor to be interpreted by the surgeon and other doctors. Unusual recordings tell the team where the focus of the epilepsy is.

This procedure demonstrates that the brain has an organization that can be explored no matter how formidable the task may seem.